Recipe for Disaster

This weekend I prepared the most delicious Thanksgiving feast. I got up early to bake fresh artisan bread and then roast a 7kg turkey. It sizzled with thyme butter and was basted with a maple-balsamic peppercorn glaze. I also roasted several bulbs of garlic for a very special batch of roasted garlic mashed potatoes with cream.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to taste any of these items, nor did my roommates or guests. With only a short hour and a half left before my beautiful turkey was set to come out of the oven, disaster struck. After noticing a slightly smokey smell in the air about ten minutes after a baste, I took a peek in the oven to see what wasn't right. I was greeted with a small row of flames along the bottom piece of tinfoil. Not such a big deal, but as I pulled that out and tossed it into the sink, another row popped up and these were much bigger. It was only seconds before everything in the oven had caught up and the flames began to rise out of the oven and upwards.

Fortunately, everything was contained with the help of our kitchen fire extinguisher. However, it was at the expense of my beautiful dinner (seriously, Martha Stewart you guys)which had been completely ruined by the smelly extinguishing powder. My gracious guests were quick to step up and picked up the hosting duties with some delicious roasted chickens, so all was not lost.

The next day was complete clean up since everything in the kitchen and dining room had been covered with a film of powder and soot. So, that was fun.

While I do have the excuse of an old oven and too many hours spent on a high temperature, the fire was certainly preventable. My advice to others: Clean that jerk as often as possible. Even the smallest amount of baked on crumbs are enough to ignite should some grease happen to drip over the element.

My advice to myself: Buy a self cleaning oven.