I will never again . . . (Part 3)

[Blether]

I will never again strain the soup stock through a colander that's just sitting in the sink. Because that's not the part I want to save...

[Darienne]

I will never again strain the soup stock through a colander that's just sitting in the sink.  Because that's not the part I want to save...

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I think I feel better already. Thanks, Blether.

[fooey]

I will never again roll the 100 meatballs in flour* WHEN those meatballs are to be added to a chicken soup (Italian Wedding Soup), or any soup that's not supposed to be as thick as oatmeal.

However, if I ever want to make a really, REALLY thick soup, floured meatballs will get me there with haste.

*They were sticky!

Edited August 19, 2009 by fooey (log)

[anthonylee86]

I will never again lit up my tongs to inspect my fried chicken straight from the frier without first checking that my hand is clear from the channel in the tongs full of hot oil. Left a nasty burn that caught me by surprise.

I'm almost ashamed of this one, but know no one else has ever done it. As a young kid, I was in the kitchen with my mom while she was cooking. She was using Crisco shortening, and I had it in my mind that the shortening was vanilla ice cream. She warned, I ignored and tried it. Believe me it is not ice cream. She still says today that I had this look of extreme betrayal on my face because she told me it was ice cream, which she never did. To this day, I still despise Crisco.

[HowardLi]

Volunteer to wash someone else's knives.

I was in culinary school and had been cleaning up, my tools always last in fresh water, someone asked if I could wash their knife (I had just sharpened it for them too) I said yeah, hands still in the warm water (nice and soft hands now) they litterally tossed the 8" Henkles into the sink.... you could hear it ride the bone on my index finger. The color of the water was a really pretty pink instantly.  No insurance, so superglue and butterflys... cool scar too.

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I would've kicked them in the stomach instantly. I hope you didn't suffer any complications from that (e.g. infection).

[rooftop1000]

as another chunk of the handle of my old Henkle fell off yesterday...I will remind everyone - They don't go in the dishwasher

What? I had never had a good knife and a dishwasher at the same time before

tracey

[David A. Goldfarb]

I will never again lit up my tongs to inspect my fried chicken straight from the frier without first checking that my hand is clear from the channel in the tongs full of hot oil.  Left a nasty burn that caught me by surprise.

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Did that once when I was younger and had hot oil dripping down my arm. Ever since, I've always made sure the tongs are pointed down.

[MPruett]

I have two:

1. I'll never leave the 2 liter bottle that I'd used to hold the old, rancid deep frying oil on the kitchen counter overnight before throwing it away again. The following morning, I stumbled into the kitchen without turning the lights on, and thought my wife had left the Coke on the counter, so I decided to sneak a gulp before I put it back in the fridge. Surprise! A gulp (yes, i swallowed before I had a chance to spit it out) of vaguely fishy, nasty, rancid oil is not the way to start the day, let me tell you. I could taste it until about lunchtime.

2. When in a hurry, don't have the thought "Well, the Cuisinart is kind of like a hand mixer... I bet if I'm careful, I can whip the mashed potatoes in it."

My wife and I had been married about 2-3 weeks, and had both sets of parents up for Christmas dinner, and we were in a hurry to get dinner served, so I came up with my brilliant idea for speeding up the potatoes.

Let's just say that they tasted great, but their consistency was somewhere near wood glue, only more viscous and adhesive. They literally would stick to your teeth and the roof of your mouth when you ate them. I still hear about that every time we have a big dinner on either side of the family.

[Darienne]

I have two:

1.  I'll never leave the 2 liter bottle that I'd used to hold the old, rancid deep frying oil on the kitchen counter overnight before throwing it away again.  The following morning, I stumbled into the kitchen without turning the lights on, and thought my wife had left the Coke on the counter, so I decided to sneak a gulp before I put it back in the fridge.  Surprise!  A gulp (yes, i swallowed before I had a chance to spit it out) of vaguely fishy, nasty, rancid oil is not the way to start the day, let me tell you.  I could taste it until about lunchtime.

←

I usually think of myself as a kindly person, but I have to admit, that one left me laughing...my DH too.

Mine is similar but not so yucky tasting. My husband poured old lawn mower oil into a discarded dishwashing soap bottle in the garage and left it there. I, of course, thought...just like him, leaving stuff lying around...and took it into the kitchen where I used the liquid to wash some cooking bowls. Arrgghhh.

Guess what? It's still sitting out in the garage.

[PopsicleToze]

2.  When in a hurry, don't have the thought "Well, the Cuisinart is kind of like a hand mixer... I bet if I'm careful, I can whip the mashed potatoes in it."

