[Katherine]

I made an experimental dish tonight and it turned out pretty so-so. That got me to thinking about the worst thing I'd ever made.

Being a strict vegetarian from age 17 till 30 (currently 32 and a fallen vegetarian who now eats fish!), I had to come up with some new dishes to keep things interesting. I used to cook on instinct and came up with some great stuff, but once in a while, I'd make soemthing that just turned out BAD!

The worst thing I ever prepared has to be the tofu banana curry I made last summer. I'd made this dish before years ago and it was delicious, but this time, things went terribly wrong.

The first thing I did wrong was to use a yellow curry powder I never tried before. I used it liberally in the coconut milk as it seemed a little bland. In actuality, the heat was building up.

The next mistake I made was using thai peppers out of my dad's garden without trying them first. He gives me peppers every year when his harvest comes in and that year was no exception. Well, the thai peppers he gives me are usually mild/medium heat. That wasn't the case with this crop- they were HOT-HOT-HOT! I used no less than 5 thai peppers and 1 red jalapeno in the curry. My boyfriend and I like spicy stuff so I figured this would give it the kick we wanted.

When I served the dish, it looked great- nice chunks of tofu and slivers of banana in curry over basmati rice. As we started to eat it, the heat built up and by the third bite, we were both starting to sweat. He went on for a few more bites until he was panting and had to run to the kitchen for something to drink.
It wasn't just hot, it was inedibly hot. We tried to salavage the dish by thinning out the curry sauce, but there was no way. I had created something toxic.

What was the worst dish you've ever made?