Instructions: Here are some tips on how to turn those experimental mistakes into, well, something edible.

Runny fudge, goopy brownies, crumbly cookies: Spoon or sprinkle over ice cream.

Cake falls apart: Break into chunks and layer in a glass bowl or glasses to make trifle or parfaits. Layer with fruit, ice cream, custard, dessert sauces, liqueur-laced whipped cream. Top with something decorative, like cherries or nuts.

Cake or souffle fails to rise: Frost it and give it a new fancy name.

Runny pie: Serve in individual bowls with ice cream.

Burned pie: Remove burned part and serve in individual bowls with ice cream.

About the only thing you cant fix is something thats burned through.

However, you can trim off burned edges from baked goods if enough is left.

You also can use the unburned portions for trifle or cut whats left into squares and then frost or add sauce to them.

If youve burned something in a pan, you sometimes can scoop off the top layer into another bowl if youre careful to get none of the scorched stuff. Taste it to see if its edible.

White sauce or gravy thats lumpy: Pour or mash through a strainer (also good cure for curdled sauce); beat vigorously with a whisk or run briefly in food processor with metal blade.

Dry meat or poultry: Serve with a sauce; use in stir-fry. Or shred and add liquid to make a burrito filling.

Dry fish: Crumble and bind with an egg and some seasoning to make croquettes.

Sauces or entree too thin: Thicken with 1 tablespoon cornstarch per cup of liquid. Or with mashed potato flakes or buds.

Vegetable dish is blah: Have you added a little salt? If yes, try pepper, a dash of hot sauce, a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of something green such as chopped parsley. Dont do all these at once!

Mushy vegetables: Puree into an elegant side dish sprinkled with an herb or spice. Or mash and serve in a cream soup.

Increasing the volume can be a solution. For soups that are over salted, double the broth amount. If your salad is overdressed, add twice as much lettuce. Or if the lettuce isnt limp yet, drain out what dressing you can, then dump the salad onto paper towels, cover with more paper towels and rub off some of the excess dressing.

Salty soup, broth, gravy or stew can be fixed with sliced raw potato. Cook until the potato is translucent, then fish it out and discard it.

Entree too spicy: Add milk or cream or increase the volume with an unspiced batch.

For doctoring purposes: Keep these ingredients in your pantry - sherry, tube of tomato paste, basic spices, instant vanilla pudding, cheese sauce or cheese soup, mashed-potato flakes, dehydrated onions.

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