WWYD: MIL just wants a salad...again... - Page 4

[HelloKitty]

Originally Posted by MommyHawk

this is what my answer was last year. A kick butt salad, probably the best gourmet salad you could eat, complete with endive, fennel, strawberries, pine nuts...it was fantastic...and NO ONE TOUCHED IT!!! : I'm sure that's why she STRESSED over the phone to just bring a SIMPLE salad...nothing fancy...maybe that's where the bag salad thing comes into play. ...and then today she called and said that everyone can bring a desert but me...

Ouch. Well clearly she just has no taste then. My in-laws don't either - anything slightly out of their comfort zone and they won't touch it (the comfort zone being lots of crap with chemicals and no nutrition). I would bring the simple salad plus a great desert and when you arrive say, "I know you only asked for salad but I really wanted to make this too so here you are!"

Originally Posted by stellimamo

Oh it's definitly a potluck situation. If noone else brought food all we would have is the host's turkey and rolls, not much of a Thanksgiving dinner. :

Oh. Well never mind then.

[Melda]

I say bring the stupid salad and a nice dish. Maybe next year she will change her mind. My mom insisted on having my sister bring salad every year until i boycotted it because NOBODY eats SALAD On CHIRTMAS DAY! Now mind you I have Chtristmas dinner here at my house.

[KaraBoo]

Another vote for bringing what she asked for, plus a bonus dish you think everyone will like.

[MindfulBirth]

I say eff up the salad big time (throw the salad bag in the freezer for a day) - THEN see if she asks you to bring salad next year.

I would then make a big show of *choking* down every bite of her food - with lots of water in between. Only eat a quarter of what is on your plate. Twenty minutes later, when everyone is clearing the dishes, very loudly exclaim how hungry you are and that you are going to call for Chinese.

Honestly, why spend such a lovely holiday with such toxic people? The best Christmas dinner I ever had was at Denny's with my friends one year when I was away from my family.

[sunnmama]

Originally Posted by homewithtwinsmama

"Mom, its someone else's turn to do the salad. I have been asked to bring it year after year and frankly I love to cook and salad is a poor use of my talents. Now what can I COOK that you would like to have or shall I just surprise you?"

.

Perfect.

If I had something in mind that I would want to bring, I might add "It just isn't Christmas to me without _______. I'd love to bring that!"

[Yooper]

I would just bring a crappy salad and leave it alone. Why waste your time and good ingredients if it is not appreciated?

I do a lot of cooking as does my SIL. We never have "potlucks" since we come from far away in all different directions. Typically, whoever is hosting does all of the meal planning although we usually all chip in to help cook. SIL and our family likes nice nice food while everyone else leans more towards comfort food. It is not "bad" just not as flavorful or interesting as what we typically like to eat. And usually not as healthy. What is funny is that SIL or I *will* bring some really nice homemade cookies (or something) that are vegan made with really nice chocolate and oils, etc...... They cost a fortune to make. And we will hide them as our own personal stash to share just with each other. No one else sees the difference between the one's we make and the can-o-cookie from the store. People will pop them like chex mix having no idea how fancy and good they really are. So we hoard them And then just wait to be the hosts to force everyone to eat "crazy" things like whole wheat pasta or kale

[Marcee]

I would bring the salad plus another dish. I mean it is food. How can people get angry if you are bringing more yummy food!



And after reading what you put in last years salad, I would like to invite you to make your "fancy" salad to my house for Christmas...lol...YUMMY!

[Tofu the Geek]

Originally Posted by MommyHawk

this is what my answer was last year. A kick butt salad, probably the best gourmet salad you could eat, complete with endive, fennel, strawberries, pine nuts...it was fantastic...and NO ONE TOUCHED IT!!! : I'm sure that's why she STRESSED over the phone to just bring a SIMPLE salad...nothing fancy...maybe that's where the bag salad thing comes into play.

This explains it, they simply eat too boring and too processed to enjoy real food. Anything you do bring, outside of the bagged salad, will be ignored by them anyway.

Sooooo.....I'd bring the bagged salad, and I'd also bring a fabulous salad (like you did last year), and then I'd bring another great dish, AND I'd bring a yummy dessert. Then, I wouldn't take a speck of their boxed, preservative crap onto my plate, and only eat my great food (and hope DH and the kids did the same!). That way, my food gets eaten AND I don't have to eat crap for the night.

And I can sooo relate to this. I NEVER get asked to bring anything to MIL's meals, except for this year when they asked me to bring a salad. One family member always scoops out a spaghetti squash, mixes it with Kraft Italian dressing, and throws it in the microwave to cook and calls THAT mess a dish. Ugh. Only difference is, I hate to cook so LOVE that they don't ask to me bring anything. And now this year I have to go to the effort of making a salad! Can you pick up a bag for me whiling your picking up your bag salad? :

[LionTigerBear]

Originally Posted by TechnoGranola

One family member always scoops out a spaghetti squash, mixes it with Kraft Italian dressing, and throws it in the microwave to cook and calls THAT mess a dish. Ugh.

[HelloKitty]

Originally Posted by TechnoGranola

I hate to cook so LOVE that they don't ask to me bring anything. And now this year I have to the effort of making a salad! Can you pick up a bag for me whiling your picking up your bag salad? :

My SIL hates to cook and really never does so everytime she asks what she should bring I tell her nothing but she insists so I tell her to just bring a salad. Well one time she said to me, "Why do you always ask me to bring a salad - I can bring other things you know!" So I said, "Well I know you don't like to cook so I figured I would make it easy on you and we always need salad." She was like, "Well you're right I don't like to cook. OK salad it is."

