Kitchen Mistakes

[Tina]

We have all had disasters. I'm really not looking for those here.
I began cooking when I was tall enough to see over the counter (early because I was a tall kid) so I am pretty comfortable in the kitchen. But didn't have a lot of experience with convenience foods until I grew up and bought my own. I also had to slowly collect recipes and cookbooks over the years.
So in my 20's I get my first bundt type pan (smooth not bumpy) And I'm looking for something to bake in it. Right on the back of my new Bisquick box is a recipe for a coffee cake with a delightful cinnamon crumb topping. I whipped up a batch and sprinkled that topping over it and tucked it into the oven. It smelled delicious. But when it came out of the oven, no crumb topping? I had forgotten to add the Bisquick to the topping mixture. The cake had risen around it and swallowed it. When the buttery, sugary, cinnamon-y stuff melted it left a nice irregular hole in the middle of that ring of cake. It was delicious and very pretty in there. I loved it and have replicated it many times over the years.
Do you have a mistake that worked well for you?

[Tina]

Another one of mine is more recent (about 15 years ago). And also involved Bisquick.
I was looking for something to do with some leftover chicken and right there on the back of my Bisquick box is a recipe called Impossible Chicken Pie. I had all of the ingredients and had a potluck to cook for, so I figured I would double it and cook it in my 9 X13 casserole. This is where a small kitchen is the pits. I don't have a nice place to leave a cookbook or box around for easy reference. So I end up going into the dining room to read what I need to do/add next and dashing back to the kitchen.
I doubled that recipe but it didn't come out pie-like at all. I had forgotten to double the milk in it so I ended up with a lovely quiche type dish that cut into squares wonderfully. And it reheats lovely too.
I have never yet made an Impossible pie. But I have made a lot of leftovers into this wonderful dish. I have yet to come up with a name for it, I just call it my meat cake thing.

[sunsoaker]

I do have one. I was going to make tacos for dinner one night and I always used McCormick seasoning mixes. Like you, I use two packets with extra meat. I was in a hurry this particular night and not paying attention and one of the seasoning packets I grabbed was nacho cheese. It ended up being better that way. I can't even find the nacho cheese seasoning anymore. But I always made it that way after that. It cme out tasting better. Even the kids liked it better. And we named it "mistake"

[Dianna]

My mistakes are usually inedible...

[sunsoaker]

lol

[Tina]

That sounds delicious, Barb.
Dianna not so much.
I have had many things that did not work out so well, too. I can't remember any right now (selective memory?).
But Jonni using a cup of baking soda instead of a tablespoon in her cookies is a priceless memory.
And there are things It seems I will never master. I can make a nice enough pie crust, as good as ready made or frozen. But I can't make ones like I've had like in New Zealand. They have tensile strength but are flaky and melt in your mouth good.
And I want to make biscuits like the Colonel's or like Mac Donalds' used to be. The closest I have ever come was angel biscuits; half biscuit, half yeast roll.

[sunsoaker]

I can't do pie crusts or buiscuits at all... or bread.

I once made noodles from scratch that turned out great - ONCE. Every time I've tried since, I flopped. lol

[bayou girl]

my most recent mistake was a good/bad thing.
i made potato soup.  put the cheese in the pot (crock pot) not thinking about it.  tasted wonderful, was horrible to clean.  won't do that again.  they can add the cheese at the table.

[duh]

The closest I can come is experiments.  Sometimes I just look at a recipe and say I'm not putting that and that together.  The last one was a Pumpkin Soup.  The new thing seems to be to combine different flavors and sweet and savory.  Well my taste buds just aren't that sophisticated.  So my pumpkin soup included pumpkin pie spices instead of sage.  The guys loved it...so did I.

I know what you mean Jennifer.  I've found that if I get the sticky cheese pot in the dishwater before it cools it's much easier to work with.  So when I do cheese sauces or anything I always do them in a regular pot and wash immediately after putting the cheese in it's serving container.

[Tina]

Sweet and savory mixes are far from new. They were the best way to cover the gamy taste that often followed wild venison (and other game) for hundreds of years.  I am selective about my mixtures though. I leave sage out of almost everything any more.
But a recipe favorite of mine is to take mustard and a jelly or jam (any single flavor) and mix in equal parts. Stick it in a crockpot with cut up hot dogs or meatballs or any boneless finger meat. This is a great way to clean out your fridge from that diijon you tried and found had too much punch or that jar of orange marmelade that didn't set up right. It sounds awful but tastes wonderful. But just plain old Frenches yellow and grape jelly works too. Or whatever you have in the back of your cabinet.

[duh]

I'm just not that sophisticated.  I didn't know it was around for a long time.  Most of my life I've worked and haven't eaten anything but meat and potatoes.

I remember when grape jelly became popular in meat balls in my area.  I really didn't like it at all.  I like my sweet, sweet and my savory, savory.  I guess I'm a culinary savage.

[bayou girl]

so, does a substitution count?  or an "accidentally on purpose"?

[Tina]

Yes, I would like to hear whatever worked.

[Dianna]

But a recipe favorite of mine is to take mustard and a jelly or jam (any single flavor) and mix in equal parts. Stick it in a crockpot with cut up hot dogs or meatballs or any boneless finger meat.

I have heard that this is good, but have never been brave enough to try it...

[bayou girl]

so today i was making uncooked fondant.  to make pinwheels.  i needed corn syrup, but didn't have enough, so tried it with honey.  works!  also, tried it with dark karo syrup, added cocoa, and works.

i did peanut butter pinwheels with the honey fondant.  scott liked it.  i just used the same amount of honey that i would have used corn syrup.

[Tina]

That does sound delicious. And I'm glad it worked. Corn syrup is used for more than just sweetening a recipe, it stabilizes it somehow chemically. Nice to know.

[UNCLEG]

Nothing good came out of  if but a mess,  Tried to open a can of tomato sauce that had gone bad( unknown to me) any way it spewed straight up in the air when I locked down can opener.  Needless to say dinner was delayed until after the ceiling in kitchen was cleaned . 

[Tina]

ewww, you reminded me of a bad can of cat food I tried to open once. stinky stuff everywhere.