We’ve all had those last-minute dinner catastrophies, where the original plan is not longer viable. Next time you have a cooking mishap, you’ll have the keys to recovery.
Picture this: you’ve been slaving away for hours in the kitchen making your famous homemade pizza recipe, when thirty minutes into it you realize you set the oven to 450 instead of 350 and you only realized this because your fire alarm is going off.
WHAT TO DO?! Okay, deep breaths, but first open a window. This is where you put Plan B into action. You did have one right?
[1] See what you have in stock. First things first, go to your pantry, fridge, and freezer and do a search. Useful items to look for:
• tuna or other canned fish like smoked trout or sardines
• frozen shrimp
• canned beans
• pasta
• popcorn
• canned artichoke hearts
• olives
• crackers
• nuts
• capers
• garlic
• hummus
• any fresh herbs
Some dishes you can easily whip up: a delicious tuna fish salad with dijon mustard, a white bean dip, shrimp with cocktail sauce, pasta in garlic and oil, even hummus and crackers is better than nothing and nothing.
[2] Take out to the rescue. Don’t have anything useful? Well, luckily you live in New York City, the place where you can get anything delivered to your door. Order a pizza and make it party friendly by cutting into bite-sized pieces, toss with ribbons of arugula and serve it up on a nice platter.
Or grab the really good sushi place’s menu and set out a variety of their specialty rolls, mixing veggie and raw fish varieties.
[3] Get assistance. Ask friends en route to stop at the nearest bakery and pick up cookies, vegan cupcakes, or macaroons. Or, for that matter, stop at the gourmet salad bar or deli and pick up prepared foods.
There you go—plan B saves the day, and the party.
