Nothing too crazy destroyed by in-laws but definitely some weird idiosyncrasies. We cook 2-3 meals at home every day and don't do too many disposable dishes so there aren't many days that the dishwasher isn't running. Because of this, I end up figuring out ways to avoid creating extra dishes. My MIL came over for dinner once and offered to make guacamole. She is one that adds way too much crap to the guac for me but I get that everyone has their own ideas about what belongs in guac. I think she used 5 bowls before mixing everything together in a large bowl to serve. Cilantro, tomato, onion, lime juice, and even halved avocados were placed in separate bowls. She even mashed the avocado on a plate before putting everything in the main bowl together. I was blown away with how much of a production she made out of something that would have only dirtied a cutting board and one bowl had I made it!

My wife's stepmom is a "extra salt on everything" kinda gal. I've seen her salt pizza hut pizza before and she will dump what seems like half a shaker of salt on any restaurant dish placed before her, before even tasting it. I've only ever seen her watch HGTV or food network but unfortunately her cooking skills don't reflect her viewing habits. Her meals are all basically pre-prepared ingredients that she over seasons with pre-mixed spices. Think pigs in a blanket coated in some central market spice blend to the point they are about equal parts spice to bread. One of her other favorites is storebought homemade pizza. Pre-made crust (Boboli brand...you don't want to be around if she cant find her rubbery ass boboli brand crust) pre-made pizza sauce with copious amounts of oregano and red pepper added, pre-shredded cheese, and shelf stable pepperoni. You'd think she studied in Italy for months the way she describes her basic white girl pizza! She also raves about her scrambled eggs but she overcooks the hell out of them, and there is so much onion powder and pepper in them that they take on a brown mustard hue. I've learned to hydrate heavily, before and after meals at their place due to the increased sodium intake that's guaranteed!

Ahh.. I feel better now! Cathartic thread indeed!

My MIL always microwaves steak at my house because I will NOT cook a steak beyond medium under any circumstances. We raise our own beef, I've got so many hours in feeding and caring for these animals, I can't do that to the beautiful steaks that we get back from the processor.

My FIL thinks it's the funniest stuff he's ever seen, usually 2-3 bourbons deep by the time the food is ready.

I cook 3 rare steaks (FIL, my 15 year old son, and myself) 1 Medium rare (wife) and 2 medium (12 year old son and one for my MIL to Microwave)

My BIL's wife likes a well done steak, but when she eats medium steak at our house she raves and tells us we should open a steakhouse because it's the best steak she's ever had.

Buzzy said:

---

Honestly, that is kind of insulting. She's saying you don't cook it 'right' so she has to 'fix' it. I would welcome her to not eat the next time if your cooking isn't 'right' for her taste. You do all the hard work and she insults you? No.

---

At the same time, he's kind of being a stubborn ass by not cooking her steak the way she likes it. Everyone else gets their steak cooked the way they like it except for his mother-in-law. I agree, it's a ruined steak. But usually people make an effort to accommodate their guests' preferences.

I didn't say anything about preparing another protein. I said, cook her steak to the temperature that she likes. If it was any other guest in your home, you would probably prepare it the way they like. As I said, I consider anything past medium ruined. I agree with you that she's ruining a steak. But she's the one eating it, so why do you care how she wants it? Stop being stubborn and start being a good host.

MIL added Dave's insanity sauce to a meatloaf to give it some zip and tried to kill my 2 year old by feeding him some, I have never seen someone turn that red.

GoAgs92 said:

---

MIL added Dave's insanity sauce to a meatloaf to give it some zip and tried to kill my 2 year old by feeding him some, I have never seen someone turn that red.

---

Sounds like she knows how to party.

My FIL managed to raise two girls who hated his cooking so bad that they taught themselves how to make edible food. My wife tells me horror stories of meatloaf - onion, 75/25 ground beef, ketchup, and that's it, cooked until, in her dad's words "everything is all congealed together".

Or soup with boiled chicken and four cans of random vegetables. Or canned vegetables with every meal. Or spaghetti: a can of some Prego, unseasoned ground beef, and mix it in with the noodles at least thirty minutes before dinner.

Don't forget to use one damp sponge to clean everything from cutting boards to counters to the sink!

Buzzy said:

---

Honestly, that is kind of insulting. She's saying you don't cook it 'right' so she has to 'fix' it. I would welcome her to not eat the next time if your cooking isn't 'right' for her taste. You do all the hard work and she insults you? No.

