Have you been to their home? I would love to peek in their cabinets, pantry, fridge and freezer. They are either very healthy or very unhealthy. Hard to read that one. Not that unusual though.

Or maybe just ask what they do like. They are the take-out fried chicken/pizza Kraft single/Velvetta Oreo lovers or the low-calorie bland steamed flounder/veggie sorbet type.

I have friends at both extremes but most are in the middle and like everything.

I have a couple friends that i could not invite for dinner. Bigger parties sure. They have actually declined invites for fear of expecting to eat our food. Will not even taste. Another couple has turned full circle in the dozen years we have known them and love trying new things.

Potato skins or a variation is the only think I can think of based on what's left on the list. Cheese straws. Wow!

Carrots, celery cauliflower and broccoli and jicima....which I didn't see on the list...but I'll bet someone will hate it!...mix some mayo with a little lemon juice and chopped parsley....or just do plain sour cream. Have a bowl of pretzels.

The only thing on your list I dislike is Mac & Cheese - everything else looks pretty good, although I'm not terribly fond of rabbit. I have a feeling that their "like" list is much shorter and more boring. Are they "chips and dip" people? What is their ethnic heritage; i.e., what kind of food did they eat growing up or eat at home?

Salad? You can do a bunch of little bowls with bacon, croutons, cucumber (if a few people in the group like it), sugar snap peas, cheese, nuts or seeds.

also, you should do Pioneer Woman's Bacon Appetizers. They do require being served hot, but you can make them and basically forget them, since they need to be in the oven for two hours. I make them with brown sugar. And, when there done, I just put them on an oven safe plate to keep them warm and not soggy.

Queso and chips? Salsa and chips? Serve things that you like, with some things they like too. If they don't like all that stuff, they can cook!

My daughter's in-laws eat very little. They don't eat lunch or breakfast, don't snack and watch their weight though her fil will have popcorn. They save their calories for cocktails daily and eat dinner. They are both in good shape. She is tiny and has recently started complaining if there are quantities of food for others to eat. That is how they are.

Yeah, the rabbit was not a big hit at a mixed game July 4th party a few years ago. We had so much of other things....frog legs, wild turkey, wild boar, a few bison ribs...and the usual sausage and chicken for the bulk.

Simple roast chicken. I can fit two in my turkey roaster. A basic gravy and another choice for us like a lemon caper something. A mixed roasted roots and veg seems to please everyone. Take what you want and exotics please the adventurous. A basic mashed, no skin!, haha, as an option.

Apps if a basic variety like various cheeses from mild white cheddar to some stronger ones and variety of crackers....veg and dip, some selections of charcuterie meats. I can usually please all with a variety.

The other simple meals have been a surf-n-turf like steak and lobster tails with again the roasted roots or shrimp instead of lobster. Cold shrimp cocktail is pretty basic as an appy.

I doubt my parents, 89 and 88, have ever had an artichoke. He would not get it at all. "so where is the food in this thing"..."that's it?, all this work for that tiny thing?...well that was silly". They eat really well. He swims every day and Mom goes to yoga class. Basic foods but not much on the list above. Veg and basic salads. Small portions of steak and salmon....turkey bacon. I think they may have had asparagus and leeks here, but would never buy it. $

It's difficult for me to imagine someone not having had artichokes - I used to grow them in my back yard. I always cooked them with long stems, which I would peel, and that was my favorite part. I hate it when the sellers cut the stems off, and when I buy them, I look for the ones with the longest stems.

I think Chinese meatballs make a nice appetizer, as do gyoza, which I make fairly often. I also like to make Vietnamese summer rolls, generally with shrimp, or lettuce wraps. My favorite appetizer of all time is deviled crab, and I can give you my recipe, if you want.

I haven't made these (may have had them in the 1950's or 60's made with dried beef) but they always pop up on Pinterest and maybe would get past their dislikes - you could use beef, turkey or chicken lunch meat, too, if ham doesn't work:

Thanks for all the suggestions for appetizers. This one couple eats very plainly--grilled chicken and a salad every night from what I know, and it pleases me to no end that they really enjoy the salads, entrees and desserts I make, and they devour them! The other couple might not eat everything, but they will try everything.

