Hosting SOS: How to Recover From a Kitchen Disaster

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“Wait, did I just…destroy dinner?!”

Yes, that’s a real thought that almost any host has experienced at some point in their dinner party hosting journey. 

When you’re planning a dinner party, you’re wearing lots of hats at once—chef, server, dishwasher, host, and in-flight entertainment all at once. 

With so much in the balance, it’s easy to let a minor cooking detail slip through the cracks, resulting in an overly salted, burnt, or entirely forgotten element of your menu.

Luckily, there are ways to bounce back!

Here are some practical, quick fixes that can turn the most common kitchen catastrophes into a dinner you and your friends will still enjoy.

What To Do If You’ve Burnt Your Food

So you’ve charred the roast, blackened the chicken, or scorched the bottom of your roasted vegetable dish.

What to do?!

Salvage the unburnt portions by slicing away the burnt edges. Sometimes, this means you serve smaller portions. If that’s the case, try to compensate by offering generous portions of your other dishes and going heavy on the fresh garnishes. Just roll with what you’ve got left and make it look intentional!

Whatever you decide, stay confident. Focus on a beautiful presentation, and if guests ask, just explain that you got inspired to take a different approach.

If you find yourself frequently burning your dishes (and your pans), consider upgrading your cookware essentials.

How To Save an Over-Salted Dish

If you realize that you were a little heavy-handed with the salt shaker, don’t worry! All is not lost.

You have a few different options, depending on the dish in question.

Add More Ingredients

If you are lucky and have more of the ingredients that go in the dish on hand, you can simply add more of everything so that the salt gets naturally diluted throughout the dish. This is the most effective method, but also not always that accessible, especially if you buy exactly the amount of ingredients you are going to use.

Add Sugar or Acid

Sweeteners and acids are a great way to neutralize over-salted food. For sweeteners, you can add honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, or regular sugar. And to add acid, consider lemon juice or vinegar.

Dilute With Cream or Unsalted Broth

This method is pretty specific to soups, stews, and sauces. If you have a guest who is lactose intolerant, you can always use coconut milk instead. The heavy fat content helps absorb and neutralize the salt. Remember to consider the flavor profile, as this may not work for all dishes.

We once saved an oversalted butternut squash soup by adding coconut milk, but it wouldn’t be the right solution for a lentil soup.

Worst Case Scenario

If you’ve tried everything and your soup is beyond repair, consider reducing it and turning it into a sauce to ladle over potatoes, rice, or veggies!

Saving Overcooked Meat

In the beginning stages of our cooking journey, we struggled to get our meat cooked just right. A few times, it turned out way too tough or dry to serve. But we didn’t let that ruin the party!

If your meat has gotten too dried out, consider whipping up a quick gravy or mushroom sauce to bathe it in to replenish the moisture.

Cut it into thin slices before pouring the sauce on top to maximise absorption.

A simple BBQ, teriyaki, or creamy dressing can go a long way in saving your dried-out cuts of meat.

Don’t be scared to rebrand the situation as a “rustic” or “deconstructed” version of your original idea.

Or, if you have a soup or stew on your menu, consider combining them to create a completely new main dish! 

To avoid burning your meat dish, brush up on the different cooking methods and techniques before your next dinner party.

Kitchen Disaster Recovery FAQs

Q: Can I freeze burnt food for later use? 

A: Yes, but make sure to remove all charred portions first.

Q: How much acid counters salt? 

A: Start with 1 tsp lemon juice per cup of food, and taste as you go.

Q: Can a peeled potato absorb the extra salt in my soup, sauce, or stew?

A: Although you may have encountered this suggestion on the internet, we have not found success with it. It mostly just makes whatever you are trying to salvage more starchy and potato-y.

What To Do With Underripe Fruit or Bland Veggies

Sometimes—especially in the dead of winter in the Great Lakes Region—those tomaotes or peaches that you bought are still rock hard, come the day of your dinner party.

Instead of letting this be a damper, consider cooking them or adding sweetness.

If you have tomatoes that were meant to go in a salad or a pico de gallo, broil them in the oven and blend with onion, olive oil, salt, and chilli for a charred tomato salsa. 

On the other hand, if you were relying on some ripe peaches for your dessert, consider taking a different approach where you caramelize them in the pan with some butter and sugar.

Alternatively, you can turn them into a compote, sauce, or warm topping. Learn all about how to flamé your desserts and other advanced methods for creative cooking here.

Forgot Dessert Entirely? Improvise from the Pantry

It’s the day of your dinner party, and you realize that dessert has somehow completely slipped your mind.

Improvise by whipping up a deconstructed parfait with yogurt, crushed cookies or graham crackers, honey, and cinnamon.

Or, surprise everyone (like we once did) with a fancy cheese, jam, nuts, and fruit plate for dessert. We called it a “European-style” dessert, and everyone absolutely loved it!

If you’re one of those people who always has some chocolate lying around, melt some to make chocolate-covered fruit or pretzels.

Hosting Tip:

Developing a strong foundation of different cooking methods and techniques will help you feel confident enough to riff and improvise!

Make Sure You Don’t Forget (Or Burn) Dessert Again

With all the things hosts have to keep in mind when planning a dinner party, it’s no wonder certain things end up slipping through the cracks.

Even with years of experience and hundreds dinner parties under our belt, we still have our little hosting whoopsies here and there.

That’s why we created The Gourmet Host App, the only all-in-one dinner party planning tool that generates a day-by-day task list, grocery list, and cooking schedule. Plus, you can see guest preferences, attendance status, and share your menu to prevent any last-minute recipe pivots.

Join the waitlist today to become an early adopter!

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