Avoiding Kitchen Catastrophes

Something I have found over the years is that when you cook and things don't come out right, instead of mentally beating yourself up over it, try to figure out what the problem was.

I have avoided many kitchen catastrophes by:

• Reading the entire recipe before making it.
• Double-check every item in the recipe after measuring (in that moment before you dump the measured ingredient in, make sure it's a teaspoon and not a tablespoon, etc)
• Make sure you have preheated the oven for a full ten minutes before you put your dish in.
• Make sure you haven't confused baking powder with baking soda. If your recipe calls for baking powder, make sure it hasn't expired. It needs to be fresh to work.

Another important piece of advice I would like to give beginners is that if you have issues whenever you bake, and you have double-checked the recipe and made sure you didn't confuse baking powder for baking soda, it could be your baking pans.

They say it's a poor workman who blames his tools, but so be it. Dark or coated pans are disastrous for me, and I've had bad luck with inexpensive pans. It's really worth the investment to buy Pampered Chef and Wilton products. If nothing else, it will build your confidence. You'd be amazed at the difference. They'll last for years, so they are worth it. You will spend far more buying and replacing cheaper pans after they rust, and you'll get better results from better quality equipment.

If the price is a factor for you (and that's important to everybody now!) get on the mailing list with a Pampered Chef rep, or let him/her know what types of items you are looking for, and they can let you know when they go on sale (I believe the stoneware goes on sale in February for example). Sometimes I can get Wilton baking pans for 50% off at my local Hobby Lobby. Sometimes these products can be found on eBay at good prices too.