---

It's not insulting at all.

Every restaurant you'll go to and order a steak anywhere in the world, what's the one question you are asked? If I make steaks for guests, I always ask the same thing and, since the poster has indicated he differentiates doneness amongst everybody else, HE at minimum is aware there's not just one way to cook a steak and takes notes of preferences.

He's being a bit of an insulting ass for giving every person their preference except for one guest.

Well done steak is gross… but being a jackass to a single guest is probably grosser.

Mom and MIL are from a generation that was apparently trained too thoroughly in food safety rules. Any meat they cook is way past well done. They are terrified of any hint of pinkness.

rilloaggie said:

---

My wife's stepmom is a "extra salt on everything" kinda gal. I've seen her salt pizza hut pizza before and she will dump what seems like half a shaker of salt on any restaurant dish placed before her, before even tasting it. I've only ever seen her watch HGTV or food network but unfortunately her cooking skills don't reflect her viewing habits. Her meals are all basically pre-prepared ingredients that she over seasons with pre-mixed spices. Think pigs in a blanket coated in some central market spice blend to the point they are about equal parts spice to bread. One of her other favorites is storebought homemade pizza. Pre-made crust (Boboli brand...you don't want to be around if she cant find her rubbery ass boboli brand crust) pre-made pizza sauce with copious amounts of oregano and red pepper added, pre-shredded cheese, and shelf stable pepperoni. You'd think she studied in Italy for months the way she describes her basic white girl pizza! She also raves about her scrambled eggs but she overcooks the hell out of them, and there is so much onion powder and pepper in them that they take on a brown mustard hue. I've learned to hydrate heavily, before and after meals at their place due to the increased sodium intake that's guaranteed!

---

Is she a long time smoker?

jtp01 said:

---

My MIL always microwaves steak at my house because I will NOT cook a steak beyond medium under any circumstances. We raise our own beef, I've got so many hours in feeding and caring for these animals, I can't do that to the beautiful steaks that we get back from the processor.

My FIL thinks it's the funniest stuff he's ever seen, usually 2-3 bourbons deep by the time the food is ready.

I cook 3 rare steaks (FIL, my 15 year old son, and myself) 1 Medium rare (wife) and 2 medium (12 year old son and one for my MIL to Microwave)

My BIL's wife likes a well done steak, but when she eats medium steak at our house she raves and tells us we should open a steakhouse because it's the best steak she's ever had.

---

I gave up on that fight a long time ago. I've got a few that do well done and I just do it. I won't F up a big cut like a rib roast for them, I'll just cut them off a slab before or cook 2. And even the one I cook more I still stop at medium then pan fry in butter to give them their doneness.

My oldest son has gotten into cooking and really likes cooking steaks. He watched a bunch of youtube videos and I let him go from start (picking out the steaks) to finish. We do cast iron and he likes them bloody. I'm a proud dad.

He wants to try to sous vide next.

Ogre09 said:

---

Mom and MIL are from a generation that was apparently trained too thoroughly in food safety rules. Any meat they cook is way past well done. They are terrified of any hint of pinkness.

---

My parents were this way as well, so beef, pork and chicken were way overcooked by today's standards. But in some fairness to them the food safety standards at the time (50s-60s) were not what they are now. And don't even get me started on canned asparagus and spinach....

DubFalls said:

---

Milwaukees Best Light said:

---

DubFalls said:

---

I've had a Thanksgiving turkey cooked in pan with 2 inches of water for 90 minutes then microwaved to finish it out to temperature.

---

Wow! That is a big microwave or a small turkey. Either way, I am impressed by this ingenuity.

How bad was it? Was the texture funky?

---

They cut pieces of the breast off and then microwaved it.

It was like eating caulk that had set. Bouncy, yet flavorless

---

combat wombat said:

---

Buzzy said:

---

Honestly, that is kind of insulting. She's saying you don't cook it 'right' so she has to 'fix' it. I would welcome her to not eat the next time if your cooking isn't 'right' for her taste. You do all the hard work and she insults you? No.

---

At the same time, he's kind of being a stubborn ass by not cooking her steak the way she likes it. Everyone else gets their steak cooked the way they like it except for his mother-in-law. I agree, it's a ruined steak. But usually people make an effort to accommodate their guests' preferences.

