And then…

Last night was one of those nights when everything goes wrong.

I set out to make a fabulous VP-debate-watchin’ meal for my friends. I was well prepared with recipes from my usual go-to Food Network divas. But the minute I put my apron on…things just went sour.

First I discovered that the milk I’d just purchased from the corner store was spoiled, but there was no time to go argue with them about it. And the tomatoes I bought this weekend weren’t quite ripe yet. And the shallots weren’t actually shallots. And we spilled popover batter all over the floor of the oven.

Sometimes you just have one of those days.

I managed to scrap together a giant bowl of pasta with pesto with some braised vegetables on the side. My friends were gracious enough, because they always are. And as they assured me, the evening was more about the company than the food.

And that’s really the whole point, isn’t it?

I hate cooking for myself. It’s boring cooking for one. I’d rather cook something for others to enjoy – whether it turns out edible or not – than spend another night eating cheerios in front of the telly.

It’s the same reason why I love working in restaurant kitchens and don’t have a problem cooking meat, despite being a vegetarian and former vegan. I love cooking for a crowd and seeing the momentary happiness it brings to them.

The recipes I tried to make last night seemed easy enough: a shallot-heavy pasta from Rachel Ray (I refuse to call it what she calls it. Click the link to see what I mean.) and yummy but basic popovers from Paula Deen. Sadly, they were both bland and disappointing…although the popovers were pretty good when slathered in butter. C’est la vie!

Smitten Kitchen is always great at discussing their duds, like in this post from the end of summer. I want to hear your stories about recipes gone wrong, hilarious kitchen mishaps, and outright failures. Send them to us at OmmNomNom@gmail.com.

<3, Alex