One Cooking Crash which was tasty nonetheless.

Sometimes it does happen that you mess up in the kitchen. I have done it many times. But it is not all the times outrageously atrocious. The one above was ment to be a Saag Paneer served with grilled Chicken, Tomatoes and Chillies, served along with a Coriander and Garlic Naan. That night there was a massive cat fight between two of the cats (we have four). We had to seperate them. I returned to the stove to find overcooked Spinach, and a little on the dry side Chicken Breasts. The Naan Bread was not entirely crucified... The Tomatoes were done. The entire dish was what I called a Spicy Mish Mash Mush but the good thing is that it was edible. There are things you can't always control in life. I am epileptic and I learnt to know that.

This is a Pastry which turned out very bizarre so much so that my partner and I couldn't stop laughing. I definitely made an error there for that to land out of the oven. Initially it was supposed to be a chocolate or become a chocolate éclair. No comment...

Another little big thing is trying combinations of Ingredients which don't work whatsoever. You know, the match which is not made in heaven. It is all about tasting your test at end of the day and there and then you can realise a total miss or even disaster. The worst is if you ruin perfectly very nice Ingredients. I did  have a mishap not so long ago (in Jan 2022) when I used a beautiful Belly of Pork from Ardeley Farm. The piece of Pork was cooked nicely but the side was abysmal... Imagine putting pickled Onions as a Side with pickled Gherkins and served everything with a Potato Salad and a Chicken Gravy... Not a thing to try. I will conclude that it was a don't do this at home.

Perfect Belly of Pork prepared before going into the oven. Spot the weird one there? Gherkins and pickled Onions. It doesn't work.

It can be hard sometimes to find a nice side to what the French call 'La piéce de résistance'(to complete the Main course). Especially when you give to someone a list of Ingredients, then they say that they will remember all of it 'By heart', leaving the list at home, by pride, it becomes a Beggar's Belief matter. My Man came back with Peanuts, Bars of Chocolate and god knows what, but he avoided the Vegetables aisles where the Fruit and Veg live therefore we didn't have Potatoes nor Large White Onions for the Roast that Sunday. I went to the pantry to improvise and I ended up with Jack shit. You know the thought: 'Pickled Onions might do...?'. But for goodness's sake why the Gherkins? Was I trying to teach him to not forget the Potatoes next time? I will not pass it by me if I was slightly P'off that day.

Anyhow I do have difficulties to find Sides for my Main which is not boring or the same old: Meat and two Veg. Therefore dispite any mistake you do, learn if something works or not, hence learn by your mistakes. At the end of the day any misshap in the Kitchen build up your experience and you do learn from them. There are no shame in making cooking errors as long as you did learn something from them. It is all about progression. Then sometimes it is just about knowing your good oldies, your répertoire as per say, and use it with efficacity.