Wednesday, April 16, 2008

I am a perfectionist after all

A few days ago, one of my German roommates (I live with four Germans and two other Americans) mentioned that one of his favorite things about having new American students move in is that they always bake brownies. And we had not yet made brownies. Always looking for any excuse to bake something, I got right on it.

Um. Right. So, our oven only has a top coil. Ten minutes before the baking time was up, they started to smell charred. What a total failure. They were really tough and chewy and dry, not moist and fudgy at all, but the bottom was barely done. I tried to decide whether I should throw them out or see if anyone wanted to eat them. And then this happened.

I was suddenly in the kitchen ready for round two. Most people would not call me a perfectionist. I usually see perfectionists as neat and tidy and organized, which are things that I am not. But I really hate baking or cooking something mediocre. If I am going to eat a brownie, it had better be good. And I don't want to give away things that just don't taste good. People usually feel obligated to eat things that you bake for them. And the first batch was really pretty gross.
Success! Moist and fudgy with a crackly top. I am thankful that I live with six other people, because I would feel seriously sick if I ate all of these.

No comments: