Reality Check

I sometimes get the impression that people think I can do no wrong in the kitchen. That my pasta's always al dente, my cakes always risen, my eggs always fluffy. Folks, let me tell you: no one, but no one, is immune to the kitchen disaster.

See this towering beauty of almond meringue, gooseberry-studded whipped cream and yellow cake? Baked in the wee small hours Sunday morning before a 50th wedding anniversary party for my dearest friends in the whole world attended by all their friends and family as well as a woman who regularly wins baking contests in her home state of Hessen? It was, in a word, raw on the inside. Raw. Raw. Raw.

As in, uncooked batter. As in, inedible. As in, DISASTER.

I almost melted into a puddle of shame. I almost let it ruin my day. I almost cried. And then my friend gave me a steadying hug, helped me saw off the top part of the meringue, scooped out the raw innards, and glued the good parts of the cake back together (after all, there was all that nice whipped cream and fresh gooseberries and meringue and toasted almonds). Then we put the surgically-enhanced cake back on the buffet table along with all the other home-baked marvels and you know what? It was the first cake gone.

So next time you find yourself whisk in hand, lower lip trembling, in front of a kitchen disaster, just remember: you're not alone! And there's got to be a solution somewhere. Even if it means throwing it all in the bin and ordering pizza.

Happy Monday!

Comments

[Marissa]

Thank you for coming clean b/c as you said we've all been there!! It does look very beautiful!

[Vicky]

Luisa, thank you for reminding us that chefs are also faulty people. it gets the pressure off !

[Laura]

That's hilarious...reminds me of that Cosby Show episode where Cliff replaces a missing slice of pie with whipped cream covered paper towels. Cake looks gorgeous though, and I absolutely adore gooseberries and cream!

[my spatula]

have had more than my share of these moments!

[KB]

Thank you so much for this post! It's nice to be reminded that even folks with far more experience in the kitchen than I are not immune to disasters. I also enjoyed reading the other "kitchen traumas" posted in the comments above. As someone else said, it's the mark of a cook chef to turn the experience around and I hope that by reading these stories I might be able to glean a few tricks to salvage my own next wreck! :D

[KB]

** sorry, I meant "good chef" haha

[Anne]

Is there something in the cosmos forcing kitchen disasters across the globe? I made a kale lasagna that was such a nightmare, even my eats anything husband couldn't choke down a portion.

Glad it worked out. The cake at least looks beyond lovely.

[Rocky Mountain Woman]

I know exactly how you feel! Anyone who cooks has disasters. It's all part of the nothing ventured, nothing gained syndrome. Just keep on going is my mantra. BTW, there's no better friend than one who sticks with you when the chips are down or the souffle has fallen...

[fotographiafoodie]

I think it is impressive no matter what happened. Looks gorgeous! (and delicious!)

[connie]

THe cake looks and sounds so good. Will you post the recipe?
Maybe it was just a question of timing in the oven.

[Jennifer S]

I'm glad you had a good friend to help you through this... I know I've wanted to disappear when I've had the occasional epic fail.

Glad to hear it was STILL the tastiest thing on the block. That should help with the confidence.

[Katie @ Cozydelicious]

Thank you, thank you. I am sorry that your cake was a mess - really I am. But it does make me feel better! I had a raspberry tart crisis this week (how can you go wrong with fresh berries and all that butter? I have no idea, but you can). So sad, too, because I used all of the fresh-picked berries and teh thing was inedible. I'm glad you saved your cake!

[Honeybee]

And it looked so beautiful!!

Ever since I've had a baby there have been countless kitchen disasters - scorched carrots, scorched spinach, scorched kohlrabi, scorched basmati rice and a totally undercooked cake for which I had had such high hopes! So easy to get distracted when someone very loudly asks to be fed RIGHT NOW.

[KAHUNA]

LOL I love this post - I once prepared a brand new dish for some friends- never did it before but for some reason pan fried lasagnia sounded like da bomb - and it was - I took one bite and tossed it all in the garbage- what a mess-

Luckily a fresh tomato and basil sauce over some pasta served as a great backup!

