The things we got wrong
This isn’t a list of what we do well. It’s a log of the mistakes we made—what we published wrong, what failed in practice, and what we fixed. You’ll find no humblebrags, no excuses, and no spin.
Just the facts, because the only way to earn trust in recipes is to admit when we’ve been wrong.
Most sites hide their errors. We publish them because the reader deserves it: if you’re following a recipe here, you need to know when something was wrong before you tried it. A correction isn’t just honesty—it’s a promise that we’ll never let the same mistake happen again.
Three we had to fix
Here are three of the worst. They’re the ones that cost us time, credibility, or both. Each one got caught, got fixed, and got learned from—by name, because the people who made them own them.
The mistakes we fixed (most consequential first)
- 1The 24-hour brining error
We published a method for dry-brining a 5-pound beef chuck roast that said 24 hours was perfect. Turns out, 24 hours turned the meat into a chewy brick. A reader in Texas sent us a photo of their ruined roast, and we took the post down within hours. We tested the recipe again—this time with a 12-hour brine—and confirmed it worked. Lamar Marchetti rewrote the method and added a warning about moisture loss over time. The new version stayed up for a week before we greenlit it.
- 2The garlic butter miscalculation
Our ‘ultimate garlic butter steak’ recipe called for 8 cloves of garlic per pound of beef. That’s enough to make your kitchen smell like a funeral. A home cook in Chicago emailed to say it tasted like ‘a hospital cafeteria experiment.’ We halved the amount, tested it blind, and confirmed it was actually better. Lamar Marchetti updated the recipe and added a note: ‘Less garlic is often more.’ The change went live the next day.
- 3The searing temperature lie
We claimed you could sear a ribeye at 450°F for 3 minutes per side without burning it. A professional chef in Denver called us out on Reddit—said the crust turned to ash before the inside cooked. We tested it ourselves with a meat thermometer and confirmed: 425°F for 2 minutes was the real limit. Lamar Marchetti corrected the post, added a thermometer check step, and included a note: ‘High heat is a knife, not a hammer.’ The fix went up within 24 hours.
What those three changed
These weren’t just fixes—they rewrote how we work. No more guessing, no more ‘close enough,’ and no more waiting for someone else to catch our mistakes. Here’s what we learned.
Rules that came from mistakes
- Every recipe must be tested by at least two people before publishing (from the 24-hour brining error).
- All ingredient quantities are reviewed for realism by a home cook (from the garlic butter miscalculation).
- Searing instructions now include a maximum time and temperature warning (from the searing temperature lie).
The people behind this
You’ve just met me through my mistakes. That’s intentional: the people who run this site don’t hide behind perfection. We’re Lamar Marchetti, and we’re the ones who signed the corrections above. Keeping this log isn’t easy—it’s uncomfortable, it’s public, and it means admitting when we’ve failed you.
But that’s the only way to build a kitchen you can trust.
I once burned a batch of homemade pasta because I forgot to dust the board with flour. The dough stuck, the water boiled over, and I had to start from scratch. No one knows about that except me—and that’s how it should be. Some mistakes stay private.
Others, like the ones here, get fixed so they never happen again.
If you find something wrong on this site, don’t just tell us. Try it yourself, see what goes wrong, and then tell us *why*. That’s how we learn. The next correction might have your name on it—and that’s a good thing.
I’ve been cooking since I could reach the stove, inspired by my dad’s late-night BBQ experiments and my mom’s Italian Sunday dinners. Over the years, I’ve collected recipes from every corner of the world—and a few of my own questionable inventions. This site is my way of sharing the dishes that bring people to the table, whether it’s a classic comfort food or a bold new twist. If it’s not delicious, I don’t serve it.
Lamar Marchetti, Founder & Editor
There will be a next one
This list isn’t finished. We’ll add to it whenever we get it wrong again—and we will. If you spot something that doesn’t add up, don’t assume it’s right just because it’s here. Test it, question it, and let us know. The contact page is where to send your feedback.
We’d rather fix a mistake today than have you ruin a meal tomorrow.
The recipes are grouped by category: Appetizers, Beverages, Breakfast & Brunch, Main Courses, Salads and Sauces & Condiments.