Cooking Catastrophes?

[mish]

Wasn't sure where to put this topic, but thought it might be an interesting way to learn from each other's mistakes, or have a good chuckle. Would love to hear bout your kichen catastrophes (sp?).

It started in home ec. Our cooking class was making muffins that day. We were all divided in groups of four. The teacher instructed us to half the recipe. A member of our group, inadvertantly(?) put in the full amount of yeast, or maybe doubled it. (Whatever that stuff is that makes things rise...you can tell I'm quite the baker.) You guessed it, those muffins just grew & grew in the muffin tin until they all welded together into one huge muffin. It just kept on rising.

When the teacher came around to our station, I think I could almost see smoke coming out of her ears. Wow, was she angry. Needless to say, we didn't get a passing mark on that one. To this day, whenever I see that Lucy episode of her baking bread, & it comes shooting out of the oven, I remember those muffins & giggle.

 

[chesterchippy]

I have totally repressed any of my own, but still hold this one against my Mom. One Thanksgiving she reached for the Wesson Oil to put on the turkey but instead she grabbed the Lestoil. I know they look alike, but why did she keep them in the same pantry?

 

[norgeskog]

Wasn't sure where to put this topic, but thought it might be an interesting way to learn from each other's mistakes, or have a good chuckle. Would love to hear bout your kichen catastrophes (sp?).

It started in home ec. Our cooking class was making muffins that day. We were all divided in groups of four. The teacher instructed us to half the recipe. A member of our group, inadvertantly(?) put in the full amount of yeast, or maybe doubled it. (Whatever that stuff is that makes things rise...you can tell I'm quite the baker.) You guessed it, those muffins just grew & grew in the muffin tin until they all welded together into one huge muffin. It just kept on rising.

When the teacher came around to our station, I think I could almost see smoke coming out of her ears. Wow, was she angry. Needless to say, we didn't get a passing mark on that one. To this day, whenever I see that Lucy episode of her baking bread, & it comes shooting out of the oven, I remember those muffins & giggle.

Mish, that is hillarious, I can just see it. You may be too young to remember this, but on I Love Lucy she and her buddy Ethel were making bread and she added 4-5 times the yeast (the raising stuff) and when she opened the oven door this hugh loaf of bread pinned her to the cabinets across her kitchen. The show is in reruns always so maybe you can catch it. Anyone else see it???

 

[norgeskog]

I have totally repressed any of my own, but still hold this one against my Mom. One Thanksgiving she reached for the Wesson Oil to put on the turkey but instead she grabbed the Lestoil. I know they look alike, but why did she keep them in the same pantry?

At the risk of creating an image that I am just another dumb blond, what is Lestoil??? Never heard of it, but judging from your remark it must have the same effect as castor oil?? or cod liver oil??

 

[Alix]

Cleaning product sort of like Pine Sol.

 

[norgeskog]

Cleaning product sort of like Pine Sol.

THanks Alix, I am certain the turkey had little to say about it, what about the guests?

 

[mish]

Ha Ha, Norgeskog - that's the Lucy espisode I remember so well. That's what those muffins looked like.

Since turkey time is coming, I'll fess up. Yes, I didn't know to remove that package of giblets from the bird the first time I made a turkey... & yes I cooked it & had a turkey suprise.

Talk about reaching for the wrong stuff. The ex boyfriend & I ordered take out pizza, that came with two unmarked packets. One was Parmesan cheese, the other hot red pepper flakes. (I hate spicey food.) I was making an Alfredo dish & asked him to hand me the Parm...he gave me the red pepper flakes instead. The dish was so hot, had to run for the water. He thought it very amusing. We don't date anymore.

 

[norgeskog]

About 30 years ago, I was in a group of four couples who got together monthly at eachothers home for a gourmet meal. It was friendly competition each of us ladies trying to outdo the other with menu, decorations, etc. When it was my turn, I decided to have as my entree Shrimp Curry, which involves a lot of chopping of the vegie ingredients. I must add that at this time I was having weekly manicures and my nails were really loooooooooooong and bright red. WHen I was getting ready to bring the main course to the table, in looked down and the nail on one of my fingers had been chopped of flat on time, like it was lobbed off by my chefs knife during my chopping. I took a spatula and tried searching for the nail in the curry but to no avail. With red peppers in it it was impossibel to find. I hoped I was the one to get the nail. No one said a word, and the red nail was not on anyones plate when I cleared the table for dessert. The nail never appeared, I can only hope that it was amoung the tossed choppings.