I think I'm leaning toward assorted crackers and "regular" cheese, like cheddar and jack cheese, and maybe some nuts, too. I think smoked Gouda might be too far out there. These good non-foodie folks are our guests, and knowing their food dislikes, I would like to offer something pleasing to them and looked forward to new ideas and suggestions here. :O)

Olychick, thanks for the photo--guess who doesn't like pickles? (forgot to put pickles on that list!)

Lars, my guests don't like crab, but I'd really like the recipe you have for deviled crab!!!

Thanks again everyone!

I would have guessed it was the cream cheese you forgot to add to the list!

I would love the crab recipe as well.

You could wrap those turkey or ham cream cheese roll-ups with most anything....asparagus spears, I've used green onions, or long thin celery slices, what else is long and thin?? after wrapping place in fridge to chill before slicing into cubes. They are great, always go over well at pot lucks.

I make
Mexican Fudge for my fussy guests.

MEXICAN FUDGE

40 min 10 min prep /
18 squares

8 ounces grated
cheddar cheese

8 ounces grated
Monterey jack cheese

3 eggs

2/3 cup chunky thick
salsa

Preheat oven to
350.

I large bowl
mix cheddar and Monterey cheese.

In different
bowl beat eggs then mix in salsa.

Put ½ cheese
mixture in a 8 X 8” greased pan.

Pour salsa mix
over cheese.

Sprinkle the remaining
cheese on top of the salsa. Bake at 350F
for 30 minutes.

Cool and cut
into squares to serve.

Tastes great
cold too.

I am amazed by the number of people who say they don't like something they have never tried! Thinking of someone who is now related to me ( my daughter married him!) who when he was invited for a tail gate of brats, saurkraut and potato salad....said "I don't like saurkraut"...I accepted that....but several years later was invited to their tail gate and he was all over the kraut. I reminded him that he didn't like it....he said he had never had it and found he loved it!

Another didn't like onions...he thought they were only served raw on a hamburger. I fed him onion soup with melted cheese on top....changed his mind!

I would include a "stretch" item on the appetizer tray...maybe a roasted red pepper hummos or perhaps a water chestnut rumaki ( but that has to be cooked)....they don't have to eat it, but you gave given them the opportunity to broaden their horizons....and you will have something to enjoy!

If you're looking for something fun for you to make that will also please everybody from the picky to the more please, how about arancini? You can go traditional or wild on the filling. They're easy to make ahead of time, and you can also make some that are "plain" and some that are interesting, as well as having plain sauce, fancy sauce and no sauce as options. Or if it's composed plates, make plainish ones (maybe some parsley and mozzarella inside), and serve with a little interesting salad that they can pick at and the rest can enjoy fully.

sheila joyce My MIL complains about large portions and sodium content when we are eating out. It is a bit of a buzz kill

Then there are the clueless hosts who don't make enough even for the most abstemious of guests... I don't care how little you eat at my house, but I will do my best to make sure you don't leave hungry (unless you really want to!).

I do try to accommodate special diets, etc., including the one who will only eat plain plain plain (no sauce or most flavorings like onions or garlic) and the one who won't eat things that are mixed together (no stew, pot pie, etc.). The former often gets fed a potato made specially for him, or is allowed to bring his own if it's quite casual, but when I can, I try to have something he'll eat on the menu for all. Since for a feast day I have two mains, it's easy enough to please the latter one. I wouldn't serve two stews. At least one will be a roast or something solid. But for a small group I'll lean toward plain roast beef if he'll be there, rather than boeuf bourguignon. The rest of the guests don't care so long as it's good. :) Of course, these are people I love. I might not be so tolerant if they were passing acquaintances.

Here is my Deviled Crab recipe. I created it in an effort to recreate what I used to get in Galveston as a child.

