Aug24

one hot mess.

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french-onion-soup

made a big pot

of bubbling hot

french onion soup

ladled it into little bowls

topped it with

buttered french bread slices

gruyere cheese

broiled it until it was just so

fully enjoyed it

though i knew

my big pan

was going to be tough to clean 

after caramelizing the onions

and 

cooking it for

such a very long time

to create a rich flavor

so 

after our meal

and

emptying out

the rest of the soup

i remembered 

an old kitchen trick

 reheat the pan

on low

with a little

water and dish soap

to unstick the brown bits

making for an easier cleanup

and

went off to work

on an art project

in the other room

music playing

windows open

nice breeze on a hot night

a familiar scent filled the air

wondered why the neighbors

were grilling out so late at night

took a break from the art

to get a drink of water

realized the 

‘grilling’

was going on right in my own kitchen

apparently

i’d forgotten about

my clever cleanup trick

that was fully in process

the water had cooked down long ago

the pan was almost on fire

inside was black and crackling

IMG_0866i quickly turned off the heat

grabbed the pan

with hot pads

put it into my sink

too hot to add any water

let it cool down overnight

in the morning

finally decided to

tackle the scrubbing job

now made so much harder

with the ultra char-grilled pan

went to pull it out of the sink

it seemed a bit stuck

wrestled with it a bit

finally used all of

my upper body muscle power

snapped it out of there

 flipped it over to see why

it was sticking

and

voila!

it had been so hot

that it had melted right to my sink

IMG_0864

and when i yanked it out

it took some of the ceramic with it
IMG_0874

 now

i need

a new pan

and

a new sink

but

damn, that soup was good.

—

“the only real stumbling block is fear of failure.

in cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”

― julia child

 

78 responses »

  7. I am sitting here laughing my head off…because this is my life!!! I’m so sorry about the sink, but at least the house didn’t catch on fire!
    If I could only cash in on every piece of toast I burn..

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  9. Oh man…what a mess. I do hope you enjoyed that soup..:) you know there is a ceramic paint you can use and try on that sink if you didn’t want to replace it. Not sure how bad it is or how long it will last but I have seen it used in the past, though not recently. Too many stainless steel sinks now. Glad the soup was at least enjoyable…:)

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  16. I can empathize. My son was sick with the flu for days and I was making the second round of chicken soup when I fell asleep on the couch in the livingroom. The fluid boiled out, the pan stuck to the ceramic stovetop and I had to replace the stovetop. Unlike you, I didn’t even get to have the soup!

    Your soup looks delish!

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  19. The soup sounded delicious but oh God! I have had a pot boil dry so I know I can get distracted and you were trying to clean the pan by warming the water. Well I admire the fact that you made that great soup. I love the soup but have not tried to make it myself. My hat is off to you.

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  22. Oh my goodness! Sorry about your pan and your sink! I was hard boiling eggs the other day, and forgot about them… one literally exploded into bits from sitting on the bottom of the hot pan! It sounded just like a light bulb blowing out! I had a huge mess as well, but nothing like yours!
    You are forever the optimist, though – enjoy your soup 🙂

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  23. My heart sank at your sink story. A squeeze of detergent and hot water in the dirty pot. Leave it on the bench to soak. After a week or so, someone else will clean it and all you need do is apologise. And now I’m drooling for some French Onion Soup. It’s a silly tradition I know, but my family has French Onion soup every birthday!

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  27. ha! Glad the soup was worth it Beth! Here’s something that works for me. Sprinkle baking soda in the pot. Put on the kettle and pour boiling water into the pot, just enough to cover the bottom. It will fizz. Add some vinegar. It will fizz some more. Let it sit over night and wash it with your dishes the next day. ❤
    Diana xo

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  28. Wow, Beth!! Yikes, too. I am going to say we both are sometimes klutzy, hence you end up under cars on dlippery, icy days snd I tend to do such antics. I got so excited about the coupon printing on the gas station pump, I forgot to take said pump out of gas tank. Hurried inside to get my Jumbo 44 oz cup of vanilla Coke. When I Got Back Thank GoD The Pump had stopped with that automatic shut down valve (?) I put my large pop in cup holder spilling some onto nice white sweater on passenger seat. Then, detatching pump handle I shut the little latch/flap. As I drove out of big travel plaza, took sip of delicious drink and heard a “clunk” sound. Wondered what created this sound. Arrived st hodpital to keep Mom and brothers entertained to stay off topic of Mom’s falling on wet grass with her dog Nicki (Sat. am) and down a big incline causing her hip bone to shatter. Her surgery went fine, don’t want a big post about it. She just looked so plae, frail and scared. Today’s therapy lesson at hospital was painful to watch. Brother got tears. Anyway, I went out to fetch a movie to watch and got some gas.
    Yep! That noise was my gas cap, left far behind me now, which I did not screw back on. Too busy looking forward to my Free drink. (My gas cap cost with warehouse “I.D.” at Cleveland Advance Auto shop came to $10.23 or so. I am sad to think of your ceramic sink and stove, Beth. 😦 ♡)

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  30. ACK! No, that’s horrible! I wish you’d have called me… I’d have told you… add a spoonful of fabric softener to a pot full of warm water and let it soak in the sink…. It would have that onion melted off there in no time. And you’d still have a sink. 😦 I’m sorry. (But the soup looks delicious!)

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  34. First of all I love French onion soup, and if the post had stopped there I would have been remembering tastings of old, and your soup sounded like one of the best. However, we then went onto the pan experience, and I’ve been there too, although not to ruined sink levels, and I know hard to clear up that can be. Was it worth the soup I ask myself. Only you can say 🙂

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  36. Sorry for your sink, Beth. I do the pan trick with regular intervals and put it into the sink to cool. I think I’ll keep my stainless sink for a bit longer. I’m happy the soup was good.

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  37. I was feeling like such a useless cook, loving your soup but unable to identify with such a talent. Then Beth you came right down to my level. Except I might have ended up throwing out the pan.

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