Most Challenging First Dishes

I thought this would be a fun topic to stimulate the forum.

What are a couple of the first dishes you've ever made, that you found to be a challenge, but were successful at?

For me, it was chicken cacciatore and a swiss roll.

Keep in mind these were two dishes I'd made as a new young bride all those years ago, so it was a pretty big deal.

You?

The first time I made lobster bisque it took me 8 hours!! It was fabulous but I was exhausted. Like you, I think I was 20 at the time and was pretty clueless about such things.

Another was a chocolate mousse I made for a boyfriend when I was 16. I used the wrong chocolate, probably unsweetened instead of semi sweet, and while the texture was perfect, the flavour was seriously lacking.

Fried chicken with rice and chicken gravy! My mom made this a lot when I was growing up, so I was pretty good at it. Now, it seems like such a hassle, I never make it. Same with sweet and sour meatballs - used to make it all the time. Now it seems like too much trouble to make and cook meatballs, then make something else with them.

I made osso buco (braised veal shanks) last year - they came out great.

Vera, I made a shrimp bisque a few years ago that took me almost as long as that lobster! Peel the shrimp, make broth from the shells, etc., etc. No more

One of the first dishes was my grandmother's chicken paprikash. In making the spaetzle I used too much salt and they ended up in the garbage. They were also like dumplings because I used a whole teaspoon of dough instead of just the edge of the spoon. lol

Another was my grandmothers' borscht. It never tasted like hers and I couldn't figure out why. She used beef ribs to flavor the soup and I had bought pork ribs...........live and learn.

My moms' spaghett sauce took me half a dozen times to make before she approved. lol

I'm proud to say I have mastered all three!!

souffles - the kind that suddenly get renamed quiche . . .

I found gumbo to be a challenge. In the beginning, I was always afraid that I was going to burn the roux and have to start over, so I wouldn't cook it long enough, and the base would lack flavor. I 'get it' now.

Baking, like my Limonnik cake, I think I've posted the recipe before. That was hard, actually dtill is even now. I just do not like baking.

the first dish that i remember making that was challenging was bouillabaisse. it's still tricky to me to get the broth right and adding all the fish and shellfish at just the right time so that they're all done together and not over or under cooked.

i still haven't got paella right yet. not too wet, not too dry...

Sass Muffin said:

What are a couple of the first dishes you've ever made, that you found to be a challenge, but were successful at?

Click to expand...

Patitso...but when I made it, I didn't know how accurate I was with it since I never had it before. It wasn't until I had the dish at a greek restaurant later on that I knew I did a decent job.

My wife's first problem was a turkey for the first Thanksgiving we spent together. My grandmother told her over the phone how to do it. My wife being a blond misunderstood when my grand mother told her to clean out the bird which she took to me removing all the bones. It tasted good but looked like road kill and 44 years later we still laugh about it.

I guess last Thanksgiving was my hardest in I tried some brandy sweet potatoes in orange cups. Now I doubled the recipe and it was a lot of working taking half the day but turned out super with none left over at all. Every one loved them so much they will be back this Thanksgiving along with two smoked turkeys and a full brisket.

My first gorgonzola sauce broke but I had just enough to make another that came out great. My first beurre blanc came out pretty good. I find sushi rice to be somewhat of a challenge, my first batch came out pretty good. Not as good as most sushi restaruants but better than at least 1 or 2.