2024 Recipe Disasters.
It’s time to see a bunch of mess ups in the kitchen from this year!
My recipe disasters are BACK! I have done this (nearly!) every single year for well over a decade… except last year. We had just moved into our new house and frankly, everything was a disaster, not just the recipes. I kept thinking that I’d be able to get it together and I never did. And so many of you were disappointed so here we go!
I had lots of fails in the kitchen this year, of course. These are just a few that I was able to document.
You can find all the previous recipe disasters here:
This is a just a fun way to share all my mess ups in the kitchen. I cook SO MUCH and many times, I redo takes on classic recipes I know and love. But because I’m in the kitchen so much, it’s not unusual for me to have failures. I mean, tons of failures. If I remember, I snap a pic so we can look back and laugh. It’s truly hilarious.
First up, the most undesirable pork chops in all the land. I mean… gross.
Oh wait but it gets better! It’s just soba noodles and peanut sauce but… can you even imagine eating it when it looks like that?!
Oh guess what a messed up a million times? Couscous salads! This almond and orange one sounded so great in my brain but it was not. Not at all.
I breaded cauliflower six ways from sunday and it was mostly garbage.
The densest, most unflavorful lemon cake you ever did see.
These garlic mashed potatoes were SO BAD. Oh my gosh. Like, so bad. The mix of the whole roasted garlic but unpeeled potatoes just left way too much chewy texture, and not in a good way.
Pumpkin stuffed shells where my cheese sauce broke and was grittier than sand at the beach. YUM.
Another very dense cake. Orange this time. Nope nope nope.
Another couscous salad that was such a bomb. Too sweet, broccoli too raw, just didn’t jive. Heck no.
Thought a crab cake caesar sounded great. Ended up really boring with barely any texture. Whomp whomp.
I had TONS of sourdough fails before nailing our favorite sandwich bread.
Say hello to the wettest potato salad of all time.
Major cookie bar fail.
Olive focaccia that was great in theory but so dry and chewy.
A sad plate of chicken and mushrooms! And toast.
French onion orzo that I burnt. It was also super gluey.
Too many steps and too much going on. Trust me.
Finally a cherry pepper potato salad that turned red and was filled with oil. No thanks.
What was your biggest kitchen flop in 2024?!
17 Comments on “2024 Recipe Disasters.”
We always say that hot sauce can fix stuff, but sometimes, not so much, right?!? And we who cook have all been there…sometimes, cracking open a box of cereal sounds like a plan! But we love your cookbooks and all of your successes. Hope you and your family have a Happy New Year.
I’m vegetarian but don’t mind using chicken stock when it’s called for in a soup or something, so I used beef stock in an Irish stew that was otherwise vegetarian, thinking it would amp up the flavor, and it was SO, SOOO beefy that I eventually threw the entire tub away, plastic and all, about 2 months later when I got over it. I don’t know what I was thinking! = )
Last summer, I made a balsamic chicken salad recipe I found in a magazine. The pictures looked amazing and the recipe was easy to make. Served it to my family. We each took a couple of bites and went, “um, gross.” It was the most flavorless thing we’d ever tried–even with the balsamic vinegar in it. On the plus side, it has now become the standard by which all other recipes I make are judged; even if a recipe isn’t an instant favorite, it’s always better than the now-infamous balsamic chicken salad recipe.
I have a similar tale. When the olive oil stores were in their heyday, I was sold on a “peach infused olive oil” and “blood orange vinegar” and I was told that they make a delightful salad dressing.
So I made the salad dressing and a side salad at dinner when my stepchildren were over. Not normally complainers, my youngest says “so does anyone think this tastes like bathroom cleaner?”
