When is the last time you had a disaster in your kitchen, and what was it?

I thought of this today after spilling a container of cut watermelon off of my refrigerator shelf and onto the floor. Not so much of a disaster, but a little mess.

Once I set lamb chops too high up in the oven, next to the burners and they caught on fire. I didn’t realize that just keeping the oven closed with it off would make the fire go out. I turned it off but only after calling 911. The fire department came. Disaster averted.

When I was about 18 I was broiling steak in my parents’ oven and it caught on fire. The neighbor, a chef, was outside. I called him and he came up and threw salt on the fire.

When I was young, my best friend came from a family of seven kids (big Irish family). Every night the mom would make mashed potatoes with a five pound bag of potatoes. One night when I was there for dinner, she was grabbing the milk to put in the potatoes and instead, she grabbed the dish detergent. The whole pot of potatoes was ruined and she had no more, so she made oatmeal to accompany the entree.

Topics: food, cooking, kitchen, food prep, disasters, bakng