“Hurrier I go the behinder I get” — Pennsylvania Dutch saying

[Italiancook]

Saturday, I grated a cup of cheddar cheese for Ina Garten's "Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits" and refrigerated the cheese.

Monday, I went to the store to buy the buttermilk.

This morning, I diced the butter for the biscuits and put it in the refrig so it'd be quite cold.

At 3:00 P.M., I put the measuring cup in the refrigerator so it'd be cold when I poured in the buttermilk.

At 4 P.M., I pulled out the bread board, washed and dried it. I have a 6 P.M. phone appointment, but I was sure I could be done with the biscuits long before that.

All set to make the biscuits. I felt smug that they'd be super, since I had so diligently made sure everything would be cold.

I noticed the dough seemed dry, but I had never before made this recipe, so I sloughed off my concern. The dough rolled fine. I put the cut biscuits on the baking sheet. Brushed with egg wash. As soon as I brushed the last one, I remembered:

I forgot to put in the butter!

I threw away the whole kit 'n caboodle . . . well, not the bread board or the mixer. If I hadn't been in a hurry, I wouldn't have made the mistake, and I probably would have thrown the dough back into the mixer and added the butter. But it is what it is.

Now, I have diced butter and no more cheese. I refuse to let these biscuits get the better of me. I'm going to make a yellow cake in the morning, since I have buttermilk. Then, I'll traipse to the store for cheddar cheese.

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[BakerAunt]

Oh, Italian Cook, we have all been there. (See my summer post about the perfect blueberry pie--where I found the thickener AFTER the pie was assembled and baking.) Anyone who has not forgotten a key ingredient at least once is someone who neither cooks nor bakes!

[Italiancook]

I remember your blueberry pie upset, BakerAunt. I just didn't think of it until you mentioned it. I guess I can now say I'm someone who bakes!

To add insult to injury, the person with whom I had the 6 P.M. phone appointment cancelled at 6:15. I rushed for nothing.

So I had time to read the reviews for Ina's Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits and to watch her video. Her dough looks more moist than mine. Maybe because I used a large egg instead of the extra large that she called for. But I added 1 egg white when I noticed the dough was dry.

[Mike Nolan]

It happens in professional kitchens, too. I was talking to a pastry chef who said he was working on a major event at a country club, making 100 cheesecakes. He had just started putting them in the ovens when he saw the big bowl of eggs sitting untouched.

So, he dumped the filling back into a big bowl, added the eggs, put everything back in the pie shells, and put them back in the oven. How'd they come out? He said "It was not my best work."

[Italiancook]

How unfortunate for that pastry chef given chefs have a reputation to maintain each and every time they cook or bake. What pressure! Now BakerAunt and I can say we have company in the Baker's Hall of Mistake Fame. Thanks for sharing, Mike.

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