Please don't make me eat THAT

One of my friends asked:   "Have you ever eaten something that you didn't like so you didn't hurt feelings? And have you ever made something that someone (besides family) told you they absolutely hated?"  I began to write a reply.  But, when the response became an essay I decided it would be fun to field the question on here.

When I was younger I liked hosting fancy dinner parties.  In college they were usually accompanied with a "How to Host a Murder" game.  I tried to match the meal to the setting of the game.  I often tried new recipes on my unsuspecting guests.  There were times that nobody ate one or more of the items.

My biggest disappointment occurred with family.  One Christmas I made a four course meal for family and some friends.  There were quite a few who flat out refused to eat some of the dishes.  The biggest objection was to the vichyssoise, a cold potato soup similar to gazpacho.  Plus, they wanted to have all of the courses at once.  I haven't tried serving an elegant meal to my family since that episode. 

Now eating food I don't like is a whole other kettle of fish... literally.  When I was a kid I was fed, by my 7 older siblings, many "delicacies."  I tried unsweetened cocoa, banana peel, and peanut butter and bologna sandwiches.  Perhaps that is where I gained my picky eating.  It's only been in the last decade that I have begun being adventurous in my food choices. 

I tried a lot of foods during my dating years.  I always wanted to be "cool."  I'm not a fan of peaches.  I went on a weekend excursion with a guy a really liked.  He stopped in a little town in Wyoming.  When I got back from the little girls room he presented me with a peach.  He declared that he had spent time picking the very best peach for me.  So I ate it.  I praised him for picking this delectable treasure for me.  I vowed, to myself, that if we got married I'd have to tell him I didn't like peaches.  It bit me again later that trip when he showed up with a peach shake from the local market.  He said he knew he had to get me one because I loved peaches so much.  Darn my acting ability!

My mission forced me to kick my eating strange food up another level.  I ate everything placed in front of me.  Virginia is not another country.  But, people can still come up with odd foods.  Luckily, I never had to try chitlins.

Now I try to keep an open mind.  There are foods I still don't eat on my own.  But, if you invite me to dinner I will try most of what is placed in front of me.