Monday, August 6, 2018

ATKT: Recipes We'd Never Try + #Giveaway




We're around our kitchen table again today, and I bet this is a conversation that anyone could join! Leave a comment to be entered in our fabulous book giveaway--read to the bottom to see... 

Lucy Burdette: Years ago, my hub and I went to France for a special vacation. A friend convinced me that we absolutely had to have dinner at a fancy restaurant in Vezelay. So we made reservations and packed fancy clothes and the date finally came. While we were waiting to be seated, we were given a drink and a young man came around with a tray of hors d’oeuvres. He spoke in French but with a heavy Italian accent that was difficult to understand. 


Fois Gras by Yzukerman

All we caught was “fermez la bouche.” Close your mouth. And of course we wouldn’t eat with our mouths open! John bit into his treat. Hot fois gras spurted all over his shirt, tie, and jacket. The waiter had been trying to explain that we should put the whole morsel in our mouths and then chew. The first course in our dinner there included a half round of cold fois gras covered in a coating of caramel. You had to crack the caramel open before eating the liver pate.

That’s a memory I will never lose, but I will also never attempt to prepare either of those dishes! What recipes would you never, ever make?


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Sheila Connolly: I've rarely met a dish that I didn't like, but that doesn't mean I'd cook all of them. I still haven't attempted cooking octopus or tripe. But the recipe that sticks in my memory is a dish made by one of my two roommates when we shared an apartment after college. We rotated cooking chores, and Jean (who went on to become a medical doctor) made us a dish with leg of lamb cooked in coffee. With cream. My other roommate and I quickly assigned her permanent dish-washing duty and took over the cooking. BTW, I last visited Vezelay with my mother and daughter a long time ago. Beautiful site, wonderful church. And I've been kicking myself ever since for not buying a box of cereal I saw in a small shop there--it was called "Plopsies."

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Leslie Budewitz: Lucy, I am howling with laughter -- forgive me! Love caramel, of course, and fois gras tastes great if you forget where it comes from, but together? Fermez la bouche, to use the more common meaning of the phrase! 

What I won't try:
- any recipe for fried chicken or ribs, because I cannot bring myself to eat meat on the bone, except cutthroat trout if we're in the wilderness because fresh-caught cutthroat are supremely wonderful and Mr. Right is probably close by to help with the deboning;
- a pie -- and you know I am of the People of the Pie -- with a crust made from Saltines or Ritz crackers. (Not that I don't enjoy Saltines. We'll talk some other time about how I know that you should never try to toast them. In my defense, I was 5.) 
- any recipe with more than a dozen ingredients because, like, why? My dear friend Sandra, a fabulous cook and the woman who first gave me a clue that good food was easily attainable, says as she gets older and even more experienced in the kitchen, her food is becoming simpler. C'est vrais, n'est-ce pas?


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Linda Wiken:   Every now and then I watch some baking shows on the Food Network, more to drool than for
inspiration. Today is was Bake with Anna Olson and she was making Creme Caramel. Now, I love CC, in fact it's my dessert choice when eating in a restaurant. Every time. So, i figure, why would I make it at home? Besides worrying that I'd ruin the custard in some way, making it myself would then take away some of the pleasure of having it as a treat.


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Daryl Wood Gerber: Oh, Lucy, I can picture that moment! Too funny. And a tad embarrassing.  LOL  I thought I would never
make a bûche noël (yule log) because the one I purchased from the bakery every year was so fabulous. But then I had to start eating gluten-free, and I couldn't stand that everyone else got to have the yule log and not me, so voilá. I made one for me. So many steps but worth every effort.  (BTW, I'm sharing that recipe in the next Cookbook Nook Mystery, which is Christmas-themed.) What I would never cook is anything with rhubarb or beets or eel or snails. Each of those foods make me cringe. Pfft!



