what is the most difficult dish you make regularly?
 

I'm not talking about that time you tried to sous-vide a chicken breast. I'm talking about the dishes that you have made more than once or twice and they're a royal PITA and quite easy to screw up.

What's that dish for you?

Personally I find sole meunière to be quite tricky. Very easy to overcook. But we both love it!

Shrimp risotto. It's a real pain to de-vein and peel the shrimp and then boil the shells to make shrimp stock, not to mention the constant stirring of the risotto.

We had a party a couple of weeks ago and my favorite patissier, who used to make us mini pastries, left town. We had to make our own desserts. There is this raspberry cookie that is time consuming. You have to make a shortbread crust and then bake it, let it cool, spread it with raspberry jam and then cover it with a concoction of beaten eggs, brown sugar, pecans and coconut, then return it to the oven and bake it until it is firm. Once cool, then you have to cut it with a thin bladed knife or it will crack to pieces. It's time consuming and delicate, but oh so good. Our guests from Paris loved them! :)

Risotto, that's a good one. I've basically given up. It's too hard. I screw it up each time. :)

Kung Pao Chicken. I have a recipe that requires more ingredients than typical and a lot of stirring to get the sauce just right.

There are so many variables with risotto.

- the type of hob (gas, induction etc)
- the size of the pan you are making the risotto in
- the temperature of the stock
- the type of risotto rice

When I moved house and bought a new set of analon pans, it took a few weeks to adjust my recipe to the new place.

Others:

- ravioli from scratch can be tricky. It needs a light touch and a patience so its every other Sunday for me

- beef wellington

- blanquette de veau

While not overly technical, for sheer time and labor,

Pork Tamales.

I haven't tried it, but the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated has a "virtually stir-free risotto" recipe that looked intriguing. Usually, I've found their recipes pretty spot on for what they advertise.

Of course some might consider this heresy...

I'm a big believer in Cook's Illustrated. I'll check it out. ^

(By the way, it pisses me off that print subscribers, like myself, have to pay extra for the website access :mad:).

My favorite cooking magazine.

To answer your OP, I'd say a chicken dish (whose name eludes me ATM) wherein there is pounding, rolling, dicing, refrigerating, baking, and goat cheese.

Penne Rustica.

(Recipe from Macaroni Grill).

- Takes a couple of hours.
- Way too may pots, pans and dishes needed...

But man oh man, is that dish good! :cool:

great thread!
 

I frequently have a hard time cooking halibut to the proper doneness. It seems there is a razor-thin margin between nicely cooked and tough and overcooked.

Homemade pasta and I are not friends- I think I always overwork it, and it has the texture of a rubber band.

Lentils are also a thorn in my side. Too often I wind up with a lot of unabsorbed liquid and a pot full of mush.

I usually do ok with risotto, but it is such a pain in the butt that I've all but abandoned it in favor of paella, which is almost impossible to screw up and really easy to make.

There are so many pasta recipes out there. I found however, that the ones that work best are written by people from the same country as you are in. It's not xenophobia, but a matter of climate. Aside from different types of flour having different properties, the temperature and humidity can make a huge difference to any dough.

Risotto - try using a big frying pan and a lower temperature

Halibut, try less heat. Lentils, try less water and more heat - also, remember
that they cook in well under an hour.

Maybe not the most difficult, but the most time consuming and something I don't make regularly (so I guess could be considered not on topic) but beef stew is on the list for me. I takes two days to braise some short ribs of beef with a rest overnight, some trimming time, and the stew actually goes pretty quick. It's just a little tough timing your day so you're home when the ribs are done.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/r...ipe/index.html

this recipe? it doesnt seem that bad, but maybe im missing something. i was thinking about making it minus an ingredient or two.