You’re excited about making a nice pasta dinner for your family, when all of a sudden you get busy and aren’t paying attention. The next thing you know, your pasta has gone from al dente all the way to al mushe. What’s left to do but dump the whole thing and start over? Thankfully, that’s not true for every cooking mistake. Here’s a list you’re going to want to keep handy, just in case.
STICKY PASTA
When the pasta isn’t totally mush but all stuck together as if by glue, drain and cool it immediately. Then return the pasta to a sauté pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil, and toss while reheating. That should take care of the stickiness and no one will be the wiser.
TOO MUCH SALT
This is a common cooking mistake. If you’ve added far too much salt to a sauce or soup and you have enough ingredients, double the recipe or make more by half. Then mix it in with the salty batch a bit a a time until you’ve reached the desired flavor. Another trick is to add a bit more unsalted water to the mix, provided this won’t also dilute the flavor.
BURNT TOAST
So you’ve taken your eye off the toast and burned it. Don’t toss it. Use your cheese grater to quickly scrape off the burned layer. You can also scrape off the worst of it, brush the toast with olive oil, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and present it as crostini or use it for croutons.
STALE ROLLS
Wet your fingers and generously flick some water on the rolls. Then wrap in foil and heat in the oven at 250º F for 10 minutes.
UNDERCOOKED CAKE
The first sign of a cake that’s not done is that sinkhole in the middle. Once cooled, you can’t rebake it, but it’s not a hopeless disaster. Break the cooled cake into pieces (even those parts that are undercooked) and layer them with whipped cream and fresh fruit to make dessert parfaits or one large trifle.
OVERCOOKED VEGETABLES
If you’ve overcooked broccoli, asparagus, or similar vegetables, don’t despair. Tweak your menu a bit to include creamed vegetable soup. Purée the vegetables in the blender, pour in a bit of heavy cream, check the seasoning, and add salt and pepper as needed.
OVERCHARRED BEEF
You can totally spin this disaster by rubbing the beef with a mixture of garlic, ground black pepper, and chili powder, presenting it as “blackened.” Another option is to cut away the over-charred portions, then slice that charred beef for stir-fry, fajitas, or salad.
BURNT PUDDING, CUSTARD OR SOUP
If you notice that the bottom layer of custard or a cream-based soup has turned dark, stop stirring immediately. You don’t want to incorporate any of the burnt bottom into the unburnt portions. Pour the remaining custard, pudding, or cream into a new pan, making sure you don’t scrape up any of the part that’s scorched at the bottom, then keep cooking.
THIN SAUCES
Work some flour into small portions of butter. Bring the sauce to a boil and drop the flour-butter balls in one at a time, while stirring, until the sauce is your desired thickness. Cornstarch is also usually a good thickener, provided you have mixed it with cold water first. Add it to the boiling liquid a little at a time while stirring. Some cooks use dried potato flakes as an emergency thickener.
LIMP GREENS
Give those greens a lovely bath in a big bowl of very, very cold water and a few ice cubes. Let this sit for 10 minutes or so. Next, gently lift the greens out of the cold water, wrap them in a damp tea towel, and stick them in the refrigerator. If they’re not completely over the hill, they will crisp up nicely.
OVERRIPE FRUIT
When it’s too far gone even for fruit salad, get out the blender and make smoothies. If you prefer dessert, add a little agave, sugar or maple syrup for a great ice cream topping.
