I Thought I could Cook

I like to think I’m a pretty good cook. Not everything turns out perfectly, but I’m adventurous and enjoy being in the kitchen. But there are certain things I struggle to master. Years ago I decided to make Rice Krispy Squares (I must have been volunteering for something at a school). I made them at a friend’s house (she has 4 children and is a school teacher so she was an absolute expert in kid-friendly cooking & baking). She watched in amazement as I made a complete botch of a 3-ingredient recipe. “But you make salmon en croute, you make souffles; how can you be screwing this up?” (There may have been melted marshmallow in my hair at that point.)

Years earlier my best friend in university watched as I tried to make coffee. Just make coffee. In a Mr Coffee maker. I think it was the coffee grounds skittering across the kitchen floor that really set her off – I can still hear the laughter. (Of course, as I type this, I’m starting to wonder about my choice in friends – never mind, I digress.)

So, I should have realised that the pigs in blankets debacle was my fault, not theirs. Pigs in blankets are little bacon-wrapped sausages. I had heard about them for years and figured, much like Homer Simpson, that any food group that combined two kinds of pig had to be a good thing, so I bought a package. But the design was so stupid – every time I made them, the bacon would burn, then unwrap from the sausage and fall off, and I would end up with a plate of overdone bacon slices along side some pale sausages. How stupid – I am not buying those ever again.

I shared my opinion of this British culinary classic with my cousin and her chef-daughter. There was laughter, a face-palm, and then a kind explanation that you roast pigs in blankets in the oven; you do not fry them in a frying pan.

Life is so complicated. Sigh.

3 thoughts on “I Thought I could Cook”

  1. Finally got caught up on your blog. Thank you so much for sharing. It was LOL fun. It was great seeing you at the meeting tonight.

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