Kitchen Blunders

My county fair blue ribbon muffins didn't pass muster tonight. I don't know what went wrong. Oh, they tasted just fine, but they were so crumbly we had to eat them with a fork. I thought I followed the recipe, but obviously I put too much or too little of something in them. Goofing the muffin recipe reminded me of other kitchen blunders around here, like:

*the year I baked a Christmas fruitcake, but forgot to add the fruit;

*the year that Mother made the Thanksgiving dressing, but forgot to put the onions and celery in it (we sauteed them in butter, and guests spooned them over their dressing);

*the year the smoker clogged up and the turkey got all sooty-black. My husband discovered the blackened bird early enough that I was able to wash it thoroughly and throw it in the oven to finish cooking before guests arrived;

*the time Mother took a pizza out of the oven and the topping slithered off onto the oven door;

*the time Mother tried to drain the spaghetti by just holding the lid slightly away from the pot and the spaghetti slithered down the drain;

*the time I made chicken broth for my sick daughter. She was a finicky little girl at the time and didn't like "pieces" in her broth, so I wanted to strain the onions out of it....and I did, but because I failed to put a pan under the strainer, the onions remained while, to my horror, the broth went splashing down the drain.

Thanksgiving is just a few days away. I wonder if another kitchen blunder is waiting to pounce?