Rookie Cooking Mistakes

snax says, "My first time making play dough, I was at the supermarket trying to find cream of tartar. I spent forever walking up and down the aisle looking for it, mind you, I had no idea what it was. Anyway, kept walking past the tartar sauce and after 15 mins I figured that's what the recipe was asking for and it must be a typo on their behalf. An hour later I had a batch of play dough with chunky lumps in it which smelled awful. I now know to look for cream of tartar next to the baking soda."

Antilope admits another newbie kitchen mistake: "Well, you boil eggs by placing them in a pan on the stovetop and bringing the water to a boil. So, why not place an egg in a Pyrex measuring cup and boil it in the microwave? The egg exploded 45 seconds later and I was finding small pieces of eggshell in the microwave for days," says Antilope.

"I was boiling 8 or so eggs for deviled eggs," says Veggo, "and I signed on to Chowhound. Half an hour later later, I began hearing explosions in the kitchen. You can deduce the rest. Eggs really do make quite a pop, which may have been a good thing."

"Not mine, my cousin's: The first time she made a roast duck, the directions said to preheat the oven and place the duck on a rack for such and such a time," says therealdoctorlew. "So she put it on a rack in the oven. No pan, just one of the oven racks. Followed by an oven full of burning duck fat."

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