I was around 14 and my sister was 11. We were spending Thanksgiving at our grandparents cabin in Shingletown. We wake up to snow and lots of it but no electricity as the storm has knocked out power. Awesome, a day of games, food and laughter. My mother explains that without electricity she and gran would not be able to cook a turkey or anything else for that matter.
My sister hates turkey so she was excited. I love turkey and all of the fixings. I was so bummed as we ate hot dogs cooked over the fireplace with sticks.
I was preparing a pumpkin cheesecake in someone else’s kitchen inside a mobile home. I didn’t realize that at some point during the baking the electrical breaker to the oven had switched off. When my timer went off, I pulled the cheesecake from the oven. It was a thing of beauty. The top of the cheesecake looked beautiful, not cracked like so many cheesecakes (first tipoff). But the moment I unspring the springform pan the unbaked pumpkin cheesecake batter gushed out all over the counter.
No pumpkin cheesecake that year.
I was in my 20s then, and this was a memorable reminder about the importance of doing a knife or toothpick test before opening a springform pan, or turning a cake pan upside down onto a plate.
I’ve undercooked turkeys. I’ve overcooked turkeys. I’ve made all the classic cooking mistakes, but every mistake was a new lesson.
Five years ago. Thanksgiving was all over and cleaned up, and the turkey carcass was in the pressure cooker on low heat to make soup stock. The whole family was in the living room playing a game or horsing around. We were laughing like crazy about something when all of a sudden — KABOOM! We looked over at the kitchen, awestruck, to see the rocker top had blown off the pressure cooker and hit the ceiling, and scalding, greasy steam was spewing like Old Faithful to the 12-foot ceiling, down the walls, all over the counters and floors. We ran in to rescue things, but the floor was slippery and, well, it was Keystone Cops. Hysterical. It took forever to clean up. Later we had to repaint. I didn’t use a pressure cooker again for years.
I have always had the newest, coolest, electric and electronic gadgets. Being one of the first (probably in Northern Calif) to own an Amana Radar Range Microwave Oven, of course I HAD to try cooking a Thanksgiving turkey in it. OMG! it looked like a pink, nasty, bare baby. It did not brown at all as it was purported to do per the recipe/instruction manual said it would. I believe the flesh was actually cooked (probably pucked to the max) but nobody could eat it as it looked so disgusting. This was in about 1975 or 1976. By the way, the oven probably weighed about 90 pounds back then. ‘Wish I still had it as a collector’s item!
It was back in the 70’s, and it was my first try at cooking a turkey. I learned that, yes, it is possible to turn an entire turkey into one large lump of jerky.
One holiday I baked a big juicy fat covered ham with crisscrosses and cloves decorating it. When it was done I poked two forks in it to lift it onto the platter. the forks were only poked into the fat………I got it up high enough to clear the edge of the deep roasting pan and kerplop! It fell back into the roasting pan with a very large and wet tidal wave of grease and juice…..then as I was standing there looking at my blouse and counter and the wall drip warm, (fortunately not scalding), and fragrant drippings, I felt something hit my head. Huh? I looked up at the ceiling and one by one squares of ham fat were coming loose and falling, plop, plip, ploop.
My worst mistake was eons ago, when I was only 19 and newly married, cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner. When I made the pumpkin pie I forgot to put the can of condensed milk in. Ugh!! Was a terrible pie. I’ve learned since, to always check over the recipe and make sure everything has been added.
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I was around 14 and my sister was 11. We were spending Thanksgiving at our grandparents cabin in Shingletown. We wake up to snow and lots of it but no electricity as the storm has knocked out power. Awesome, a day of games, food and laughter. My mother explains that without electricity she and gran would not be able to cook a turkey or anything else for that matter.
My sister hates turkey so she was excited. I love turkey and all of the fixings. I was so bummed as we ate hot dogs cooked over the fireplace with sticks.
Reply
I was preparing a pumpkin cheesecake in someone else’s kitchen inside a mobile home. I didn’t realize that at some point during the baking the electrical breaker to the oven had switched off. When my timer went off, I pulled the cheesecake from the oven. It was a thing of beauty. The top of the cheesecake looked beautiful, not cracked like so many cheesecakes (first tipoff). But the moment I unspring the springform pan the unbaked pumpkin cheesecake batter gushed out all over the counter.
No pumpkin cheesecake that year.
I was in my 20s then, and this was a memorable reminder about the importance of doing a knife or toothpick test before opening a springform pan, or turning a cake pan upside down onto a plate.
I’ve undercooked turkeys. I’ve overcooked turkeys. I’ve made all the classic cooking mistakes, but every mistake was a new lesson.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Reply
Judy Darting Reply:
November 27th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Pumpkin soup?
Reply
Five years ago. Thanksgiving was all over and cleaned up, and the turkey carcass was in the pressure cooker on low heat to make soup stock. The whole family was in the living room playing a game or horsing around. We were laughing like crazy about something when all of a sudden — KABOOM! We looked over at the kitchen, awestruck, to see the rocker top had blown off the pressure cooker and hit the ceiling, and scalding, greasy steam was spewing like Old Faithful to the 12-foot ceiling, down the walls, all over the counters and floors. We ran in to rescue things, but the floor was slippery and, well, it was Keystone Cops. Hysterical. It took forever to clean up. Later we had to repaint. I didn’t use a pressure cooker again for years.
Reply
Judy Darting Reply:
November 27th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Ewwwwww……………..! That is worse than my ham accident, (see below).
I was thinking of getting a pressure cooker. Maybe not.
Reply
I have always had the newest, coolest, electric and electronic gadgets. Being one of the first (probably in Northern Calif) to own an Amana Radar Range Microwave Oven, of course I HAD to try cooking a Thanksgiving turkey in it. OMG! it looked like a pink, nasty, bare baby. It did not brown at all as it was purported to do per the recipe/instruction manual said it would. I believe the flesh was actually cooked (probably pucked to the max) but nobody could eat it as it looked so disgusting. This was in about 1975 or 1976. By the way, the oven probably weighed about 90 pounds back then. ‘Wish I still had it as a collector’s item!
Reply
My first turkey…I left the giblets in the neck.still wrapped in paper.
Reply
Grammalyn Reply:
November 26th, 2009 at 10:08 am
I did exactly the same thing. Who knew there were “things” inside a turkey?
Reply
It was back in the 70’s, and it was my first try at cooking a turkey. I learned that, yes, it is possible to turn an entire turkey into one large lump of jerky.
Reply
One holiday I baked a big juicy fat covered ham with crisscrosses and cloves decorating it. When it was done I poked two forks in it to lift it onto the platter. the forks were only poked into the fat………I got it up high enough to clear the edge of the deep roasting pan and kerplop! It fell back into the roasting pan with a very large and wet tidal wave of grease and juice…..then as I was standing there looking at my blouse and counter and the wall drip warm, (fortunately not scalding), and fragrant drippings, I felt something hit my head. Huh? I looked up at the ceiling and one by one squares of ham fat were coming loose and falling, plop, plip, ploop.
I cried some and didn’t eat any of the ham.
Reply
My worst mistake was eons ago, when I was only 19 and newly married, cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner. When I made the pumpkin pie I forgot to put the can of condensed milk in. Ugh!! Was a terrible pie. I’ve learned since, to always check over the recipe and make sure everything has been added.
Reply