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Peg Cochran: Mon Dieu, Lucy!  Quelle horreur!  Like Leslie, I find a long list of ingredients off-putting. I'm willing to try anything but with limited time to spend in the kitchen, I doubt I'll be tackling anything like beef Wellington any time soon! Although when I was younger I made a dish that required boning an entire chicken and then stuffing it. I suppose one thing I don't/wouldn't make is anything deep fried.  All that hot oil bubbling on the stove scares me! To my mind, it's an accident waiting to happen. I'll get my fried food fix when I eat out!


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Krista Davis:  I bet everyone who was there loves to tell that story, Lucy. Poor John!

I have to admit that when I have the time I love a long and complicated cake or torte recipe. Layers, fillings, frostings, all such fun! But not when you're in a hurry. One of my favorites is Dobos Torte, which has seven layers and a tricky caramel top. I don't bake it often, but it's so delicious!

I'm intimidated by a lot of Chinese and Indian recipes. I remember going to the home of a friend who came from India. She had giant glass pots of spices neatly stashed all around the soffit of her kitchen. I didn't know what most of them were, but the scent was heavenly. I think I'd rather eat at a really great Chinese or Indian restaurant and let the pros prepare the food.


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DENISE:




I'm one of those people who is willing to give most things a whirl, but I hate trying recipes that take a quarter teaspoon of some obscure spice that I know I'll never use again. It's just too wasteful for me to handle. 


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Cleo Coyle:  Neither I nor Marc (my husband and partner in culinary crime writing) fear lots of ingredients or complicated instructions or even hot, spurting fois gras (LOL, Lucy!). What gives us both pause, however, is a dish that will end you if not prepared correctly...the pufferfish! Not that it wouldn't make for the perfect killer meal in a murder mystery. :)

Courtesy wiki commons by Brocken Inaglory


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Giveaways:
 

Lucy Burdette's DEATH ON THE MENU 

Daryl Wood Gerber's A DEADLY ÉCLAIR

Sheila Connolly's MURDER AT THE MANSION

Peg Cochran's MURDER, SHE REPORTED



ADD A COMMENT TO BE
ENTERED IN THE DRAWING! 

What recipe would you never, ever try?


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Click to see.

71 comments:

  1. Denise, like you I resented buying a big jar of an obscure spice for just one dish. Then my favorite supermarket started selling spices in bulk. Problem solved, and the spices are always super fresh.

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  2. As a vegetarian there are many recipes I wouldn't try simply because I don't eat and I don't like to handle meat or anything animal-based. But as far as not trying something because I think it would fail, I'm too intimidated to attempt a souffle. I just know it wouldn't rise! mbradeen [at] yahoo [dot] com

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    1. Marla, the problem isn't the rising but the staying risen! Although I subscribe to the theory that they are supposed to fall -- after all, that's what Julia said!

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    2. Well, if it's good enough for Julia, it should be good enough for us!

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  3. It would be any recipe containing liver or a recipe that is complicated or requires buying a special spice or ingredient. Dbahn@iw.net

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  4. Anything with dark meat--I know it is so silly, but I hate dark meat. I hate to even look at it!
    Wendy Clark
    clarksrfun at gmail dot com

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  5. Anything involving tongue, not that there are a lot of recipes calling for that these days but I remember my mom making it when I was a kid ---yuck!

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    1. When my husband and I were dating, his father invited us over for dinner. Hubby's stepmother was out of town so his father did the cooking. Imagine hubby's horror when he saw his father had made tongue for dinner! Fortunately, I'm a brave eater and actually enjoyed it although I'm in no rush to have it again.

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  6. I hate to follow a recipe. It's the same when I crochet. I refuse to follow the pattern! And don't get me started about the Garmin! I love making my mom's fried chicken. Tiggerbemy1@gmail.com

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  7. I adore cooking, it shows love! However, there are some sea creatures I would never cook nor eat! I also draw the line at cooking the internal organs of animals! There are way too many other more pleasant things to cook!
    debprice60@gmail.com

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  8. I love baking. Cooking, not so much. Baking seems to bring out the best in me.

