i always get a little nervous sharing my recipes. i mean, i see my blog as a way to record the things i make, which sometimes includes a trusted recipe. but i know that putting it ‘out there’ can make it sound like i’m sharing because i know something others don’t, or that i’m some sort of expert.
but when it comes to baking and cooking? nope. not an expert. there are so many variables when it comes to cooking and especially baking. i’ve always equated baking with chemistry. there are chemical reactions going on of course, each ingredient plays a role. there’s physics thrown in there too, with the mechanics of mixing, friction, forces of gravity, altitude effects and so on.
come to think of it, it really is a miracle that any cake rises as it should.
my point is, though, that i’ve often (twice, including this time) said life is too short for bad recipes. meaning, when you set out to make a meal or a dish from scratch, using beautiful whole ingredients, and you spend the time and energy to create something to serve yourself or loved ones, it better turn out like the recipe says it will! i’ve felt the frustration of making dud recipes in the past, so i think that’s why i get a little nervous when i share my favourites here. i’d hate to do that to someone else, although i know that so many of those variables are out of my control.
take the most recent squash spice loaf recipe from the other day. i’ve made this at least a dozen times. i’ve made it for ourselves, for family, for a hostess gift, for a friend who had just had a baby, and so on. each time, it had turned out delicious and moist. consistent. i felt confident sharing that one here.
then, someone i know said she tried the recipe (enter knot in my stomach) and that it didn’t quite turn out (noooooooooo!)…
so last night, i made the loaf again. the same as always. it must’ve sensed my nerves. when i went to pour the mix into the loaf pan, it looked just a little too eager to slip out of the bowl. i should’ve known it was in a rush to mock me.
and sure enough, halfway through the cooking time, it started to bubble over the edges, dripping all over the oven. i placed a cookie sheet underneath, closed the oven door and hoped for the best. the top of the loaf burned, and the inside? mush.
where’s your clever grater trick now, ana?
oh zip it, toots!
ahem. i don’t know what gives. but i felt the need to share this.
the other day, when i was freaking out over something or other, mr.madeitso said “be more like your blog…”
(i immediately took offence, thinking i am my blog, what does he mean, does my blog come across as something i’m pretending to be?! rant, rant, rave, etc.)
always the mellow fellow, he responded “no, just don’t take things so seriously.”… oh. that. i always seem to forget that as an option. heh.
what would i made it so do?
probably blog about it.
then try again.
one more recipe, next time.
(psst! make at your own risk!)
what part of “zip it” don’t you get?
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“be more like your blog” That’s fantastic Mr.!
BTW-Do any of your reader’s Misters comment on their Mrs’s blogs? Just a question. :)
i’d like to know that too! (i’m happy he reads it sometimes. you know, when the notifications actually go through :))
Ha! I’m still cracking up, that is HI-larious. I think that’s why I’m too scared to share my concoctions on my blog…I do too many ‘pinches’ of this or ‘eyeball it to know when it’s done’ of that. I don’t think that translates too well on a blog recipe…
Boyfriend reads my all my posts, but never ever leaves a comment. I think he left one or two right at the beginning of my blog adventure just to make me happy that I got a comment…but now? Not so much. He does more of the in person ‘Hey, I read your blog today! Nice bloggin’!’ Which I guess I can’t really complain about. ;)
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You are hilarious! I get weird bubbly things in my pan sometimes ;D
I am too ashamed to write about them – or take pics. I so should – something to laugh at later ;)
Good luck with batch #2
oh there have been plenty of fails around here, which i have written about. maybe that should be a future archive dive topic.
The pound cake recipe that you shared previously turned out just lovely for me…..for that I will be forever grateful. As for the Squash spice loaf? Since I’m such a mediocre baker anyway, I think I’ll leave that one alone!
i’m surprised you don’t want to try after this fine endorsement! (and i added paula deen on my twitter the other day, and couldn’t help but giggle remembering your comment)
in case anyone is curious, this is the loaf recipe nancy is talking about. i held my breath for that one too! i don’t know how food bloggers get through the day ;)
well that must make you a wee bit uneasy for trying it again next time?
shame as it takes the same amount of time and ingredients for a flop and a mess too from the sounds of it…cleaning ovens is not high on my like to do list
very mysterious indeed!
This made me laugh “I am my blog!” Love it. I hate it when my husband reads my blog. If he makes the slightest negative comment, I feel like punching him. ;-)
I haven’t tried your recipe yet, though I think it looks fantastic, and I mean to in the near future. Don’t worry, I’ll put a cookie sheet underneath, and cross my fingers.
ROFL
My entire kitchen mocks me in one way or another from time to time, like when my favorite bowl isn’t in the spot it is always in or when I tap that same cupboard door closed with my foot and it’s open just the teeniest bit more than usual and I jam one of my toes. As for nuclear bread, that has happened to me with overactive yeast. Blech! what a mess. And then sometimes it catches fire…
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You had your own ‘Epic’ bake fail, eh? Too funny! Not to worry – and please keep sharing your recipes. With my last bake disaster I sensed that something was wrong when I began kneading the dough: it felt and looked just plain wierd. Should have listened to my spidey sense that was tingeling then.
Ana, just remember all those flops by amazing chefs on reality shows. Never fails, when you’re about to share your favorite recipe or give it to a friend, it flops. Haven’t tried your recipe yet, but I can’t wait to do so. And the ‘i am my blog’ thing made me laugh. Out loud. In a very quite house. Now the cats are staring at me.
if i had cats, i think they’d be staring at me now too. thanks for laugh, guys :)
I’m with the mister. Don’t stress about it. Baking can be finicky. I’ve certainly had similar experiences and never been able to figure out the cause.
My mister reads, but only comments to me in person, never on the actual blog. I will confess to sometimes wishing he didn’t read :-)
I feel the same way about sharing recipes. I have shared recipes but I cook very much without measuring, and by tasting as I go. So I have basic template recipe formulas, in my head, and then add them to familiar ingredients to make them taste different ways. This is for savory, not sweet dishes.
The other day I tried baking a cake for the first time without measuring anything at all, just going by feel, and I was surprised it kind of worked. But I’d never be able to recreate it!