[mnnice]

I feel you pain. We always get asked to bring easy stuff because we come from so far away (maybe it's because they don't like my cooking).

Holidays with my IL drive me crazy.

I admit, I'm a food snob. But it's a holiday cook some real cranberries, whip some really cream, bake a sweet potato, and make some real stuffing. None of these things are hard people. Canned cranberries, Kool Whip, canned sweet potato with marshmellows and Stove Top don't do it for me.

I feel like I need to detox afterward (maybe with Yooper's vegan chocolate

[happyhippiemama]

I offered to take a dish to the IL's house this year for Turkey Day. They've never asked me to bring anything to any gathering, and pretty much hate me, so I thought I'd suck it up and be a grown-up and offer to contribute so they couldn't accuse me of being a slacker.

I brought a super delish homemade greenbean casserole (that I got from another MDC momma!!) that's rich a creamy with babybella mushrooms.... .... and homemade onion straws on top....

anyway, they all tasted it, but didn't say a word. DP DD and I ate the hell out of it. along with really dry turkey, dressing from a box, boiled potatoes.... you get the idea.

on the way home, DP says to me, "did you realize that our green beans were the only thing with any flavor on the whole table?"

um, yes, dear, that's why I always look at you like you're crazy when you rave about what a good cook your mom is.

it took him actually comPARing how we cook side by side to figure out how awesome I am. :

In summary. Take a bagged salad. And whatever else YOU want to eat, so you don't have to eat their crap.

Have fun!!

[MomInFlux]

Originally Posted by honolula

I would most certainly NOT bring a fancy salad, not after she ignored last year's heart-to-heart! No way! I'd buy generic brand salad-in-a-bag. Single bag. I'd put it on MIL's counter, say "Here's the salad," and never look at it, again. My other dish would be Fab-u-lous!!!!!

Yeah. Why bust your butt on a fabulous salad that nobody wants anyway? Bring the damn bagged salad and let people eat it (or not!) with bottled dressing and enjoy your other fabulous dish (whatever it is!).

[mamalisa]

Originally Posted by mnnice

I feel you pain. We always get asked to bring easy stuff because we come from so far away (maybe it's because they don't like my cooking).

Holidays with my IL drive me crazy.

I admit, I'm a food snob. But it's a holiday cook some real cranberries, whip some really cream, bake a sweet potato, and make some real stuffing. None of these things are hard people. Canned cranberries, Kool Whip, canned sweet potato with marshmellows and Stove Top don't do it for me.

I feel like I need to detox afterward (maybe with Yooper's vegan chocolate

One of my favorite MIL moments was the Christmas right after dd was born. My dad and I cook, the inlaws usually come here. As everyone was finishing dinner I said that I would make the whipped cream as soon as dd was done nursing and we could have dessert. My MIL got this incredulous look on her face and said, "Make whipped cream?" I said yes, and explained how I made it. Obviously it's nothing fancy, whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. I swear she snorted and said, "Well Cool Whip has always been good enough for my family." Yea, well so is "potted meat" and canned asparagus so wtf do you know. So now dh calls me "The snob who makes her own whipped cream, just to show off".

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by mamalisa

One of my favorite MIL moments was the Christmas right after dd was born. My dad and I cook, the inlaws usually come here. As everyone was finishing dinner I said that I would make the whipped cream as soon as dd was done nursing and we could have dessert. My MIL got this incredulous look on her face and said, "Make whipped cream?" I said yes, and explained how I made it. Obviously it's nothing fancy, whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. I swear she snorted and said, "Well Cool Whip has always been good enough for my family." Yea, well so is "potted meat" and canned asparagus so wtf do you know. So now dh calls me "The snob who makes her own whipped cream, just to show off".

Yea the part that gets me is Cool Whip isn't even cheaper usually. Also DH's grandparent milked cows for years and years too. They retired and then apparently everybody forgot how to whip cream.

[honolula]

I DARE you to bring a flambe!!! : That would totally steal the show, even if it's too exotic for them to actually eat. Especially if there are kids in the family- they'll be begging you to bring it year after year.


I'm not a p/a beeyotch, really. I just play one on the in'ernet.

[MommyHawk]

She has the day off today...finding courage, organizing my tools...going to call ....

[MommyHawk]

TechnoGranola - I like your evil plan !!! I'll grab a bag o'salad for you too...and that plastic taste that the lettuce has! oh, how yummy!....:

[transformed]

Awwwww OP.

I totally know what you mean! I am a heck of a cook but they always tell me to bring salad too. Grrrrrr...

I think its because I have so many little ones. no one else has kids. My MIL is probably trying to be nice. Also, she HATES cooking so she must not understand whhy I would WANT to cook.

It urks me.

I save the good cooking for when I have people over.

[transformed]

Originally Posted by mamalisa

So now dh calls me "The snob who makes her own whipped cream, just to show off".

I am a snob too.

My family hates that I dont use packaged stuff in every meal.

Why?

I think they put drugs in the cheetos that brainwash the eaters and make them hate those of us who use fresh ingredients.