Deviled Crab

16 oz. Crabmeat (Snow crab is
fine)
1 tsp Lobster or Crab soup base
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion, finely diced
(approx. 1/4 cup)
3-4 stalks of celery (including
leaves) diced
8-10 fresh Serrano peppers, all
seeds removed, and minced (or 1 green bell pepper plus 1 Habanero chili)
1/3 -1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp minced fresh thyme
1 tsp minced fresh Thai basil
(optional)
1 tsp fish soup base--crab or
lobster preferred--dissolved in 1/2 cup water or clam juice
2 tbsp Dijon mustard (or spicy
brown mustard)
Juice of two lemons, about 3-4
tbsp
2 dashes of cayenne (or your
favorite hot sauce)
1/8 tsp black or white pepper
1 egg, slightly beaten
2/3 cup fresh bread crumbs, the
size of small peas
1-2 tbsp butter, for the crumbs
*** instructions to follow, as I was informed that my post was too long.

Have all the ingredients
ready-mince the onion and celery and set aside together; mince the herbs and
peppers separately and set aside. If you are using crab in its shell, remove
all the meat first and then put it in a small bowl. Add the optional crab or
lobster soup base, if desired. If you can get lobster base, this will improve
the flavor the most, but crab or clam base is fine. Adjust the quantity
depending on the saltiness of the base.

In a medium or large saucepan,
melt 3 tbsp butter and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the onion and celery and saute
for about 3 minutes, or until the onion is all broken up and separated. Add the
Serrano peppers and cook another 2-3 minutes. Then add the flour and continue
to cook to make a light roux, stirring constantly. Add the herbs and stir to
combine. Add the water with soup base (or clam juice), and stir to make a paste
and remove from heat. Add the mustard, lemon juice, cayenne, and pepper, and
allow to cool slightly.

Pour a small amount of the
paste into the beaten egg and combine before adding the egg to the paste. Add
the crabmeat and stir to combine.

Lightly grease a
9"x6"x2" baking dish (or individual ramekins or muffin pan) with
olive oil, and add the mixture, leaving about 1/2" space from the top of
the pan. Press the breadcrumbs into the top and dot with butter (or drizzle the
butter melted) evenly over the top.

Broil for 5-7 minutes not too
close to the heat or bake at 425° for 6-8 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are
crispy. Serves four as a main course or six as an appetizer.

Yum!!!

Did not see shrimp on the list. Shrimp on a platter with sauce for dipping. Or a salad of chopped shrimp with crackers. Hard to imagine anyone with that many dislikes.

I haven't tried this one but it may work if crisp apples are still available to you.
============

This one was posted by Seagrass a few years ago. I make it often when asked to bring an appetizer. [re-Posted by doucanoe]
It's always a nice change from the crackers, cheese, meatballs, etc. on a pot luck table, and everyone loves it!

FALL APPLE DIP (8 servings)
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped, salted peanuts (without skins)
3 apples, sliced but not peeled (I like to use a Golden Delicious, a Granny Smith and a red-skinned variety for the most color)
1/2 cup orange juice

Mix cr. cheese, br. sugar and vanilla til smooth. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts.
Dip apple slices in orange juice and arrange around cream cheese mixture. (Can transport apple slices in ziplock bag in orange juice, then arrange when ready to serve).

Marcopolo, your comment tweaked my memory to double check my list--fish/seafood/shellfish is on their DISLIKE list! That eliminates ceviche, shrimp cocktail, crab cakes, salmon, trout, etc. I couldn't find a way to edit the original post.

Thanks everyone for your helpful comments and Lars, special thanks for that recipe I requested that you post. Mary, the Mexican Fudge recipe looks good, and irisgal, thanks for sharing that Fall Apple Dip recipe as well! Thanks to ALL who shared recipes and ideas and links, even if I'm not specifically naming names!!

Smiles,

Soon

Olychick, my girls used to love those rollups, made with turkey and asparagus in lieu of the ham and pickles. Grandma used to make them with ham and pickles, and used a slice of whole wheat bread, spread with cream cheese, a slice of ham and the pickle, then rolled like a pinwheel. A toothpick kept it rolled too.

