What is the worst tasting food you've ever been served at a dinner party?

[kathrynne]

At one time, back when the proper term was noodles not pasta, the rule was to cook the noodles until you could throw one on the wall and it stuck.  Which is about twice the right amount. 

We used to test the noodle on the ceiling. It drove Mom nuts.

It was worse when she started making "finger jello." That sticks to ceilings, too, but it stains when it finally succumbs to gravity.

[Thipu1]

My story isn't nearly as bad as some of the others but, at least to me, the meal was inedible.

It was the first Thanksgiving we ate at my SIL's house.  SIL's an excellent cok but, for some reason, everything on the menu except for desserts and cranberries had hot peppers in it.  I like a little spice and heat in my food but, please, couldn't at least the mashed potatoes have been spared?

I wasn't the only one who had trouble with a meal composed entirely of attack food.  In later years, once her children started marrying people with normal capsicum tolerance, the menu calmed down a lot.

Then there was the GM of a former BF.  She was an old-fashioned Jewish lady and a great cook in that cuisine but like others here, her spaghetti left something to be desired.  The problem was her meatballs.  She was so proud that they were made from only 'the leanest ground sirloin' and that's all they were made from.  No fat at all in the meat, no breadcrumbs, no egg.  Trying to eat them was literally ike trying to take a bite from a superball?   

[VorFemme]

I do remember being served a lasagna which had absolutely no tomato or dairy product. 

Same place (officers' club at Luke AFB, AZ in the 1980s) -  spagetti sauce with NO garlic and no oregano - but plenty of chili powder (Korean kitchen helper tasted the sauce and decided to "help" spice it up" - it was spagetti only because of the pasta that it was served over.

Lasagna with no garlic, no oregano, and slices of American cheese layered with the lasagna noodles, tomato sauce, and browne ground meat (I think it was meat - it did't look or taste like tofu). 

***sigh***

Lunch was never the best time to eat there.........

[kingsrings]

Reminds me of some of the Italian food I had while visiting Japan.

[minnaloushe]

My mother served accidentally re-frozen fish once when my Grandmother was visiting. (Does that count as a dinner party?) The sauce was yummy, the sides were good, but the fish was revolting goo.  My sister and I whined and moaned about how gross it was (and you wonder why my mother dumped food on us) while my GM politely made Mmm-ing noises without saying anything.

Mom was livid until she sat down and ate her first bite.  That was the first time we went to McDonalds for dinner while “at home”.

[hollasa]

My mother served accidentally re-frozen fish once when my Grandmother was visiting. (Does that count as a dinner party?) The sauce was yummy, the sides were good, but the fish was revolting goo.  My sister and I whined and moaned about how gross it was (and you wonder why my mother dumped food on us) while my GM politely made Mmm-ing noises without saying anything.

Mom was livid until she sat down and ate her first bite.  That was the first time we went to McDonalds for dinner while “at home”.

Revolting fish goo - the memories!

That was the first dish my mother made in her newly bought microwave. My brother, mother, and I all agreed that it was revolting, but my father vehemently held that one shouldn't waste food. I believe he finished all our portions, and my mother made us something else to eat.

[willow08]

I've said it here once and I'll say it again- Pineapple Cheese Bake. Cubed pineapple, cheddar cheese, flour and sugar. Baked.

We had a cousin-in-law whose caterers served this at her wedding (stuffed into a green bell pepper) and she decided it was the most delicious thing ever. She couldn't cook. I mean, the woman was sweet, but she could ruin a salad. Somehow she learned to make this and she brought it to EVERYTHING. BBQs, baby showers, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Labor Day, birthdays.

It was even worse when she decided that the dish would be even better if she used crushed pineapple, so it was basically just baked overly sweet cheese goo. She's since divorced out of the family, but I don't think that was related to the Pineapple Cheese Bake.

[kingsrings]

I'm getting a stomachache just reading about the pineapple cheese bake.....

[sbtier]

My mother always used to talk about the 'spaghetti sticking to the wall', not meaning she actually throws it, but cooks pasta for about 20 minutes.  She overcooks a lot of stuff, including meat.  I didn't realize I liked pork until I left home because I didn't know it wasn't really like shoe leather!  I think she wants to make sure the germs in food are REALLY dead.

She's also will put anything into a meat loaf for filler, like left over chicken-flavored stove-top stuffing.  She grew up with 11 brothers and sisters and the food austerity is still going on 50 years later.

The worst dish I ever ate was her favorite casserole when I was little - kraft macaroni and cheese mixed with cubed spam and canned peas. 

[Telmereth]

Ohh man this one is easy. My Aunt, who is usually a reasonable cook, decided to get all adventurous and when the entire family (11 people) were visiting for dinner she served us what she called 'leek and blue cheese bake'. Now I'm sure there is a way to make such a thing that is  edible, if not actually delicious, but this was not even close.
It was leeks boiled till they were yellow ("I wasn't sure how long they needed") in a white bechamel sauce out of a jar, with a crumb topping made by melting blue cheese and stirring in pastry bits ("It's like a savoury crumble") then the whole thing was baked till the cheese tasted like feet and the leeks were even more gooey...to make it worse it was served with mashed swede.
*shudder*

[Harriet Jones]

'leek and blue cheese bake'

That almost makes the pineapple thing sound good. 

[DottyG]

white bechamel sauce out of a jar

What got me about that story is the quote above.  Who, in the world, needs to get that out of a JAR?!  It's got to be one of the simplest things to make.  Plus, the real thing is ever so much more tasty than anything contrived out of a jar!

[housewife2k]

This isn't a dinner party recipe, but my sister called last night and reminded me about it.  15 years ago, my mom and sister decided to go vegetarian, My Dr threatened to string me up if I joined, so meat was kept in the house for me, but I would have to make it myself.  Normally, I would do a meat based sandwich at lunch, and eat the veg meals my mom made the rest of the time. I was never so glad to have the cooking for my self option the night of the...Zuchini Casserole. Yes, my mom, my southern born and raised mom, who really should have known better, decided that it was a good idea to try to make zuchini into a casserole. It ended up being, well, completely inedible. It was slimey, lumpy, gross.
I made a burger for myself, and offered to make a dinner salad for Mom and Sister, but they declined, stating I was overreacting, and choked some casserole down. I left the room quickly, when I came back, the casserole dich was gone, Mom and Sister claimed it dissappeared, and we didn't speak of it for a while.
Mom cannot to this day tell us why she thought a casserole made from a veggie almost as mucilaginous as okra would be a good thing.

[Telmereth]

Dotty - yes, quite. Exactly what I thought. I think my Aunt took leave of her senses.
housewife2k - I had to read that twice to make sure you weren't saying your mom had made a casserole out of okra! cause y'know, bleugh! Though stewing zucchini like that is verging on criminal - surely? 

[willow08]

'leek and blue cheese bake'

That almost makes the pineapple thing sound good. 

Trust me, nothing could make it sound good.