Ivy says:
For some people when it comes to eating, presentation is everything. I must admit that there are some foods I’ve been hesitant to try because they look so gross. A good example is soft shelled crab. Oh, man, that looks so nasty, but it tastes sooooo good. Another thing is chicken bog. It’s fabulously yummy, but doesn’t look like much.
On the other hand, there are a lot of things that look pretty but taste awful. Recently, we ducked into a restaurant to avoid a storm (lightning hit my mom and dad’s house- where we were heading when the storm hit) and I ordered a piece of chocolate cake that looked beautiful on the menu, just as beautiful when it came out, but it tasted…well, let’s just say it was REALLY not good.
So, Home Eccers, tell me about some things you love that look horrible and things that looked great but tasted awful.
In similarly minded news, my pal at Tupperware Avalanche is giving away a cookbook to the person who can help her rename her dessert that looks tasty and probably IS tasty, but has a horrid name. Chocolate Nut Betty Pie? Ewwww. Go on over and help her out and you could win!
Fried okra .. looks gross, tastes yummy .. boiled okra .. looks like a drowned lizard, tastes like a lizard (no, I didn’t do a comparison)
It seems any dessert that looks too “pretty” is often icky. The messier the better.
I spent a summer in Italy…and all of their pastries are beautiful…almost too pretty to eat and maybe that should have been a signal to not eat them…they were always dry and bland.
German pastries, however, are awful looking…like a 4 year old made them…but geesh are they wonderful tasting.
Oh this is easy! I got the best one for looks awful, tastes great. I’m from Arkansas and we eat a BBQ dish called ‘ Big Nasty’. You take a bowl. In the bowl, the bottom 1/3 is chopped pork BBQ. The middle 1/3 is Baked Beans and the top 1/3 is cole slaw. Stir it up with a fork and enjoy. Hey, don’t Yuck My Yum!
Anything from a Crock Pot! Looks a mess, but usually tastes divine.
My wedding cake was a heavenly tower of satin and strawberry layers that wound up tasting like sawdust and sweetened berry dish soap. Yuck!
Thanks for the bump Home Ec! My dessert needs help: it tastes incredible, and while it’s not a beauty, it’s not homely. It’s the bad name that drags it down. Imagine a fantastically interesting, fairly attractive man stuck with the name Clarence.
“Dip”
2 cans Chili with no beans
1 package cream cheese
Tabasco sauce or jalapeños to taste
Nuke in the microwave til all melty, stir together. Serve with Frito’s Scoops.
Looks like baby poop – CAN’T.STOP.EATING
Hey, Tink: my Mom does that dip — but she adds cheese. It’s fab and doesn’t look like baby poop.
Remember ions ago when restaurants put their desert menu on the place mat? Most were photo opped and gorgeous. There was one BBQ joint that slapped a slice of pie on a plate, snapped a picture — and whether the topping slid off or not — printed it on the place mat. Everybody got a dessert — because they knew there was truth in advertising! And it was homemade! Mmm that was good pie!
Ha – I have something I made recently that fits the looks ugly tastes good category.
http://foodielovespicky.blogspot.com/2008/05/obscene-food-porn.html
As my dad used to say, “I’ll eat it, but I wouldn’t want to step in it.”
Considering I am not from the deep south, my biscuits and gravy were pretty damn good!
I make a pasta dish with caramelized onions (like, 3/4 of an onion), olive oil, parm. cheese, garlic. It looks kind of blah but tastes freaking amazing.