I think cheese and crackers is a good idea, or something like cheese straws and something to dip them into, or even one of those good old fashioned cheese balls or pimento cheese. There's always the old standby of a block of cream cheese with some jam or hot pepper jelly or fruit sauce poured over top. Crunchy crackers or Add some nuts (spiced or candied are a nice change) and a snack mix if you like, my family all likes those ranch dressing/oyster cracker snacks, or homemade soft pretzel "nuggets" with cheese dip and honey mustard sauce for dipping. Puff pastry is often a widely accepted vehicle for things like corned beef and cheese or pizza flavored fillings, I think you could put nearly anything in a square of puff pastry and they could be baked in advance, warmed for serving if you like or not, your choice. I saw a recipe for ricotta puffs somewhere, puff pastry filled with ricotta cheese, and I think you could adapt that to flavor as you wish.

Most of all, have fun, enjoy your company and share a meal with your friends. What I eat isn't nearly as important to me as who I'm sharing the meal with.

Annie

I'm in a hurry to get to work but here's a great bread/cheese nibble

Not that it helps, but I have experienced a lot of this with friends and it usually is something they've never tried or their mother didn't prepare well For instance I served my Moussaka to a friend who has very limited taste buds and he loved it but wouldn't try it I don't think if I actually told him what was in it

Vegetable tray???? Please don't tell me they dislike ranch!!!!!!!

Strawberry salsa served with cinnamon pita chips.

Fruit salad (with lime dressing: whisk together 1/4 cup lime juice, 1 tablespoon Mint and a teaspoon of sugar. Add to a bowl of watermelon, strawberrries and blackberries.)

Tomato appetizers? Skewer a little chunk if monzerrela, a cherry tomato and a piece of basil onto a toothpick.

Fruit tray? Apples, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.......

bread and oil dipping sauce? Mix olive oil, dried basil, dried oregano, garlic powder and other dried herbs like Rosemary together. Serve with a lightly toasted baguette.

Sorry for skipping down to comment, but since when are guests obligated to eat appetizers? In my world, appetizers are set out for guests to partake in - or not - as they wish. Over the years, I've become much less eager to fill up on noshes before a meal, & many of our guests seem to do the same. Simple things like nuts & olives, crackers & cheese, cut up fresh fruits are popular & don't get nasty if left out for very long. Why go to the trouble of making lots of fussy, fancy things, if you're unsure they'll even be appreciated?

If it were a cocktail party, then I can see having many choices, but if dinner is being served, I can understand people choosing to save their appetite for the main event. I know I prefer to.

P.S. I love 'Chex' mix! There are numerous variations out there - I make my own mix w/ a spicy seasoning, mini cheese crackers & brazil nut chunks. Everything old is new again these days.

I also love Chex mix and used to make it around Christmas when I would visit my parents, as my mother liked it also. Something similar that I buy is sesame sticks, which I mix with nuts, to have as a snack.

Haven't read whole thread but what I noticed right off is to a large extent your list of disliked foods is in fact what people should be eating - it is now known 75% of the diet should be plant matter. And before I started looking at this discussion I anticipated the "fussy" eaters you were talking about would be ones that eschewed good foods in preference for garbage - this has been my in person experience here. "Oh, I don't like salads" - but full sized chocolate pies with hydrogenated ingredients definitely are on the menu. And so on.

Point being toxic foods are so detrimental maybe you should serve the healthful ones and anybody that will only eat crap can just lump it. Perhaps you are a smoker yourself or live with one but otherwise would you expect the whole group to breath cigarette smoke because one or two participants wanted to light up? To my way of thinking the same thing goes with the appetizers - and the rest of the food as well.

I have to note, regards the artichoke comments -- my parents served them frequently when I was a kid, and I've loved them ever since. If my parents were still alive, they'd be in their mid 90's now - so it is NOT an age thing.

They also were the ones who encouraged me to try anything and everything at LEAST once. I am so glad for this!

