Share your cooking disasters

[malkin]

Exploding Pyrex is always dramatic.

Pureed squash popping the not quite seated lid off of the blender can make a pretty orangy stain on on the ceiling.

Oatmeal Flambe, created by boiling over and then catching fire from the gas flame can create an unusual and enduring pattern on the side of a 'stainless' steel pan.

[TJ_Relic]

Exploding Pyrex is always dramatic.

I knew a munitions guy when I was in the AF. He was cooking something in a pyrex dish and as moved it from oven to counter, he saw that a plastic spoon was about to fall onto the floor. He dropped the hot glass dish and went for (and missed) the spoon. It was quite an impressive shatter, and I never quite felt safe on base ever again, knowing this klutz was working with live munitions.

[Trek420]

In my wayward youth I worked at Mesa Cafe' in Oakland. We were doing a Chinese 5 spice Duck Confit (sp) as one of the daily specials. Alison Negrin (chef) handed me her recipe and spices, off I went to grind the spices and prepare the duck fat. The spice mixture included kosher salt. I forget if that was one of the 5 or it's really 6 ....

Then I started working on the duck breasts, bone and skin them. We were doing something else with the rest of the duck and of course rendering the duck fat.

Another cook had the task of seasoning the duck with the spice mixture, then putting the seasoned duck breast into the duck fat that's also seasoned with Chinese 5 spice. With the more or less traditional duck confit we often did he'd always added salt. Why should this one be different?

For one thing 'cause the chefs 5-spice mixture was already "kosher salted to perfection" I'd also told him all the spices including salt are in there.

Did he try it first? Noooooo. And we ended up with a professional size vat of salty brined inedible virtually pickled duck

[PinkBike]

i dont cook much - i eat very simply - veggies/fruits/chicken.

so my pantry is usually paltry.

my 20-something nephew lived with me for a while, he was a great cook. he did lemon meringue pie from scratch!! he decided to make these great cinnamon rolls to take on a trip with his buds. he used the crisco i had in the cupboard. unfortunately he didnt realize it had been in the cupboard for YEARS. he said they were the NASTIEST things he'd ever tasted.