We all have had them:  cooking disasters!  I don't mean a dish that is a tad too salty or meat that is underdone.  I am talking about a five-alarm, cooking disaster--The kind that people talk about for years!  I have included a picture of my latest one.  (And I write a cooking column!)

At least you got out of the boat

You really should not feel so embarrassed by your culinary mistakes because they are a necessary part of  creating anything wonderful and unique.   Some people try a new recipe and don't get the same results because they made a mistake, but sometimes it just doesn't work.  I will inject that some people who do this often leave very ugly comments for the writer of the recipe, as if it's their fault they didn't follow directions! 

Mad Scientists

Many kitchens are more like laboratories than culinary preparation centers.  I am sometimes more interested in how certain things combine than anything else about a recipe.  When I discovered corn starch, it was like I had invented something!  It was so interesting that I wrote a whole article on the wonders of corn starch.  

How to solve your problems with Cornstarch

When you are on the cutting edge, always trying new a combination of food, a real culinary catastrophe is bound to happen occasionally. 

Grasshopper pie

The accompanying picture is a pie that I made this week.  If you follow my articles, you will see that I am all about the quick and easy.  I am not a gourmet, and I enjoy coming up with easy ways to do things.  I often make these wonderful pies my friend Brenda told me about, using jello,whipped cream, etc...(Here is the recipe.)  

This pie is not one of those.  I had the brilliant idea to do a lime and chocolate pie and call it a Grasshopper pie.  I always give something a name so the family doesn't think they are eating an experiment.  They often think it is someone else's recipe, which gives them a false sense of security! 

Lesson one:  Chocolate graham crackers do not make a good, no bake crust when mixed with butter.

Lesson two:  Lime jello can take on a slimey, otherworldly appearance if it doesn't congeal correctly.

Lesson three:  Marshmallows do not work in place of whipped cream in a pie!  When you melt them and add them, they then get hard.  If you chill the pie a few minutes in the freezer, it turns to plastic...plastic, surrounded by slimy, green jello. 

Don't worry about your cooking disasters because they will be fondly and humorously remembered long after your successful recipes.   Wear eye protection!

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