Remembering a Classic Kitchen Disaster...

Every new cook has stories which will stick with them forever.  They aren't exactly things they're "proud" of, but they are stories that were either so noteworthy or so traumatic that they live on in their memories and teach them valuable lessons that carry on FAR into their cooking experiences.


For example, the first time I attempted to cook stir-fry for my husband, I tried to go exactly by the book.  I heated the oil until it was nice and hot, then added the chicken.  One mistake.  I heated the oil a little TOO nice and hot, and I dropped the chicken from too far up while my husband stood a little too close, eagerly awaiting his dinner.  The result?  Nearly 3rd degree burns on my overly-trusting husband's arm.  He bragged for weeks to his buddies about how his wife "scalded" him in the kitchen.  Oops.


Beyond all of my kitchen disasters, however, one distinct memory takes first place in my mind.  I even wrote a blog about it, back in the day.  That blog entry was the first inspiration for this entire blog.


So, just because I'm in a funny mood, I am going to copy and paste that blog entry below, purely for education purposes.


Without further ado, I bring you:


"Why You Should Never Put Pyrex on a Hot Stovetop: The Case of the Exploding Brownies"


Once upon a time, my roomate Kati, friend Kristen, and I decided we really had a hankerin' for some brownies.  So I decided to bake some.  I whipped up some batter, put it into my pyrax baking pan, threw them in the oven, and sat down to read my systematic theology.  While the brownies were baking, Kati (who hadn't eaten yet) made herself some dinner on the stove top.  She ate her dinner and sat down in the living room.  After awhile, we could smell that the brownies were probably near done, so I went into the kitchen and took them out of the oven, setting them on the stove top to let them cool.  However, I was unaware that my dear, sweet roomie had forgotten to turn off the stove when she was done making her broccoli, and after a few minutes, Kati remarked, "Hon, did you take the brownies out of the oven yet?  It smells like something's burning." 

"Yes," I replied, "I put them on the stove top to cool."

Suddenly, Kati jumped up.  "Oh NO!  The Brownies!!"  She ran into the kitchen and suddenly there was a scream and a crash.  I ran in to see this sight:


Oh no!!!


The stove...


And the floor!!!  Poor brownies!!  :(

Kati had picked up the glass pan of brownies off of the burning stove top just in time for the cool air to cause some sort of reaction that made the the glass pan (and the brownies) explode and fly all over the kitchen.  The brownies were literally sizzling on the floor, countertop, and stovetop.  We found glass everywhere!  We could not stop laughing as we cleaned up the mess, and needless to say, not much studying got done last night... after all, there was a second batch of brownies to make!  Oh well... that's what happens when you live in Jenkins 2T.

The moral of the story:  Well, I think you can figure it out.  :)

TRUE STORY!!

Now, recently, someone told me that my story could not possibly be true, after all, pyrex was indestructable.  So I set out on a mission and found this website:

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/p/pyrex-explodes.htm

May my cooking mayhem serve as a lesson to all non-domestic housewives everywhere.  Beware of exploding pyrex!!  :D

(The best part of the story is perhaps that my roommates later would gift me with a set of pyrex bakeware and a box of brownie mix as a bridal shower gift!)

Keeping the Kitchen Safe,

Heather  :)