Amy & Aron's

1. Your Granny’s Stew is Burnt to the Bottom of the Pan
Usually, Granny’s stew smells mouthwateringly delicious, but this time, it smells a little like burning tires. That’s because life got busy and you forgot to stir it and now it’s burnt to the bottom of the pan.

Before you throw the whole thing out and order out, grab another piece of cookware (preferably non-stick, of course) and transfer all of the non-burnt stew to it. Avoid scraping the bottom of the pan so as not to get any of the burnt bits in with the good bits. 

2. Oops! That’s Too Much Salt

Salt is one of those things that can make or break a dish. Not enough and food tastes bland. Too much, and the dish is ruined.

But wait! Is it really ruined?

You have a couple of options when it comes to fixing too much salt in your dishes. 

1. You can double or triple the recipe without adding any additional salt, or
2. You can add a raw peeled potato or some uncooked pasta to the dish. The starchy additions will absorb the excess salt. After about 20 minutes, remove the pasta or potato and throw it away. 

3. Yuck! There Are Lumps in the Gravy

Your gravy could taste divine, but if it has flour lumps floating on the surface, your guests will probably turn their noses up at it.

If you don’t sift the flour before adding it to sauces or gravies, it’s likely to form lumps. If you’ve already made this cooking faux pas, don’t panic. Simply pour the gravy into a blender and blend for a few seconds to return it to its rightfully smooth texture. 

4. All is not Lost When You Burn the Toast

So, you got caught up in an episode of Friends and now your toast is burnt to a crisp. Hey, it happens. What you do next, however, will determine the success or failure of your meal.

You could:

1. Scrape all the burnt bits off with a butter knife and serve as normal
2. Scrape it, brush it with olive oil, sprinkle it with parmesan cheese and call it crostini
3. Put it in a food processor and make breadcrumbs, or
4. Cut it into cubes and call it croutons

5. Mushy Pasta is not the End of the World

There is a fine line between perfect pasta and pasta that’s overcooked. Even the best cooks get sidetracked from time to time, but many of them know how to handle mushy pasta when it happens.

Since most people prefer not to eat mushy pasta, you have to act fast to save the day. Drain the boiling water off the pasta and instantly put it into ice water or run cold water over it to stop the cooking process. Next, reheat the noodles in the tomato sauce rather than using some other heating method because the acid in the sauce will perk the pasta right up.

Cooking mistakes happen, but many of them can be corrected so you don’t have to start over. Remember the fixes listed above. You never know when they may come in handy.