How to Remedy Cooking Disasters
Every cook has at least one or two. The dinner or dish that started out so promising yet turned out to be a nightmare. Fortunately, not every kitchen disaster means that a pizza dinner will have to be ordered. There are ways and means to salvage a recipe gone awry.
Forgot to thaw the turkey? Here’s how to shorten thawing time:
Submerge bird in a sink of cold water, change water every half hour and/or empty the turkey cavity of miscellaneous giblets and run cool water slowly through the turkey, draining out the neck. A completely frozen 12-pound turkey will take about six hours to thaw by the first method; you can cut the time way down by adding the second.
Next time: Allow one day of refrigerator thawing per four pounds of frozen turkey (i.e., three days for a 12-pound bird). You can always buy a fresh turkey.
Lumpy gravy? Here’s a quick fix:
Strain to remove lumps. If necessary, thicken again.
Next time: Lumps are the result of undercooked or improperly added starch thickeners. When thickening gravy with a roux (paste of flour and butter), slowly add hot roux to a small amount of hot liquid, whipping until smooth. Thin with more hot liquid, whipping again, then add thickener to the rest of the gravy. If you are using cornstarch, mix cornstarch with cold water or broth, then add to boiling liquid in a steady stream, stirring all the while. Make sure the mixture returns to a boil to cook cornstarch.
There are other cooking disasters and their remedies at this Arizona Daily Star article by Rebecca Boren. Dog ate your dessert? Not enough entree? Burnt entree? There are remedies. Read them here.
Tags: cooking disasters, homemaking, housekeeping