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  9. I find all recipes so exciting and love to try all but I admit I am not a meat person much. So strange meat or parts of them I draw the line. However I love these books for all the fun recipes.
    lhardinjh@gmail.com

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  10. Quick and easy with minimal ingredients - my favorites. Baking - I'll do complicated for the spousal unit. And I'll eat almost anything as long as I don't know what it is - long story behind that statement.

    pjcoldren[at]tm.net

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  11. I would never try to make steak tartare, although I'm sure the recipe is simple -- ground meat and a raw egg with a splash of worchestershire. No thanks! bobandcelia@sbcgobal.net

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    1. I admit I used to take little tastes of raw meatloaf while I was mixing it with my hands as a child. I would imagine that would taste pretty similar, though I'd be afraid to eat raw meat & egg these days.

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  12. I love to cook/bake. I've always heard the saying "never say never" and I guess that holds true with working in the kitchen as well. As we mature and our taste buds open up to adventure, we eat things that we once won't.

    Once upon a time I would have told you I'd not fix any sort of "inards" meaning organ meat. Then I met my husband who was raised on it. Although I fix it for him and he says it's delicious, there are some that I just still can't eat - and yes I've tried it. I also found out that beef heart if cooked right takes a whole lot like round stead.

    Once I saw a cake on the cover of a nationally known magazine and it sounded delicious but expensive. I saved the recipe/magazine for a special occasion to make it. With my Mom's birthday approaching, I started buying up all the fruit, nuts and ingredients to make this wonderful cake. It came out looking fantastic, but imagine my surprise when we tasted it and it was awful. In the next months, issue way back on a back page, they admitted that the recipe was wrong and there was entirely too much flour and one ingredient had been left out. One would have thought that a cover recipe would have been checked and reproof read a zillion times. From that experience, I usually won't bake something with a lot of expensive ingredients that isn't a tried and true recipe referred to my by someone. Plus with years of experience now I often tell if a recipe sounds "off" and adjust to my own tastes.

    Two things I just can't bring myself to cook or eat are raw oysters 0 I know no cooking but still :( - and snails. With the never say never idea I was going to try the oyster bit when hubby laughingly speaks up and says why buy a dozen when you can buy one, tie a string to it and yank it up and down. For some reason, I just can't get over that idea. He eats them - LOTS of them - when we go out and that's fine with me. I just don't want any part of it. The snails just make me think of when we were kids living in California where some sort of snails were everywhere. We use to put salt on the and watch them foam up and disappear. I know cruel but geeze we were kids looking for something to do. So guess it's just a mind thing there.

    So, here I am with my "never say never" and game to try just about anything - but oysters and snails. :)

    Thank you for this fabulous chance!
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  13. While I love The Great British Baking Show, I would never be good enough to try any of their recipes. ckmbeg (at) gmail (dot) com

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  14. I like steak and kidney pie but wouldn’t want to deal with the kidneys.
    sgiden at verizon(.)net

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  15. Sometimes you have to be really brave!!

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  16. Anything that requires an art degree to present it. I cook for the taste, not the look. Nice simple presentation works for me. And I usually tend to stay away from recipes (like Chinese) that require a lot of ingredients I will only use once, have a million steps, and don't taste as good when I'm done as the local takeout. Plus I can get more variety there with less work! Thanks for the giveaway, great!
    sallycootie(at)gmail(dot)com

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  17. Peg, too funny -- we made Beef Wellington last winter and it wasn't hard at all. I wonder if we found a simplified recipe, b/c the list of ingredients wasn't too long. Mr. Right remembered his mother making it and wanted to give it a whirl -- it turned out well, but the photos didn't so I won't be sharing it here!

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  18. I enjoy cooking but anything complex is too much for my simple tastes and no intricate baking either. Thanks for this lovely feature and giveaway. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  19. I saw a recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I'm not a big pumpkin lover but I'll eat a few pumpkin goodies, but the combination of pumpkin and chocolate chips just doesn't sound appetizing.
    mlduffer(at)att(dot)net

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    1. I've had pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and really liked them. You might like them too, Mary!

