Guess who’s not going to get the “World’s Best Cook” award anytime soon (or ever)? ME!
And I am 100% ok with that. Now don’t get me wrong, I think I’m a good cook, and I definitely try to be creative when I can, but I will never be the best. And it’s not really a priority for me.
I’m not asking for sympathy comments, rather I’m just being honest. An article about common cooking mistakes actually got me thinking about my skills in the kitchen. And I basically came to one conclusion…when I’m rushed and feel pressed for time, my food sucks. Plain and simple. Vishnu can attest to that!
Two stories readily come to mind when I think about this.
Mistake 1: Serving your family raw eggplant.
I volunteered to make my family and Vishnu dinner one night, so I found a delicious sounding eggplant recipe and got to work. I can’t remember the specifics, but I think the dish involved sautéing the eggplant with tomatoes and spices.
I remember feeling a little rushed because Vishnu and I were meeting up with some friends later that night. Well, I must have felt really rushed because the eggplant was definitely undercooked. 
I was so disappointed. We ended up ordering pizza for dinner. My parents and Vishnu still joke about that meal to this day.
My dish was supposed to look a little something like this one. Yeah, not even close.
Mistake #2: Buying Shake n’ Bake instead of Stove Top Stuffing
I love making new and different foods for Vishnu. He’s always so supportive and gives me great ideas on how to add a little extra oomph to the given recipe. Sometimes he even helps out!
A few years ago, I found a simple recipe for stuffed chicken that I wanted to make for him. I didn’t have all the ingredients I needed, so I ran to the grocery store after work. As you can probably guess, I was rushing as I whizzed through the aisles picking up things here and there.
I probably should’ve reviewed my list one more time because I definitely picked up Shake n’ Bake instead of Stove Top Stuffing. The worst part is that I didn’t realize my mistake until the chicken was stuffed and in the oven. Oops! I remember staring at the Shake n’ Bake packaging and thinking, “Something doesn’t look right…ohhhh crap!!!”
After about two bites, I put my fork down, and deemed the chicken uneatable. Vishnu, on the other hand, went back for seconds because he’s nice like that. Afterwards, when I was finally laughing about my carelessness, he told me to just slow down next time.
Don’t worry, babe, I promise not to feed you raw eggplant and Shake n’ Bake stuffed chicken ever again. I also promise that life with me will be full of fun little adventures. 
Never a dull moment!
Please make me feel better about my cooking mistakes and tell me about one of yours!!
I once made lasagna and didn’t cook the noodles all the way. My parents definitely didn’t enjoy crunchy lasagna. Ha!
haha i’ve DEF had my share of cooking mistakes. no one’s perfect 🙂
Awwww! I’ve never had shake and bake… but I have been known to leave out ingredients entirely. Important things, like butter. Oy.
Haha I love these stories, especially the aubergine one! I stopped cooking it for a looong time because of a bad experience- i.e. I once tried cooking it yet it still tasted raw! No funny stories come to mind right now but did u ever see Clueless? That scene of Cher burning the chicken and Christian going to her “Oh honey, you baked!” in the most condescending voice makes me laugh!
No one is perfect honey, so chill.
I’ve had my share of mishaps or kitchen adventures. I once created a dish from scratch and deemed uneatable. It was a tofu stir fry dish. And the tofu was all mushy! Yucks. Never mind with my story. 😀
Oh no I feel horrible to admit, I make my share of mistakes even now. I remember I made the first meal of my life and added so much cayenne to it that everyone had to order in. I once added salt to kheer..yeah I have done that!
Okay I should stop, cuz I can add many more to the list 🙂 Do you feel better?!
Once I was trying to make a salad and I was cutting an avocado and I ended up needing surgery on my hand. Yeah…thousands of dollars later and much physical therapy later everyone still makes fun of me.
Don’t worry Parita, it took me a while to learn how to cook eggplant too. Eggplant and potatoes are those ingredients that require more oil, more time while cooking. I like using less oil and then cover with a lid, trust me it will do it’s magic in 20 minutes and you’ll have soft edible eggplant. 🙂