Primula

I think I've made every mistake in cooking that one could possibly do. I've baked something in the oven only to find it still sitting on the counter one hour later. I've baked something in the oven only to find one hour later that I never turned on the oven.

I just made us a nice dinner, but as soon as I took it out of the oven, I realized I forgot to add milk to it. So our dinner was very dry and very disappointing.

Have you made any cooking mistakes?

Yorkieabroad

I let my wife in the kitchen once......BIG mistake!

Trixie_b

I remember as a kid my mum made custard and when she served it, my brother and I turned up our noses.

It true "northern dad" style - dad said, shut up, everything your mother makes is good.... and then her realised that she's used salt instead of sugar to make it with.

Primula

The worst mistake I ever made was to make a huge batch of chili for some charitable thing we were going to. When it was done, I put it all in a huge tupperware container, which I left on the stovetop to cool down. What I didn't realize was that the electric burner was still on low and it eventually burned a hole in the bottom of the container. By the time I discovered this, the entire contents of the container had dripped through the entire stove. Took months before the smell of chili in my kitchen had disappeared.

Beaverstate

Just the usual. Put something on the stove, go watch TV,fall asleep.

lansbury

What is cooking?

SultanOfSwing

I did that once as well! Stuck a bunch of fish fingers in the oven and a load of chips in the pan. After a while I got sick of waiting for my dinner to be ready only to realise I hadn't switched on the stove.

Gas really has its advantages over electric there. I'd turned all the knobs to the right setting but I never flicked the switch

GeoffM

I recently forgot to put a bay leaf in a chicken adobo I was making. Absolute unmitigated disaster.

WEBlue

I can't get used to electric. I've always had gas hobs & ovens, which are so easy to use since you can *see* how much heat you've got on. But the electric stove we've got in this lease property is a disaster. The hob burners get waaay too hot (there's no "warm" setting--even 'low' will scorch things) & the oven is much too cool. So to warm pots on the stovetop I have to turn the stupid burners on & off or else stick them in the oven. Trying to do Christmas dinner for 6 was NOT fun!

Bink

Yep! Ceramic hobs are nice and easy to clean and are better than induction tops but gas just rules in so many ways. It's much more controllable and if you stirfry stuff (which I do quite a lot as it's quick, easy and healthy) you can actually get the whole pan hot, not just the bottom. It makes a massive difference.

Best tip for christmas dinner I have is to pre cook all of the veg to just pre-al dente (we normally have 5 or 6 veggies served at xmas) and ice them to stop them cooking. Then just drop them in boiling water when it comes time to serve and bring them up to temp. Trying to time the veggies I find to be the most stressful thing about xmas dinner so this alleviates that.

I've made a couple of cooking mistakes in the past (overcooked things) but I actually pay quite a lot of attention these days and don't make many cockups anymore. Last big mistake was trying to make a bourbon sauce that was just rank. Fortunately I wasn't sure about it from the start so made it separate to everything else.

I love to cook so I just enjoy it these days and find it immensly relaxing. I bought a quattro grill (with interchangeable grill sections) and use it too cook full meals outside (it has a skillet attachment which I cook garlic and rosemary potatos in for example).

Orangepants

About 5 years ago - forgot to put the turkey in the oven on Christmas Day, everything else done - went off to open presents and drink way too much champagne.. Realised about 4 hours later!

CAdreaming

+1

Leslie

Ooooohhh that's deep.

I have cooking angst. I stand at the door of my kitchen and I fear I might not cook, but I also dread the possibility that even if I do cook - I might cook something that is not enjoyable. Nothing is holding me back from bad cooking except myself. Am I strong enough to cook well? Am I brave enough to not cook at all? In the end, does anything I cook even matter? If a souffle falls alone in the forest without anybody to hear it, does it make a sound?

SultanOfSwing

I knew nothing but electric before I moved here. When I started using the gas oven I'd be messing up left and right.

I like gas though, more direct heat and when you turn off the burner, the heat is away instantly.

tonrob

My cooking mistakes usually come as a result of drinking while cooking - the most common being making curries so hot that Mrs tonrob can't eat them.