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  20. Nothing fancy, no meat but chicken and fish is great. Although I do not bake at all I would try to make a pie for once.elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  21. My Grandmother loved eel. I remember taking her out in the boat to catch them and then watch her making them. Once I did try a piece, been there, done that, never again. I also like liver but not if I have to watch the actual cooking, so no eel or liver. I also never intend to try puffer fish, cooking or eating...

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    1. I can't imagine eating eel. They're just so creepy to look at. ~ Daryl

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  22. I'm gluten free and thought I would try baking my own bread. I went to the library and got a couple of gluten free books and when I saw all the special ingredients necessary I changed my mind. Now I just pay $5 for a loaf of bread. ��

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    1. Yeah, you have to invest in all those products. It's not expensive to make bread once you have these things in your cupboard. I do and I love freshly made gluten-free bread. ~ Daryl

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  23. Tripe and calves brains! When my father made them the rest of us would find something to do in another part of the house!

    My husband and I were at a special dinner where everyone was served chicken cordon blu. All of us in formal dress and chicken juices squirting all over!

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  24. patcliver@comcast.netAugust 6, 2018 at 11:17 AM

    I'm not much for cooking anymore just for me. Sometimes easier just to go out and get a quick meal...

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  25. I won’t try calf or lamb fries. They just don’t sound appetizing.

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  26. I don't like to try anything exotic. doward1952(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  27. You guys crack me up, lol. I do not do anything fried in lots of oil, danger, danger! I am not a fan of anything that really has to be made in a skillet, except eggs and a good steak when it cant go on the grill. I really will not attempt a recipe that has a ton of ingredients either. And for some reason the thought of baking with yeast is scary, lol. kayt18 (at) comcast (dot) net

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  28. I won't attempt a recipe with too many spices, especially ones I know nothing about. No liver or organ meats, thank you. No lima beans. I tried eel once, in Spain. Meh. I like deep-fried foods but I'm not going to make them. Back in my college years I tried to fry chicken. It looked really nice but was as raw as could be inside!
    patdupuy@yahoo.com

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  29. I would rather fix simple enjoyable meals that you can spend a short amount of time on. I font like to clean so forget the deep fried mess. My kids say if I have a fridge, microwave & running water I am good. I can go out to eat cheaper than I can cook a lot of things. Funny thing is I am a really good cook but I have to be in the mood to do it. daw655(at)hotmail(com)

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  30. I am with Cleo. Deadly ingredients have no appeal, although my husband thought any ingredient in my hands could be deadly. Not a cook but love that others are.

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  31. I am gluten free, so recipes for homemade bread, rolls, etc. are time consuming with substituting flours, etc. I have tried them, but they do not always turn out! I also agree that unique spices that you only need a bit of are a turn off in a recipe. Thanks for a chance to win! ljbonkoski @yahoo.com

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  32. Offal, I would never cook or eat that!
    sharonquilts@yahoo.com

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  33. I look at a recipe and, if there are a lot of ingredients and/or steps, I won't make it. The simpler the better for me. My son will say make this and give me 3-4 steps and ingredients to use and that's as complicated as I want to do. I don't like fancy things in restaurants either.
    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

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  34. I would never try to make an omelette. It looks easy, but flipping food and me do not turn out well.
    browninggloria(at) hotmail(dot) com

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  35. Fun topic. Enjoying all these comments!

    ~ Cleo

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  36. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  37. oops, forgot bugs freaked me out and forgot my email!! I think any recipe with brains (though I did unknowingly eat sweetbread) tops my list as well as recipes with sort of bug!sharonrizzo@hotmail.com

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  38. Not much of a cook, but would definitely not try liver or any other organ meats. Or bugs. I’m pretty simple, occasionally if we go out I might try something a little different, but wouldn’t want to cook it! Thanks for the chance.

