What’s your funny stories about cooking failures? I’ll never forget my first cooking failure as a newlywed – 41-plus years ago.
My Newlywed Dinner Break Mishap Funny Story
My husband Greg brought a friend to our apartment one night for their dinner break.
Greg and this friend attended Bible college together and worked nights at the same company.
I liked to cook but didn’t have that much experience yet. I don’t remember anything about the meal except that there were vegetables and baked chicken.
The table was all set. They sat down and waited while I took the chicken out of the oven.
The Chicken Looked Perfect
The chicken looked perfect and smelled delicious. I placed it on the table with the other food and excused myself for a minute.
They only had so much time to eat and get back to work. One of them asked the blessing over the food.
I Overheard My Husband
On my way back to the kitchen, I overheard my husband, laughing, ask his friend, “Shall we pray over the food again?”
Embarrassed about the bloody chicken, I put it back in the oven. But then, I left it in too long and burned it.
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My Mother-in-Law & a Charcoal Food Story
During our first year of marriage, however, my mother-in-law (whom I eventually called Mom) came for a visit. She complimented me on my cooking, amazed at the variety of dishes served for dinner.
I grew up in the South and was used to the way my mother and grandmothers cooked. It was typical to see a variety of vegetables, meat, and rolls or cornbread served for dinner. And, of course, I was following their example.
Mom Said Charcoal is Good For You
Mom told me that she used to burn food all the time. She would tell her kids to eat it, saying: “Charcoal is good for your teeth.”
Until this day, if someone happens to burn food in the kitchen, we say, “Charcoal is good for your teeth.”
And still, I mess up in the kitchen sometimes and get surprised.
Your Funny Stories About Cooking Failures
What are your funny stories about cooking failures? Contact me for details submitting your funny cooking mishap on Kitchen Southern Hospitality (KSH).
I’ve been cooking for many years, and still I mess up in the kitchen. It may not seem so funny at the time. But the cooking failure is sure to provide lots of laughs for a lifetime.
Granddaughter & Okra
One of my little granddaughters was visiting once. She went to the garden with me and helped me pick the ripe okra. She had never eaten okra and asked if we could have it for dinner and could she help me make it.
We had the best time in the kitchen preparing the okra. I decided to cook it two ways – fried and boiled with tomatoes.
But I assumed that someone trying okra for the first time would probably prefer it fried over boiled.
Boiled Okra
Boiled okra tends to have a slimy texture when boiled.
Wrong. She liked the boiled kind the best but without the tomatoes.
The craziest thing, however, is in the middle of cooking, a visitor knocked on the door. That took possibly three or four minutes – long enough for the boiled okra and tomatoes to burn.
It was awful. And there weren’t that many okra pods from the harvest that day. Nonetheless, I put the last few pods into another pot with fresh tomatoes and boiled them.
After all that, my granddaughter favored the boiled okra.
Incidentally, okra isn’t necessarily the ripest when it’s large. On the contrary, okra can be very tough and hard to eat if you let it get too big.
Good Cooks
But in spite of home chefs’ cooking failures, that doesn’t mean they aren’t good cooks.
Take a minute to check out Kitchen Southern Hospitality’s “Top 10 Pantry Food Bloggers.”
If you’re a beginning cook, buy a good cookbook for basic cooking.
My favorite cookbook as a newlywed was Betty Crocker. I’ve loved using it through the years.
A Funny Story about a Cookbook
I have a funny story to tell you about a cookbook.
Like to read cookbooks and the histories of family cooking in rural America?
My funny story about a cookbook has to do with my second book, Simple Summer Recipes & Foodie Storytime.
The front cover has sort of a summery whimsical look. On the back cover are actual photos I took of veggies and fruit. Also pictured are a knife and strawberry peeler my mother purchased for me in Switzerland.
Laugh at Yourself When You Mess Up in the Kitchen
The best thing you can do when you mess up in the kitchen is to laugh at yourself. My dad used to teach me that principle – learn to laugh at yourself.
If you fail, no big deal. Just try again. You’ll do better the next time.
I remind myself of that when I look through Simple Summer Recipes.
“Composed with a Southern flair, Foodie Storytime sections correlate with recipes.”
The funny thing about Simple Summer Recipes is that some of the photos turned out too dark.
The cookbook is history of family foodie stories and cooking tips learned from my mom and grandmothers.
There are recipes created with what’s on hand, grilled on a regular charcoal grill, and easy-to-make meals.
Comical stories. Recipes for summer. Everyday kitchen life.
Rusty LaGrange, A Flair for Words and owner/manager of HighDesertBlogging.com, described Simple Summer Recipes as “just like sitting on the porch with old relatives.”
The Simple Summer Recipes cookbook includes some recipes for typical foods. They include foods you would expect for summer like:
- chicken salad
- sandwiches
- hot dogs
- salads
- cold beverages
- picnic foods
- strawberries
The Buttermilk and Strawberry Breakfast Drink is delicious.
When you buy a bunch of strawberries, you either make several strawberry recipes or jam. Otherwise, the strawberries will go bad.
During the time I was writing the cookbook, I had tons of strawberries. Therefore, I couldn’t resist including a lemon strawberry pudding and a lemon strawberry cheesecake pudding recipe in the book.
What’s your funny cooking stories and failures? Most of us home chefs have a crazy cooking mishap that happens along our journeys. Share yours, and we’ll laugh together.
A Funny Food Failure & More Barbecue Chicken Recipes
Foil Pouch Fail is a funny food failure story at Pattycakespantry.com. See how easy it is to make foil pouch dinners that Patti from Patty Cake’s Pantry makes. She even has a barbecue chicken foil pouch meal.
What I would do differently 43 years later for my barbecue chicken meal is make this slow cooker barbecue chicken.
Thank you for visiting Kitchen Southern Hospitality (KSH).
“Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.” Luke 6:21 NKJV