I would read the thread before preaching. They do eat chicken and salads, just not overly fussy food. I grew up in a small EasternShore town but moved for college and never looked back. My parents eat very well but growing up we never had much 'fussy' meals due to availability and finances. Never saw an artichoke till i left town. They never eat processed food except for bottled salad dressing. (ick)

They don't/can't garden anymore but do shop at local farms and pick-your-own, then blanch and freeze for the winter months. Roast chickens and make stock. They don't really eat much on that list, especially the pricer items. And some of those things are not that healthy anyway. Or just not available still in a small town.

Lars, that is what we call EasternShore Crab Imperial. My Mothers favorite. I have my Grandmothers crab shaped imperial ramekins. But i usually make crab cakes. Dad's favorite is oyster stew. I make both when i visit them.

Why do they cut the artichoke stalks off?!. So good. My one market in NY sells them with the long stalks. And the beet greens with the beet roots. Radish greens....

I LOVE beet greens! And yes, the artichoke stalks - they do usually seem to be left on where I shop. Anyhow.... beet greens... a meal in themselves!

Sleevendog, in Galveston, they stuffed the filling into an empty crab shell and broiled/baked that. It was my favorite thing to get in Galveston.

Nice to hear that some stores don't cut off the artichoke stems! Hubert Keller cuts them off entirely, leaving no stem at all, but Mary Ann Esposito cooks them with stems and then just peels the outer part of the stem.

Speaking as one who has a load of dietary restrictions, I applaud you for doing your darnedest to accommodate your guests. I have to eat quite plain foods, not by choice, but due to increasing allergies and intolerances. Do I like it? No, but I hate feeling like cr@p more.

That said, I appreciate raw veggies with an avocado dip, dates wrapped in bacon and broiled are amazing, cooked and chilled shrimp with a variety of dipping sauces, seared scallops, spanikopita and even pigs in a blanket are foods that many would enjoy as appetizers.

On a different note, what should I do with beet greens? I have been eating more golden beets and tossing the greens. I don't drink smoothies or green juices, so other than using them in that manner, what do you suggest?

Beet tops are so very delicious, remove any stems that are not thin and tender. Cut leaf in to strips, if larger cut strip in half. Steam in covered pan for 3 or 4 minutes. They cook like fresh spinnish. Drain and add butter to taste. Also can be sauted with garlic and olive oil. They have a taste that is strong, but not unpleasant. One of my all time favorite vegetables.

As marco said....cook like spinach...or chard.....and I like them drizzled with vinegar....and some bacon grease added while cooking!

Why don't you ask picky couple to bring the appetizer?

I agree, I love beet greens, they are probably my favorite green. Elery had never eaten them until he married me, and now he's sad for all the years he missed those lovely greens. I do use them like spinach, and just cook them as I'd cook any other green.

LindaC, my Dad and Grandmother both doused their greens with vinegar. I detested them for years, then realized it wasn't the greens I disliked, it was the vinegar! I know the big "thing" is to put balsamic vinegar on berries, but I don't like that either. I just don't care for the taste of vinegar.

Artichokes. Hmmmm. I never had one until I was an adult, then I had one of those "pull the leaves off and dip them in butter" dishes. Tasted like butter, I liked that a lot, LOL. Since then I've had them canned, brined, frozen, even grew them one year. To me they are overrated, they taste like nothing, except the brined ones which taste like pickles. I don't eat pickles either, although I can dozens of jars a year. (grin)

As possibly one of the pickiest eaters ever, I'll try anything once, and if I don't like it I probably won't try it again until my "7 year rule" has expired, which requires me to try something at least every 7 years, in case I decide to like it and would miss out otherwise, LOL.

I've met very few vegetables I don't like, it's pretty much down to okra and big lima beans. I grow a huge organic garden, raise grassfed beef and have chickens for eggs and meat, refuse to use convenience mixes and seldom eat fast food or processed food. I wouldn't eat about half the things on that list, though, and truthfully I don't think mac and cheese or pasta alfredo (neither of which I care for anyway) are paticularly "healthy". I'm not a fan of cheese or olives either, but I eat in a more healthy manner than nearly everyone I know. Oh, and I love cooked greens but I'm not a fan of raw "leaves", so I don't eat green leafy salads. Now chopped up salads with lots of different vegetables, those I'll eat, but things like iceburg wedges? Nope, not voluntarily, I only eat them when I have to eat them to avoid being impolite.