My wife and I had been married about 2-3 weeks, and had both sets of parents up for Christmas dinner, and we were in a hurry to get dinner served, so I came up with my brilliant idea for speeding up the potatoes.

Let's just say that they tasted great, but their consistency was somewhere near wood glue, only more viscous and adhesive.  They literally would stick to your teeth and the roof of your mouth when you ate them.  I still hear about that every time we have a big dinner on either side of the family.

←

You described the consistency so well!!

One thing, though, from one glue maker (only one time, though) to another -- you will continue to hear about your gluey potatoes for the rest of your life. It will never go away -- even as the family have their mouths full of fantastic food you've slaved days over -- between bites, they'll say, "Can you believe the boy/girl can cook like this but can't even maked mashed potatoes."

Then, they'll look at you with kind eyes, smile and say, "Bless his heart."

Rhonda

[MicBacchus]

Put heavy cream in the KitchenAid, get distracted with a customer, and come back to find butter - doesn't quite work work

[judiu]

You described the consistency so well!!

One thing, though, from one glue maker (only one time, though) to another -- you will continue to hear about your gluey potatoes for the rest of your life. It will never go away -- even as the family have their mouths full of fantastic food you've slaved days over -- between bites, they'll say, "Can you believe the boy/girl can cook like this but can't even maked mashed potatoes."

Then, they'll look at you with kind eyes, smile and say, "Bless his heart."

Rhonda

Rhonda, that phrase generally occurs only when one's family is from below the Mason-Dixson line and referrs to the American Civil war as the "late unpleasantness" (runs away, FAST!)

[Aloha Steve]

ZEST: Steve the Master Chef, thought that meant, the graded flesh of the fruit the recipe called for. I made sure to get ALL the peel and the pith cut off, thereby leaving the fleshy part. I squeezed out the juice first, so the flesh would grade easier

After a few months of this, I bought The Microplane Zester. Reading all the glowing reviews, I figured this was what I needed to get all the smushy stuff easily.

It actually made it harder, cause it graded the flesh so finely, it stuck to the underneath of the blades . Hmmmmmmmmm Something is amiss. (Ya Think)

I finally decided to consult my cooking library for a tome that would give me a better technique. The first place I looked was "Martha Stewart's Cooking School", NADA.

Next, "The Cook's Book"-nothing and then "Baking: From My Home to Yours" same thing...... no the dummy's guide for HOW TO ZEST.

THEN, what I did, what I usually do, the first thing when on a quest for enlightenment, (I wish I bought the stock a long time ago) I GOOGLED IT

Now MASTER CHEF STEVE, has a new way of ZESTING.....

I will never again, do it the way I use to.

Edited September 20, 2009 by Aloha Steve (log)

[stuartlikesstrudel]

Haha, that's great, Steve!

But it's an interesting point, too, that zest is one of those things that's never really explained because it's assumed that people will know. I think that assumptions have to be made, or all recipes would be long and unwieldy to read... it certainly helps that we have google now to help us with all that kind of thing!

[fooey]

I will never again...store my pastry brushes in a ZipLoc bag.

The drawer where I keep my pastry brushes and such was becoming disorganized, so I put all the brushes in a ZipLoc gallon size freezer bag. That way they could socialize when I was away (and I could find them when I needed them).

I didn't realize that putting not-completely-dry pastry brushes into a sealed plastic bag in a warm kitchen would be creating the perfect biosphere for mold, and boy was it ever!

The bag looks like a scene from CSI. I can see the see the pastry brush corpses, but just barely, as the bag has been completely taken over by mold.

[Chris Amirault]

That's really, um, gross, fooey.

As for me: I will never again grab, potholder-less, the handle of my Sitram stainless steel saute pan after I've roasted potatoes at 450F for an hour, nor will I then hold it for two seconds, while it sears the interior of my hand and I shriek, looking for a place to set it down without spilling the precious spuds.

Well, I probably will do it again. And when I do, I hope I remember that sticking my hand in an ice bath for 14 hours -- including all night long -- is the best way to prevent my hand from losing two layers of skin and creating grape-sized blisters. Leftover Vicodin from a back injury helps, too.

[maggiethecat]

That's really, um, gross, fooey.

As for me: I will never again grab, potholder-less, the handle of my Sitram stainless steel saute pan after I've roasted potatoes at 450F for an hour, nor will I then hold it for two seconds, while it sears the interior of my hand and I shriek, looking for a place to set it down without spilling the precious spuds.