[FashionFoodfatale]

It may have been uncooked but it looks truly wonderful! Recipe please?

[Annie @ PhD in Parenting]

I write about a different topic: Parenting. A friend of mine writes about crafts. Both of us have had people assume that because we share the best of ourselves - our ideas, what worked, etc. that it means we are perfect (or think we are!). Far from it. I've started sharing more of my challenges or my mistakes, like you did in this post, to show people that I am human too.

[Stephanie]

Thank you for this encouragement! This week, I was inspired to make homemade ice cream sandwiches. Until I actually made them, at which point my inspiration promptly fled. The bottom chocolate cookie crust was baked on to the glass pan never to lift off, the vanilla ice cream melted into a puddle when I stirred hot cherries into it (obviously, the summer heat is getting to my brain) . . . After 24 hours of freezing, the only really good thing I can say about this cake is that we really enjoyed pouring your recipe for hot fudge sauce over top. Hot fudge sauce to the rescue!

[molly]

I would provide some soldiering comment, but I see there are 66 others. So I will say, only, kudos to you for your courage in sharing such escapades. (And, me too!)

[Stephane]

I'm sending one more hug! : ) And a thank you for your supportive post; I've only barely recovered from a disappointment related to a "special" supper I made for my father.

[Kitvy]

Thank you for sharing this issue. :)

[Teryll Sacks]

I can sooooooo relate to this post! I'm glad we are not alone. :)

[Mon Petit Chou]

C'est magnifique! We are all human! Hip hip hooray!

I am so happy you are writing a book. You write the way I feel. Especially here:
http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2009/10/leap-and-a-net-will-appear.html


Sara

[Lynne Kovan]

Sometimes I just know that anything I try to cook on a particular day will be doomed. Therefore a bowl of cornflakes is my best bet before even entering the kitchen. Delicious!

[Hypnotherapy London]

These look amazing!

[Diane]

Do you have the recipe for this cake with the whipped cream and toasted almonds? It looks amazing and I would like to try it!

[Justin Orde]

Have you ever heard of the "How not to Cook" cookbook? Really great reading and very funny. I'm mentioned it on my blog recently. Book two is coming out soon maybe you could contribute and turn your disaster into a bit of a win!

[Karen Jenkins]

You give hope to us all, lol. Thanks for the story.

[k]

I say Horray for good friends. I love it.

[justcooknyc]

oh no. well, it looks really good. love the photo

[Maija Haavisto]

In some TV cooking contest there was a pastry chef who made desserts for a living. For the contest in that episode she made a jasmine green tea panna cotta or something. Obviously she had made panna cotta dozens of times before and everyone was counting on it to be the highlight of their menu. Yet that time it turned out too hard and gelatinous instead of creamy. She had no idea why, but it must have been very embarrassing.

[Aly]

Thanks for sharing that! Everyone makes mistakes, and the nice thing about baking mistakes is that they're usually savable and delicious despite their imperfections. The cake looks delicious!

[Alisha Bondarenko]

Best blog post I've read. As an avid baker and trier-of-new-things, I've been there and you really related to, I'm sure, a lot of us. I hate that you experienced it in front of a crowd but thank you for sharing and I will remember this next time I splatter my last egg onto the floor in the middle of baking a cake.

[Wei Wei]

I have my fair share of kitchen disasters as well =( I feel you sista! However, every disaster comes with a lesson learned and you will do better the next round =)

[Tom @ Tall Clover]

It's nice to know I have company in the kitchen in the realm of occasional mishaps. I just posted some photos of my overly roasted peppers chased by a big dose of distraction. And then there's my chopping block on the stove fiasco...I need supervision.

[amanda@seegirlcook]

it always happens like that at the worst possible time! it sounds like it ended up turning out well though, good job!:) it looks amazing.

[Kruzon]

Absalutely a must try. I'm a prawn lover and here in Thailand we have them Jumbo prawns. We clean and split the body leaving the meat attached at the head (neck) and before (the still finned)the tail. Then we push the tail fins back up through the split body cavity creating butterfly shrimp. This makes your shrimp appear to be at least double in size and the presentation is more professional as well.