We have called this blog recipes and misdemeanors but so far we have only blogged many recipes and NO misdemeanors. So here I am to set the record straight, partly for people like Alessandra who commented on the last recipe feeling inadequate about her culinary skills. The truth is that you can only learn and improve by…well, cooking. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But NOBODY just produces culinary delights from the word “go” without making SOME mistakes. There have to be some trials and errors. Like with many other things. There is a proverb here that says: “Practice makes perfect”. How true! If it’s any consolation, Alessandra, when I got married I could just about fry an egg. To vary on the theme sometimes I would add some ham or cheese, or cheese AND ham to be outlandish. Both myself and my poor husband soon got fed up with the lack of variety so I had to learn…and fast. Ok, it helps the fact I LOVE eating, but let’s face it: food is one of the pleasures in life. Right? We mustn’t feel bad or guilty about liking…loving….food. Anyway, I have decided to blog my last three disasters (or misfatti). I would like Candi to do the same. It’s actually quite fun to share those too! 
One only happened a few days ago. I had cooked some root vegetables soup (the one with parsnips, carrots, etc.). I don’t know what happened, as soups are pretty much foolproof ,but it tasted FOUL. I suspect a bad parsnip, or perhaps the dill I put in? Whatever…I had to throw the lot in the toilet and…yes! fry an egg instead! Another one was just before Christmas when I tried to make a German stollen. I followed a recipe to the letter but it was far too soft and when I put it in the oven it started to spread like a pizza! I had to lift the lot double quick, making an absolute mess of the oven, and put it in a tea loaf tin to rescue it. It actually tasted ok in the end but it looked nothing like a stollen. Finally a few months ago I tried to make an artichoke risotto, as I had found a couple of artichokes in my vegetables box. Well….I obviously didn’t discard enough outer leaves as I ended up with lots of annoying hard/woody bits which I had to continually spit out while I was eating. Not very ladylike! Obviously I didn’t take any pictures… Sorry! But I hardly want to advertise the disasters, do I? Although maybe we should. Over to you, dear Candi. Let’s dish some dirt, so to speak…..ha ha.
Grande Lucina! E? un’idea fantastica. Bisognerebbe lanciare un concorso il misfatto più tremendo. Per quanto mi riguarda non c’è limite al disastro. Per anni ho fatto tentativi-meringa con esiti variegati dalla cicca al carboncino… ma ce ne sono, per esempio i fritti, mi vengono male quasi sempre…
Ora sono di fretta ma farò un bel elenco!!
Hey Candi I’d say I’m fair more than great! Ha ha. Anyway I look forward to hear about your disasters. I hardly ever make meringues. Same with fried things so can’t offer advice there….:-)
Buongiorno Lucina,
I’m back on the blog, I was actually trying to find a German recipe for beetroot risotto, something I ate for the first time in England on my visit last summer, in a pub in Goring on Thames. It was lovely, and since I’ve only recently discovered fresh beetroot I thought it funny that you should mention the same. Anyway, the recipe I found uses raw beetroot which is supposed to cook with the rice. It tastes wonderful (I also put some soft goats cheese on top) but the beetroot turned out too much al dente! Seems you have to either cut it really tiny or precook it after all. Any experience with that?
Take care
Beate
Hey Beate
I think the combination of goat cheese and beetroot is a winning one. Thanks for sharing….
lovely to hear from you! I haven’t tried a beetroot risotto yet but you have just given me an idea! Perhaps you should make sure the beetroot pieces are nice and soft before you add the rice. Did you shallow fry them with the onions for a while at the start or did you just put them in at the same time as the rice and the stock? I’m curious….we must avoid any further misdemeanors!