Disastrous Cooking Stories

It’s never a good idea to try a new recipe the night you have friends over for dinner. Several friends.

Thankfully, it was also a potluck, so there was other food to cover up the fact that I had failed miserably.

I had chosen two recipes from a favorite cookbook, and even though the book warned 4-stars on the challenging level, my ego ignored the warning.

Zucchini Fritters. Grated zucchini, some goodness mixed in with it, make it into a patty and fry it. How hard can that be?

Crumbling, falling apart patties that are burnt on the outside and raw in the middle tell me it’s a little more challenging the first time around than I anticipated.

Eggplant Wraps. Thinly slice eggplant, wrap it around layers of tomato, basil and mozzarella, and bake the squares until golden brown. Elegant, sophisticated, Rosemary-show-off food. 

When the eggplant refuses to fold, breaks, and I decide to make the best of it and make a layered dish of the ingredients (only to have it turned into baked mush), Rosemary-show-off-food doesn’t even look as good as the chips and dip friends brought. My roommate kindly attempts to salvage the dish, and I leave the kitchen to cool off. The only person who eats it and who exclaims, “Hey, I would have taken that home!” when I dump it in the garbage is a bachelor who just moved out of mom and dad’s house and has been living off of hot dogs for three weeks.

I’ve yet to attempt the dish again. A couple of years later, and some cooking confidence under my belt tempt me back to it. However, my bruised ego still looks at those “4-stars challenging” and thinks I’ll wait another day….

What’s YOUR Disastrous Cooking Story?

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