 

[chesterchippy]

Cleaning product sort of like Pine Sol.

THanks Alix, I am certain the turkey had little to say about it, what about the guests?

I'd complain you are much younger than I am, but they still make Lestoil! Yes,it's a cleaning product. If I remember correctly (I was younger than you must be now) my dad washed it off and we ate it. Hey, I'm still here to talk about it! (But I have no idea how it affected my brain.)

 

[middie]

i had none myself but i remember when my aunt was taking the turkey out of the freezer. wouldn't you know it she dropped it right on her foot

 

[Chopstix]

This happened just a month ago. My brother made homemade soymilk for the first time in years. This involved straining a big batch of minced soybean mash through cheesecloth and wringing the juices out the old fashioned way. Having no cheesecloth on hand, our mom dug up an old thin cloth in a closet. At the very moment the large pot was finally full with the soymilk for boiling, somebody remembered that the cloth used was my 11-year old niece's old nappies.

Needless to say, the whole day's work went down the drain.

 

[Juliev]

My cousin Jill tried to make brownies once and got the salt mixed up with the sugar.. her heart was in the right place though.

 

[buckytom]

do not, and i repeat, do not ever prepare habaneros for pickling while drinking beer on a hot day without gloves...

i was doing this once barehanded, and because beer is only rented, i had to go to the bathroom. bad idea. after jumping around from the extreme heat applied to a sensitive place, i had to wipe the sweat and tears from my eyes. great. now i'm blind too, and there's no way to soothe either pain...

 

[mish]

do not, and i repeat, do not ever prepare habaneros for pickling while drinking beer on a hot day without gloves...

i was doing this once barehanded, and because beer is only rented, i had to go to the bathroom. bad idea. after jumping around from the extreme heat applied to a sensitive place, i had to wipe the sweat and tears from my eyes. great. now i'm blind too, and there's no way to soothe either pain...

Buckytom, OUCH!!! You are so funny, I almost spilled my coffee almost came out of my nose. What a mental image, ROF. We'll have to nickname you "Hot Stuff."

 

[Bangbang]

I have totally repressed any of my own, but still hold this one against my Mom. One Thanksgiving she reached for the Wesson Oil to put on the turkey but instead she grabbed the Lestoil. I know they look alike, but why did she keep them in the same pantry?

Oh Christ :!: That is the best.

 

[mudbug]

My brother will never let me forget the time I dropped his birthday cake on the way to the table.

 

[Bangbang]

I dropped a platter full of frilled chicken on the lawn. Did the same with a platter full of Fillet Mignon steaks. Ughhh!

 

[kyles]

Mish's story reminded me of something that happened in one of my cookery classes at school.

We had to make traditional tea cakes (basic butter cake with cinnamon sugar on top, not one of my favourites)

My friend Candy (who was very tall for her age with masses of bright red curly hair and a voice like she has smoked a packet of cigarettes for breakfast - she hadn't) was in a group of three girls with Marketa (she could speak four languages, had never had anything less than a 90% score for anything in her life, was brilliant at maths, science anything she turned her hand to)

Candy had managed to persuade her mother to buy her some Adidas Rome sneakers. Candy's family weren't well off and it was a real battle.

Marketa had her cake on the floor while she adjusted the oven racks (an absolute nono, we were meant to do that before we lit the oven. Candy steps back, and squelch! into the cake. Marketa was mortified, but Candy was hysterical!!!! A very funny fight broke out with Candy at full volume, and Marketa shouting in a mixture of Czech English, German and Russian!

The next week, the teacher made them all work together. Marketa, who had calmed down by this point, haughtily took this week's cake out of the oven and turned it out. It looked beautiful, for about ten seconds, it disintegrated volcano like all over the bench. She hadn't put any eggs in the butter cake!!!

Poetic justice.