So anyway, I don't think "picky" necessarily translates into "unhealthy".

Annie

Annie, some kinds of balsamic vinegar I can just drink straight! love it when it's well aged and syrupy :-)

I've noticed that a lot of fussy eaters won't touch mixed ingredients. And, for some there is that "foreign" foods problem. One early Thanksgiving here in the "Deep South," to which friends of extended family were invited, most of a plate of very nice appetizers with lox was passed over. Didn't realize why until it was later explained to me. They'd gone as far as they intended in just agreeing to let me feed them. Then I served some city food, and they chose that point to hold the line. They did scarf down the deviled eggs I already knew were a must here.

Oh, well, I understand the pleasure of being able to make people happy, though. I never appreciated deviled eggs so much. Thank goodness I didn't put the lox in them!

Very soon now a remarkably healthy-looking man will be joining us for a few days. His list is at least as long as yours, or would be if he'd ever tried half of it. He'll eat white bread but doesn't like bagels (why? who knows), will only eat bottled orange salad dressing on only iceberg lettuce, will eat potato, but it'd better be baked and he'll only have ketchup on it. Etc., etc., etc., through a long list--but especially foods that touch each other (NO sauces!), though he will eat bad gloppy pizza and fast-food hamburgers.

When others are joining us, I start planning with a couple of core dishes he'll eat, like grilled steak or fish sauteed in plain butter, with baked potato or a rice pilaf with few suspicious spots in it (sometimes I rather callously indulge in a bit of parsley or whatever), a bowl of salad with a lot of iceberg and only a bit of more interesting greens to stretch him a bit. But then the fun starts by serving sauces and more ingredients for the rest of us to add in, as well as other sides.

Hope you find a perfect answer this year.

People are odd in what they like...or don't like. I just spent several hours at chruch cooking for a lunch after a funeral. I have a good crew of women who help, one is a nearly retired dietitian who often says things like "don't throw that away, that's good" said about the wilted outer leaves of lettuce carrot peelings, tomatoe cores etc. One of the items on the menu for tomorrow is a black bean salad....you know the one with beans, corn, red and green peppers etc. The dietitian opened the cans, chopped the onionse tc and made the dressing and brought me a spoonful to taste. I told her "you taste it...what do you think?" She said "I don't like bean salad."....So I tasted it and decided it needed a bit more cumin....sha sald..."now I know why I don't like bean salad...I hate cumin, it's too strong." This is the wilted lettuce, broccoli butt, chicken cartiledge woman!
And....last time we served that corn and bean salad for a funeral lunch, I put a little sign in front of it saying "vegan" as I knew there were some vegans attending....and as people went through the line, they would start to take some then say "Oh that's vegan!" and leave it. So I removed the sign and almost everyone took some....go figure!!

There's a word for what I'd do (I know what it is). If only 1-2 out of a BIG crowd had all those dislikes... well, they'd be on the table anyway. I wouldn't go so far as everything on table being something they don't like, but would probably come close.

Reminds me of a HS student who insists he's "allergic" to just about everything?? When I asked what XYZ did to hi if he ate it (hives, swelling, etc)... nothing... he just didn't like xyz. My guess is he as never even tasted xyz, maybe thinks allergic means you don't like something, maybe knows it doesn't.

As I was reading thru your list, GASPED at beets... one of my favorite veggies. What kind oa appetizer is made from beets?

and as people went through the line, they would start to take some then say "Oh that's vegan!" and leave it. So I removed the sign and almost everyone took some....go figure!!

Yes, I've noticed this, too, even here. A while back in response to a request I posted a really good recipe for salmon cakes which happened to come originally from a paleo website (it uses almond meal for the binder, which is partly why they're so good), and the response was, "Oh. I didn't know it would be paleo."

