Wednesday, October 10, 2012

From Oops To Ooh!

We've all had them., Those kitchen disasters from baking to roasting where the whole cake or dish turns out to be a flop.What to do? Turn them into an entirely new dish. This actually works and can resuscitate a complete bomb , turning it into a tasty treat.

This was the subject of today's A Good Appetite Column in The New York Times Dining section. Melissa Clark writes of her own disasters and how she salvaged them. It's easily done. Any minus can be turned into a plus in the kitchen, For example overcooked meat or fish can be paired with sliced potatoes and fried into rosti , a tasty , and savory potato pancake.Overcooked and mushy veggies can be the main ingredient in a souffle. If a culinary disaster happens at a dinner party , then just rename the dish, Ms. Clark suggests. No one will be the wiser.

Desserts too can turn out to be bombs as well. Reconsider calling an unset pudding a creme Anglaise and use it as a sauce fruits and cakes. A bad batch of cookies or a gooey cake that didn't harden  can either be turned into trifle or individual parfaits using berries and whipped cream,There is also the  age old idea of adding more icing or whipped cream to cover the flaws too.This works well for cupcakes too. Sometimes they either wind up being undercooked or burnt. A mound of frosting can do wonders as can cute decorations.

Don's worry if you have any kitchen disaster. It can be reworked into an entirely new dish .In fact it may result in a better , tastier recipe.

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