Most of my essays have been introspective this week. So to give my readers a little relief, I have composed a list of the top ten mistakes I have made in my kitchen:
1. Added a cup a salt instead of a cup of sugar. This isn’t so bad, but I was making chocolate chip cookies- ya I know. (And yes, this mistake runs in the family)
2. First week I was married, I made 3 boxes of spaghetti and 4 pounds of meat sauce. I was so accustomed to cooking for 7 siblings and 2 parents, that I had no idea how to cut down my portions for only 2. We ate spaghetti for a loooong time.
3. Left to carpool with the broiler on. When I came back the house was filled with smoke. The alarm was blasting. I would have been disappointed that my grilled eggplant was now charred ash, but we got a visit from the fire department. The good-looking ones so it was a wash. My sisters and I now regularly “broil” things with lipstick on and a good-looking apron.
4. Boiled a bunch of eggs. This would have been a normal thing to do, but I had re-boiled my already boiled eggs. Funny how boiled and raw eggs look exactly alike. Thanks to my kid’s science fair project I found out the trick, something about spinning them clues you in to the raw vs boiled egg.
5. On Passover I was on the phone and began peeling potatoes. The recipe only called for six. I peeled thirty. It didn’t go to waste, but I did need to get creative.
6. Hammered my chicken fillets using a frying pan. Seems like a good idea, but I had managed to spray salmonella all over the kitchen. No amount of bleach could possibly prepare me for this experiment. Next time I was smart and put my chicken fillets in a plastic bag before going to town on them.
7. Made a milkshake in the blender. Without the lid on. Need I say more?
8. Accidentally added caraway seeds to the top of my challah dough since I ran out of poppies. This turned out to be one mistake that was ingenious! Now I put caraway seeds on my challah every week and everyone comments on how incredible the taste is.
9. Put my ice cream in the fridge. We refroze it, but it was never the same.
10. Asked my family what they wanted for dinner. Number one mistake. Never ask anyone what they want you to make them or you wind up being a short order cook with a dozen orders.