LOL on the vegan and paleo! I hope it's politeness, leaving it for those who require the special things, but I fear not...

Klsiverd, good question on the allergies! But not having an answer just means never having gone far enough down death's road to find out. The gist is, there are certain kinds of things that taste like poison (allergic) and certain other things that one just doesn't like (non-allergic dislike). I can't get Brussels sprouts past my nose because of the sulphur, but I have no reason to think I'm allergic rather than just repulsed.

If one spits out the foods that taste like one imagines floor wax does, or drain cleaner, or whatever, one never learns what eating it will do. I only know what eating a portion of coconut will do to me because it was undisclosed in delicious Thai food which masked the distinctive floor wax flavor. I can now tell you that my mouth and throat feel furry, I get flushed and nauseous, and anti-histamines help. And I'm thankful it was a small quantity in a sauce. There are some foods that I test allergic to which won't give me a reaction in limited quantities (doctor also okayed eating them--ETA the worst I've gotten from them is hives), and taste just fine.

Fish, well prepared, doesn't always give me that taste warning, and there are some circumstances under which I can eat very particular fish, so I have to be careful. A reaction makes my face numb, and proceeds from there, so I'm very careful and mostly avoid it. I only know this from heeding the advice that one can outgrow one's allergies and wanting not to be the odd duck when I was younger. I learned my lesson. When my tongue says spit it out, I do.

I've seen the same thing with kids who didn't know how to express that the evil food in question made them feel bad/wrong, and fought with their parents over the refusal. Sometimes when your kid tells you it's poison, it really is!

Don't poohpooh someone's allergies. Could it be all in their head? Sure! If it were and they were forced to eat it anyway would they enjoy it? Maybe! And if you have to call the paramedics because you slipped it in the food, who gets the bill? And if they just refuse to eat at your house in the future because last time you slipped their allergen in their food so they didn't experience that bad taste warning and they were up all night heaving, don't be offended.

Colleen, I don't care for pickles and I've tried a lot of vinegar and just don't like it with fruit at all. I do make Mustangs/Kathy's salad and that has balsamic vinegar in the dressing, but not very much, so that's an exception as I don't normally care for viniagrette dressings.

I won't usually refuse to eat things I dislike when I'm with friends, as my manners overcome my dislike, LOL. Very few people will insist that I eat the olives or try the blue (or bleu) cheese, they seem more insistent about dessert. But my mother is allergic to lemons and my daughter is celiac and lactose intolerant and the only things I really cannot eat are pomegranates and kiwi, as they make my mouth horribly sore. For about half an hour, then it goes away. I'm told this is an allergy/sensitivity of some kind and it is easy enough to avoid those things. A lot of pineapple will do the same thing, but I can get away with a little as long as it isn't fresh.

The single item I can think of that I absolutely will not put into my mouth is Jello. It just feels too icky and I gag just putting it in my mouth, let alone trying to swallow the stuff. So I do not hesitate to say "I do not eat Jello".

Anything else, even raw leaves and the despised pizza I will eat. I just don't like them very much and I certainly don't tell my hosts that I won't/don't eat anything that I'm not truly allergic to. I'll eat enough to get by, plead a current weight loss regimen, and figure I won't starve to death. That's why I always order some new item at restaurants if there's something I've never tried. I figure I won't starve to death by missing a meal or two!

When I have guests, though, I do my best to cook things they'll eat and enjoy and not try to insist that they eat whatever I like or "sneak" things into dinner that they don't care to eat. I don't have to assert my authority over anyone else's choice of food.

Annie

The galette I posted above will ppeal to anyone who eats bread and cheese.

Bread

140ml milk

450g flour

2 beated eggs

1.5 teaspoons yeast

Salt

90g butter

Topping

200g cheese

30g butter

Mis all the bread ingredients together, knead a bit. (it's very soft).

Divise in 2 and spread the bread out onto 2 pans

Dot with cubes of cheese and dot with butter. Let it rise for 30 mins.

Cook 200°C for 20minutes.