Well, I probably will do it again. And when I do, I hope I remember that sticking my hand in an ice bath for 14 hours -- including all night long -- is the best way to prevent my hand from losing two layers of skin and creating grape-sized blisters. Leftover Vicodin from a back injury helps, too.

Yowsa, Chris. I actually feel your pain because I've done the same knuckleheaded thing more times than I want to admit. Sans Vicodan. And, like you, I know I'll do it again.

[Chris Amirault]

Sigh. I never thought I'd curse the perfect fit of Sitram handle to my simian hand, but the ring of blisters screams otherwise.

[Marlene]

I've done this more times than I care to count. Every time, I swear it will be the last.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Ouch. Just yesterday, jet lagged and five days away from the kitchen while traveling, I was preparing a brisket in a large copper rondeau with bronze handles, and my wife surprised me by coming home early, adding to my general state of disorientation, just as I was getting ready to transfer the pot to the oven after thoroughly searing both sides of the roast, which means she was watching as I grabbed one of those handles with my bare left hand. I ran my hand under cold water, put the roast in the oven, and then went for a gel compress from the freezer. I was expecting a blister and can feel a little thickening beneath the skin, but so far so good.

[snowangel]

That's really, um, gross, fooey.

As for me: I will never again grab, potholder-less, the handle of my Sitram stainless steel saute pan after I've roasted potatoes at 450F for an hour, nor will I then hold it for two seconds, while it sears the interior of my hand and I shriek, looking for a place to set it down without spilling the precious spuds.

Well, I probably will do it again. And when I do, I hope I remember that sticking my hand in an ice bath for 14 hours -- including all night long -- is the best way to prevent my hand from losing two layers of skin and creating grape-sized blisters. Leftover Vicodin from a back injury helps, too.

As I've reported many times up-topic, anytime I put a pan with a handle in the oven, I wrap the handle in foil (and lest you think I'm wasteful, I reuse the foil). Why do I do this? The foil certainly won't prevent a burn, but will serve as a reminder to grab a potholder or kitchen towel to remove said "palm burner" from the oven.

And, yes, Chris, unless you give yourself something like my foil reminder, you will do this again.

[maggiethecat]

That's really, um, gross, fooey.

As for me: I will never again grab, potholder-less, the handle of my Sitram stainless steel saute pan after I've roasted potatoes at 450F for an hour, nor will I then hold it for two seconds, while it sears the interior of my hand and I shriek, looking for a place to set it down without spilling the precious spuds.

Well, I probably will do it again. And when I do, I hope I remember that sticking my hand in an ice bath for 14 hours -- including all night long -- is the best way to prevent my hand from losing two layers of skin and creating grape-sized blisters. Leftover Vicodin from a back injury helps, too.

As I've reported many times up-topic, anytime I put a pan with a handle in the oven, I wrap the handle in foil (and lest you think I'm wasteful, I reuse the foil). Why do I do this? The foil certainly won't prevent a burn, but will serve as a reminder to grab a potholder or kitchen towel to remove said "palm burner" from the oven.

And, yes, Chris, unless you give yourself something like my foil reminder, you will do this again.

I'll buy some foil tomorrow and try to remember this brilliant truc. I suspect I'll fail. Sigh. OTOH, there's nothing like that sound of sizzling meat until you realize it's your own flesh sizzling.

Edited September 23, 2009 by maggiethecat (log)

[Pierogi]

As for me: I will never again grab, potholder-less, the handle of my Sitram stainless steel saute pan after I've roasted potatoes at 450F for an hour, nor will I then hold it for two seconds, while it sears the interior of my hand and I shriek, looking for a place to set it down without spilling the precious spuds.......

....Leftover Vicodin from a back injury helps, too.

Get thee a "handle cozy" for lack of a better term.

I have a couple that are made almost identically to a hot pad/oven mitt, but shaped to fit a skillet handle, i.e. long & narrow. I got them at World Market (Cost Plus) ages ago. But I have also seen them in silicone, and Teflon-impregnated. I use them RELIGIOUSLY on my one saute pan that doesn't have a handle that disipates heat, and on any pan I have put in the oven and pulled out (done the palm burn bit one too many times my own self). If nothing else, the sight of the cozy on the red-hot handle is a visual reminder to be freakin' careful with the pan !

And Vicodin helps just about anything....

[nakji]

I will never again use the blade of my cleaver to carry ginger to the wok, and take off said ginger by running my fingers over the edge. Who knew fingers had so much blood?

[HowardLi]

It's OK if you slide your fingers off perpendicular to the edge. Did you go parallel?