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Danielle
Posts:
95
Registered:
8/28/02
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(5 of 53)
Re: Funniest Cooking Disasters?
Sep 22, 2002 5:20 PM
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When my husband and I first got married, it was with the understanding that I couldn't cook worth a lick, and wasn't even going to try! I was good at my career, and that's what I focused on. It wasn't very long, however, that I realised I had to start learning at least the basics in the kitchen....or the two of us were going to starve to death! The only thing my husband could cook at the time, was bacon and eggs -- and this started getting old real quickly -- I knew it was time to learn how to cook, and I decided to make a big meal for my husband and in-laws on the worse day possible........that's right, Thanksgiving!
I borrowed some cookbooks, studied cooking techniques, bought all the things I needed for that fateful day, and really thought I had this "cooking thing" down to a fine science. What I didn't have a clue about yet, was a little thing called 'timing.' I didn't realize that in order to pull a meal together successfully, you had to know how to time each dish, so it was ready when everything else was. Do I have to tell you the result? By dinner time, the turkey was still raw, the mashed potatoes were uncooked (and lumpy doesn't even begin to describe them!), the stuffing was wet and gooey.......and I don't even want to TALK about the packet of giblets that were still inside of the turkey, which I forgot to take out!! I remember my mother-in-law sitting at the table, smiling sweetly through all of her pain (I'm sure the poor woman was positively starved!) About the only thing I had in my kitchen that was edible, was the store bought pumpkin pie I'd gotten (thank goodness I didn't try to make THAT, too!) That Thanksgiving, we had ham sandwiches and pumpkin pie for dinner.........it's something I will never forget, and one of the reasons I can cook today! *grin*
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Stephanie
Posts:
3
Registered:
9/8/02
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(4 of 53)
Re: Funniest Cooking Disasters?
Sep 17, 2002 6:38 PM
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When my husband and I first got together, he was forever talking about "great" food, and letting me know how great his moms cooking was. Well I am (was) not that great in the kitchen, but I would have never admitted it!
I told him that I was going to come over and make him a roast with veggies. I went and bought all the supplies (calling my mother about a million times to make sure I got everything I needed)
I got to his house (this is shortly before we were married) and spent the morning chopping veggies and preparing the meat. I had it all in the dutch oven and placed it in the oven. I turned the knob on about 250 to slow cook the roast all day. Well we left for about 2 hours and when we got back I expected the house to be filled with a wonderful aroma. Much to my surprise, I smelled nothing. I walked into the kitchen and with a sinking feeling felt the stove..........thats right COLD!!!!! I was not used to his oven and it had 2 knobs, one to set the temp, one to set bake, broil etc.
Needless to say, he tried to tell me it was okay with a straight face, but we both ended up laughing so hard our sides hurt!!!!!!!! We finally did have dinner although it was a lot later than we expected!!!!
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CD
Posts:
2,999
Registered:
8/21/02
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(3 of 53)
Re: Funniest Cooking Disasters?
Sep 10, 2002 3:18 PM
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This sounds like a great idea for a sitcom, lol. YES, we can all relate to those kitchen faux pas. That sounds like quite an ordeal, Kaye. Glad you can laugh at it now. You might wanna take a look at all our disasters under "looking for a previous conversation or recipe," under Kitchen Trials, Everyday Homemade Meals. I can certainly empathize. Thanks for the smiles.
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Kaye McDonald
Posts:
94
Registered:
8/12/02
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(2 of 53)
Re: Funniest Cooking Disasters?
Sep 10, 2002 1:31 PM
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When I was in high school, there was a Thanksgiving when my mom was in the hospital. That left me to make the traditional dinne, something I'd never ever attempted. It turned into a day of disasters.
First the turkey was too big for any of he roasting pans my mother had. My father discovered this the night before and ran to the store to buy the largest professional roasting pan he could find. He got it home and it was so large, the pan did NOT fit into the oven! I remember him telling my mom and the phone and her comment was something about "You will NOT buy a new stove just to cook that turkey!" My dad ended up getting his tools out and bent the edges of the pan in until it did fit.
I took down my mother's stuffuing recipe over the phone with her. I didn't realize dried herbs were so strong and was going by scent. Couldn't smell the sage too much, so I kept adding and adding, till I'd added perhaps a 1/4 cup of dried sage. Need I say it was inedible? Though my family did try to eat it and smile.
The turkey was done cooking. My dad removed the foil to brown the skin before taking it out and letting it rest. No matter how long, it wouldn't brown. He even tried broiling. Nothing but pale turkey. Turns out the oven died and my dad did end up having to buy a new stove the next day!
We finally get through dessert and were clearing the table and beginning to do dishes when we noticed the kitchen floor was wet. We wiped up the puddles and soon had more and more water. Turns out the pipes under the sink had erroded and burst. My dad spent the evening fixing the pipes. Thank goodness he was the handy type!
That was our Thanksgiving. My family still laughs remembering. When this happened at the time, I didn't think it was funny at all. I was crushed. I had tried so hard and wanted everything to be perfect. Of course, with time and distance, I now laugh too. It IS funny. All in all we did have a lot to be thankful for that year. My mom got well. We had our family together. We had a home, food, a lot more than many people had.
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Elizabeth D.
Posts:
64
Registered:
8/12/02
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(1 of 53)
Funniest Cooking Disasters?
Sep 10, 2002 12:41 PM
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One thing that helped me get more comfortable in the kitchen when I was growing up, was when my mom would share stories of her funniest kitchen escapades. I learned that it's okay to try things and it's okay for things to not always turn out. Here's one of my favs.
When my mom first got married, she only knew how to make fudge and pie crust. That's it. Her mother never let her in the kitchen. The first time she made macaroni and cheese, she didn't know she was supposed to cook the macaroni first. Imagine my newlywed father trying to eat "crunchy" macaroni and cheese and say it was good with a straight face! They threw it out and ended up oing out for dinner.
I'm wondering if all of you have funny stories to share about your kitchen disasters? I would love to hear them.
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