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  39. What a fun blog today! I don't do liver & my motto is offal is awful, yech. Nowadays I go for less complicated dishes, and never would want to spend the time nor money for even a beautiful dish like the Timpano in the Stanley Tucci movie "Big Night". Eels are too creepy but I've had octopus and it's good if tenderized and not overdone, just a lot of work. I prefer cooking savory dishes over baking but I'm still giving new recipes a whirl occasionally. Never say never, I guess. lola777_22 at hotmail dot com

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  40. I'm impatient, so I pass on recipes that have long prep &/or cook times. Plus there's probably a restaurant reasonably close that offers the dish.
    turtle6422(at)gmail(dot)com

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  41. For email, I just can’t make or try lamb.😊

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  42. Donamaekutska7@gmail.com I forgot it before. Lamb

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  43. Liver - just don't like the taste.

    jtcgc at yahoo dot com

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  44. There is an Italian Easter Bread made in the shape of a dove that I enjoyed on holiday. However I would never try to make it. It is said to be made in a series of relatively easy steps but over an 18 hour period. I just can't make that kind of commitment to a recipe.
    little lamb lst at yahoo dot com

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  45. LOL! What adventures. I admit, I'm more about watching than actually cooking, But I am game to try most things...knowing I probably won't ever do them. I don't like fish, so I'm apt never to cook it. But one thing I don't think I'd ever try to make is baked Alaska! I'd love to try it one day...but doubt I'd ever make it!

    cozyupwithkathy @ gmail dot com

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  46. I hate beets and liver and anything really spicy. I won't eat Octopus or snails and that's after trying the Octopus. I found out the British and I eat the same way when I was in Devon...
    Marilyn ewatvess@yahoo.com

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  47. There are a lot of things that I eat out that I won't cook at home because I'm afraid I won't cook it right, like lobster and prime rib. When I do cook, I tend to make stuff I'm comfortable making.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

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  48. Cleo, I'm with you about not cooking anything that could kill you if not prepared perfectly! I also don't think I could put a live lobster into boiling water. And I've helped make spanakopita, but it's so tedious and the phyllo dough is so delicate, I wouldn't attempt to make it on my own. Though it's so tasty!

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  49. Great post! Loved the comments as well. For the most part I prefer simple recipes. Though I do like to tweak them some. But tongue, octopus, snails, stuff like that? No. Della at deepotter (at) peoplepc (dot) com

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  50. Anything with organ meat, seafood, or wild game.
    idonailz@gmail.com

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  51. I would never try tripe, any kind of animal brains or tongue, or any organ meat. cking78503(at)aol(dot)com

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  52. I would not try any recipe that was complicated or contain seafood, snails, organ meat, or anything I didn't like.
    myrifraf (at) gmail (dot) com

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  53. No snails, liver, brains, tongue, and any vegetable cooked to mush.

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  54. I learned not to say "never." However, I think it is very unlikely that I will cook any recipes with animal parts other than the meat itself, insects, snails, octopus, mussels, clams, recipes that are extremely complicated or call for exotic ingredients. I guess the list goes on and on.
    Cathi_7@yahoo.com

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  55. Blood pudding or liver. Scoobyspenny@gmail.com

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  56. I won't cook or bake anything with Lima beans or liver.
    Sand1948@gmail.com

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  57. Nothing with Beef as I am not a fan of the meat.

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  58. I couldn't make anything with rabbit. I'm not opposed to eating it but I could never do it myself.

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  59. It's just me now so I cook as little as possible. Deli and takeout - with leftovers - are my favorites "to fix!" Liver - never.
    kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com

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  60. Anything that has shrimp or salmon. Liver, yuck. Just the smell of these make me sick. Thank you for the chance at this giveaway. pgenest57(at)aol(dot)com

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  61. Great post. Thanks for the chance. kckendler at gmail dot com

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  62. Spare ribs and sauerkraut. The only meal my mom would make that I refused to eat!! I I love liver and onions so that ssays something!!!
    Oneponychick66@hotmail.com

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  63. Since my retirement I have been fixing different dishes. I think I would have a hard time cooking fish that I've never heard. lsum1258 at aol dot com. Thanks for the opportunity.

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  64. Mine would be any recipe with Anchovies. My Daddy used to love them on Pizza.
    Mary from Pittsburgh, Pa
    ladylotion@msn

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