December 6, 2008

I'm a danger when cooking too

I don't just bake. I also cook, even though I and everyone else might prefer cookies for dinner.

Because I do love to eat, and eating the same seven things each week quickly becomes tiresome. When cooking from a new recipe, things often go wrong, because it's hard to hard to answer a toddler's questions and remember beyond the next step in the directions. I do read the recipe through multiple times, but often rely on my memory for how to proceed. (This is why making a new recipe takes longer; you spend more time reading, thinking and stopping to re-read. Anything you make often becomes easy.)

One night I decided to try quesadillas for my son. It has many things he loves: cheese, tortillas, tomatoes! Put them all together and pop under the broiler for a bit until the cheese melts. How long? Well, I couldn't remember exactly, but it was quick -- about five minutes, perhaps?

Well, no, it was only about one minute. After three minutes, the quesadillas were charred. After five, they were on fire.

At first it seemed to be only charring and smoking, but I opened the oven door and, yep, there were flames from that tortilla!

I told my son to leave the kitchen (he always wants to help while I bake or cook), as it was about to get very smokey. I considered telling him how to dial 911 and say that Mommy had set the kitchen on fire, just in case things got really bad, but reconsidered, as it might lead to big therapy bills later on.

The quesadillas quickly burned themselves out and the smoke cleared enough for me to finish making a few more. They were yummy enough, but I've stuck to fajitas on the stovetop, which only smoke.

Tell me about your own disaster!