And such a tale has been born, anything will be better than bathroom cleaner salad dressing
I feel so seen, Meg!! So many people gifted me some of those wacky flavored vinegar/olive oil sets thinking I’d love them ‘as a foodie,’ and aside from a lemon-flavored one that I could kinda sorta use, all of them ended up in the garbage. Definitely hint of bathroom cleaner for most of them, now that I think about it! 🤣🤣
Jessica, I’m a lonnnnngtime reader/lover of the blog (before we both had babies- mine is 12 now!!) and I have loads of your recipes in our regular rotation!! (We just had the marinated flank steak from Seriously Delish the other night- family fave for a decade!)
I look forward to your Recipe Disasters post every year, and was crushed there wasn’t one last year!! I thought maybe it was because you were moving right around that time, so I was crossing fingers and toes there would be a 2024 version- seeing this in my inbox this morning made.my.day!!! Thanks for all the hard work you put into this blog!! And honestly, the fails post is pure gold, especially for those of us who cook all the time because we have ALL been there!!
My lowest-bar recipe experience was when I made these foil steak-and-potato packets in the oven. True, I used sirloin (why?! I mean, the recipe called for it, but I should have known better), but the potatoes never cooked, the meat was inedibly dry, and just… a big NO. Even my husband- who will eat whatever I make, fail or not- couldn’t do it, haha. And he ate my Homemade Pho Disaster of 2016 (which was the previous lowest-bar experience). My family and I still laugh about those steak packets.
Have a lovely start to the new year with your family!!
Too funny! And realistic :)
The suoer close sots make the disasters even more “interesting”.
That foccicia is particularly unappetizing.
Thanks for the chuckles.
I now feel less bad about my Christmas Boston Creme Pie that had a major lava flow of the creme onto the plate. True hot mess but tasted yummy.
I have been working on 12/26 for many, many years and as miserable as it is, this post is always the highlight. Not that I want to celebrate your disasters but this post shows your humanity and consistency in trying so that you produce the great recipes that many of us love. I have enjoyed watching you and your family grow up and it’s simply wonderful! Come back to Baltimore! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Biggest fails this year – all from viral recipes.
Ramen Noodle Lasagna – cooked for almost 1 hour, added so much extra liquid, was still crunchy.
Sugar Cookie Bars – dry, dense and a total let down.
Dump dessert with canned fruit with box cake and soda pop – the humans wouldn’t eat it, the dog wouldn’t eat it, even the chickens wouldn’t eat it.
Funeral Potatoes – I have tried but they taste sour every time I make them. I’ve switched up the type of frozen potatoes, cream of whatever soup, pre-shredded vs. block cheese, cereal or cracker topping but nothing makes them delicious.
I struggled with some of those too–especially the funeral potatoes. Then I tried Jessica’s Mom’s Cheesy Potatoes and they were spectacular. I’ll never try a different cheesy potato recipe again!
https://easy-solution.today/2021/11/cheesy-potatoes/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I live for your yearly recipe disasters post! Thanks for making my day, Jessica.
Also: please tell me you have a Mill bin for your failures. Or at least some system (composting?) so at least all that food isn’t going into the garbage. OK. Down from soapbox now.
This fills me with joy after making a zucchini and rice casserole for Christmas dinner this year where the rice somehow didn’t cook after 50 minutes in the oven. So there were little crunches in the casserole and no flavor at all. There was no love in that dish.
OMG – I laughed out loud at these fails!! No blog author that I’ve ever followed has ever published anything like this list. Do you know what that means? That you are funny, humble, and AWESOME!! It made me fully realize how much WORK goes into your blog, from coming up with ideas for new recipes to implementing them (until they’re perfect) to keeping up with your childrens’ lives/development/activities. I love your blog; know that you are truly appreciated!!! Happy New Year to you and your family!
I always love these posts! Dying for your nailed down sourdough recipe… please do share! Happy New Year!
This recipe is absolutely amazing! The way each ingredient is combined shows a true understanding of flavors and textures. I really appreciate how simple and clear the instructions are — it makes the cooking process so much easier, even for beginners like me. The final dish looks not only delicious but also very appetizing and colorful. I can’t wait to try it out in my own kitchen. Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful and mouth-watering recipe! Looking forward to more tasty creations from you.