A Dinner Disaster (and how you can avoid one!)

True Story: The other night I was cooking dinner for my family to enjoy before the start of the Jewish holiday, during which we fast for 24 hours.  The meal was great looking; matzo ball soup, challah with honey to ensure a sweet year, Mom's sweet and sour meatballs, a beautiful 8lb chicken seasoned with lemon and herbs, and honey sweet potatoes to go with it all.  Admittedly, I was looking forward to eating before a day during which even water would be off-limits.  I set my oven to pre-heat as I put the finishing touches on the chicken and just as the temperature hit 400 (I cook high and fast - yum!), my oven sputtered and, you guessed it, died.

PANIC.

"Uh, honey?  I hope you weren't looking too forward to being full before a long day of fasting and repentance, because THE OVEN IS DEAD."

Somehow, we managed to keep the heat in and the meal was saved, but I'm now left with an appliance serving as a (not-very-attractive) ornament in my kitchen.

I know I'm not alone.  How many of you are reading the story of my latest plight, nodding in knowing empathy, wanting to reply with your own story of a holiday dinner disaster.  Well, in a serendipitous turn, the people at Electrolux, along with cute and perky, Kelly Ripa, are asking for your Turkey Tales or simple stories of your quest for the perfect turkey (or in my case, chicken).  And the best part is that every person with tells their tale at kelly-confidential.com, is automatically entered into a drawing to win a stylish (and FUNCTIONING!) new Electrolux wall oven or range complete with a Perfect Turkey button!  Yup, you won't even have to consult your calculator to figure out how many hours per pound, the oven actually does it for you!

Now, if only it would set the table, greet your guests and clean up after dinner as well...   

Comments

[shane_onegoodie]

Jill - I had no idea this is what happened to you! How awful! A few weeks ago I was baking a chocolate bobke to freeze for Yom Kippur and the power went out in the middle. Fortunately, my mom/dad live 5 minutes away and they had power so I rushed the bobke down the road and stuck it in their oven. It fell a little, but still turned out. PHEW

[Anne-Marie at A Mama's Rant]

Been there. I was baking two (premade) pies in the oven and couldn't figure out why it wasn't cooking since the oven was hot. My husband's aunt and uncle were over and I was trying to make a good impression. Well, the element had burnt out and I had to call my neighbor to ask if she'd let me borrow her oven. I left one pie at her house (with four kids I knew her pie would be gone in a flash) and took the other baked one back to my house for dessert. Luckily, I could order the heating element online.