Danger close calls in the kitchen

SuperOrganism2

Good morning guys!

Let's share stories about our kitchen close calls and true debacles! Disasters! Things that went totally wrong as you prepared, served, or had a meal that you made.

I'll start.

My wife works in public health and travels abroad quite a bit. Often, in subsaharan African countries...doing maternal and child health, work on HIV, lots of stuff. Good public health stuff...trying to figure out how to get babies to survive.

She interacts with foreign ministers of health and important people in other governments.

One of these important people was visiting the USA and coming to our house for dinner. I was making a rotisserie chicken, and had been carefully tending it as it cooked.

30 minutes before they arrived I looked out of the kitchen window and in horror saw 6 feet of flames shooting out of the grill.

My thoughts:
*kitten* *kitten* *kitten* *kitten* *kitten* *kitten* mother *kitten* *kitten* *kitten*

I quickly put it out with the garden hose, made like the wind to the grocery store and snatched up some NY strips...ran home and grilled those *just* as they walked in.

I almost had a heart attack, though.

Anybody care to share their disasters or close calls in the kitchen?

Have a great Monday!

km8907

Not as far as food goes, but I've almost stabbed myself multiple times.

RollTideHusker

Long ago, when I first moved in with the hubby, I tried to impress him with making chili. I grabbed the cayenne pepper, not paying attention thinking it was the chili powder (very similar bottles) and just poured it in. Needless to say, the first bite was quite of a shock. He tried to eat a few more bites but we ended up having to throw it out. It’s our joke now when I make chili.

Versicolour

Haha!

I was in high school and decided to use my mom's microwave fudge recipe to make fudge (obviously). I didn't realise that the melting temperature of tupperware was lower than the booking point of sugar. Oops!!

Another time I was cutting some biltong and accidentally sliced my finger - almost to the bone. I didn't get stitches because I was bulletproof at the time and there was toilet paper and packaging tape. I still have the scar.

RoxieDawn

Total disaster a few years ago, 3rd degree burns on my neck and shoulder after taking microwavable soup out of my microwave. Being short and the microwave installed basically over my head, soup was everywhere, I was wearing a long sleeve shirt that save the rest of me.

Last week a baked potato exploded in my hand taking it out of the oven. I poked holes in it before baking. I was holding a pot holder so it only made a huge mess.

JoRocka

I was making pizza once- and I keep my pizza stone in the oven while it heats up- cooks the pizza better.

so I took it out to put the pizza on it- and set it down on top of a pot holder.
Put pizza back in the oven- 10 min later house is smoking like crazy.

Pull stone out- and damned if the pot holder hadn't stuck to the stone- and gone in the oven- it's lucky I didn't burn my flipping house down.

Ironandwine69

My better half cooked dinner the other night. I almost died.

saragd012

A couple of months ago I was nearly done cooking something that was supposed to have melty cheese on top (can not remember what I was actually making) but I forgot the cheese step until it was basically done. I figured no problem, I'll throw it under the broiler. Get it all setup and I'm keeping a close eye on it, but my partner has decided this is the exact time to be helpful and start unloading the dishwasher in our tiny kitchen. So in the less than two minutes it took to get her out of my way the food caught on fire in the oven. It was easy enough for me to put out but the whole thing was ruined. Scared her enough to stay out of my damn kitchen when I'm cooking now though.

Versicolour

My ex boyfriend (many many years ago) was making Glühwein and poured it directly from the pot into my fancy and very delicate wine glass. Needless to say, it shattered and there were glass shards and Glühwein all over my kitchen. I was not impressed

km8907

MeeseeksAndDestroy wrote: »

I learned at a young age that tin foil does not go in the microwave and I lit a hot pocket on fire.

And also that they sneak tin foil into those disposable party plates that look like they have confetti on them.

That triggered a memory from 4th grade. My school didn't have a cafeteria and ordered outside food everyday for lunch. This was chick-fil-a day. I put my chicken sandwich on its wrapper and popped it into the microwave. Did you know those wrappers are made with foil? A small fire and a screaming teacher later, my sandwich was still delicious.

CharlesS6730

One day I was trying a different method to cook steak. I put olive oil in my pan and let it heat up. I misunderstood "let the pan get hot" as "crank the stove to high." The oil started to smoke just as it should but then it hit the flash point and ignited. In a panic I grabbed the pan in an attempt to take it outside I dropped it on the floor and luckily only a little bit of oil splashed on the floor causing tiny flames. I threw the pan into my back yard in the rain and dealt with the small flames inside. Needless to say I learned many valuable lessons about cooking that day.

elizarizo

I burned a burger so bad it caught fire once

Versicolour

Not a kitchen disaster, but consumable:

I make my own gingerbeer. The recipe says to leave it overnight to ferment but I like to leave it for 2-3 days. I make a 15 liter batch and after the 2 days I started decanting it into empty 2 liter coke bottles. We only had so many bottles and so much space in the fridge, so the rest kept brewing. It must have been about 10-14 days later I told my husband (at the time) that it was not fit for human consumption and we should chuck it out. Being a seasoned (and well-pickled) beer drinker he said, nonsense! He'd have it because there's no way any beer can do anything to him. He proceeded to prove it to me. I found him passed out face down along the foot of the bed about an hour later. He still drank the rest, but mixed it with sprite after that!!