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.
I won’t let Chef Davide see this post.
That is too funny!
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.