---

My wife has to hide anything nice - tea towels, good knives, etc. FIL thinks a good chef knife is for a crowbar. MIL thinks a nice tea towel is good to wipe up spilled red chile

jwoodmd said:

---

My wife has to hide anything nice - tea towels, good knives, etc. FIL thinks a good chef knife is for a crowbar. MIL thinks a nice tea towel is good to wipe up spilled red chile

---

My son uses my nice kitchen towels to clean up all sorts of messes - avocado, spaghetti sauce, chili, etc. All of them ruined. I guess I should be happy he's cleaning his messes. I've asked him to use paper towels to clean up spills.

jwoodmd said:

---

My wife has to hide anything nice - tea towels, good knives, etc. FIL thinks a good chef knife is for a crowbar. MIL thinks a nice tea towel is good to wipe up spilled red chile

---

I've never understood decorative towels. It's a towel. It's for cleaning and drying. Let it fulfill its purpose. If it gets too dirty, toss it and get a new one.

But obviously I respect other people's possessions and how they want them to be treated, whether I understand the reasoning or not.

Ogre09 said:

---

jwoodmd said:

---

My wife has to hide anything nice - tea towels, good knives, etc. FIL thinks a good chef knife is for a crowbar. MIL thinks a nice tea towel is good to wipe up spilled red chile

---

I've never understood decorative towels. It's a towel. It's for cleaning and drying. Let it fulfill its purpose. If it gets too dirty, toss it and get a new one.

But obviously I respect other people's possessions and how they want them to be treated, whether I understand the reasoning or not.

---

These aren't decorative or embroidered towels. But, they are not rags. You ever see how stained something is from red chile? Hell, red chili is a dye.

Sister in law only has 2 food groups: burgers or chicken strips. If we go out to eat as a family, the restaurant must serve one of those, or we have to go somewhere that does. She has convinced her own kids those are the only things worth eating as well and on numerous occasions will tell
one of them "you won't like it" anytime they get the interest to branch out.

She realizes that people outside of her own family don't eat like her, but since she never makes anything else, she burns or somehow ruins anything she tries to cook for someone else that can't just be popped in the oven or microwave. Holiday visits are always a joy.

Cromagnum said:

---

Sister in law only has 2 food groups: burgers or chicken strips. If we go out to eat as a family, the restaurant must serve one of those, or we have to go somewhere that does. She has convinced her own kids those are the only things worth eating as well and on numerous occasions will tell
one of them "you won't like it" anytime they get the interest to branch out.

She realizes that people outside of her own family don't eat like her, but since she never makes anything else, she burns or somehow ruins anything she tries to cook for someone else that can't just be popped in the oven or microwave. Holiday visits are always a joy.

---

I flippin' hate when someone sabotages my kids' expansion of their palate because he or she doesn't like what they are trying. Kids are impressionable. If you say "you won't like the texture" one of my kids will not like the bite because of the texture. Thanks a lot, mom.

Installed a brand new SS cook top - GE Cafe series. Not high end, but pretty nice cook top. Not too long after, the mother in law is visiting and cleans some of the more baked on oil residue with steel wool. Pretty much ruined it aesthetically. I wasn't around when this happened.

combat wombat said:

---

Buzzy said:

---

Honestly, that is kind of insulting. She's saying you don't cook it 'right' so she has to 'fix' it. I would welcome her to not eat the next time if your cooking isn't 'right' for her taste. You do all the hard work and she insults you? No.

---

At the same time, he's kind of being a stubborn ass by not cooking her steak the way she likes it. Everyone else gets their steak cooked the way they like it except for his mother-in-law. I agree, it's a ruined steak. But usually people make an effort to accommodate their guests' preferences.

---

This.

I get that anything past medium-rare (for me) and you might as well just grind it up and make a Salisbury or chopped steak out of it. But I'm not eating it, and I'd be pissed (well, aggravated I guess) if I went to somebody's house and they asked me how I like my steak but decided rare/med rare is wrong and cooked it well done because that is how they think it should be consumed.

Keep cheap cuts of steak for her so when she wants it well done its not a big deal and you aren't ruining a quality cut. That is what sirloins are great for. And people that want steak well done are also the same people that don't know the difference between cuts of meat.

As far as "fixing" it - if you went to a high end steakhouse and ordered rare and it came out medium - you would send it back without a thought, because you ordered rare and expect rare. No different in this application, even if her taste is horrible.

I used to handwash more stuff til I had kids. Now I only handwash what i have to.