Last nights meal was supposed to be an easy steak and mushrooms, but it ended up being a disaster! Now just so you know, I am not a terrible cook, just a lazy and uncreative one and I hate to follow recipes to the letter. So I modified the roast mushrooms and instead of using big chunks, I used the pre sliced ones. I ended up roasting them on 500 for 15 minutes. I should have gotten the hint the first time the smoke alarm went off (while I was in the bathroom), but the recipe said not to open the oven because all the steam would come out and the mushrooms would not get crispy. Any way the smoke alarm went off three more times before I removed the definitely crispy mushrooms. My house still smells! So then I set the broiler for the steaks and though I cooked them the recommended time, they came out pretty chewey. So I made a couple of notes for next time. I will say that I am working with a brand new oven and there's a slight chance that the oven needs some tweaking. However, I can't blame it all on the oven. Sometimes you can't take short cuts, or if you do, you have to make other adjustments, like cooking time. So I took this picture after the fact because we had already eaten but I think it works for this meal....
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| Mushroom pan with burnt herbs. |
Hopefully you're laughing about it now!
ReplyDelete500 degrees seems really high to be roasting mushrooms of any size for more than 5 mins! I roast my carrots on 450 for 20 mins & they're a much "sturdier" veggie. A cheap oven thermometer is a good investment - my oven is almost 25 degrees hotter than what it gets set for. Another questions, did you use the cut of meat that was called for in the recipe? That could make a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bag - we ALL make cooking disasters! My FIL thinks I'm a horrible cook. He always seems to be here when I mess something up. Undercooked chicken breasts are his favorite to remind me about!