Mark and Jie's Journey to B-School

No time for a full post, but I thought I would relay a funny cooking story from yesterday. Jie and I were cooking hamburgers and home fries (sort of a Texas tribute meal), and I was starting the preparation. I poured about a pint of vegetable oil in a big pot and set it on high on the stove. I put a top on and went back to my case reading for today. After about ten minutes I start smelling that fried food smell, so I go in to check it out. The clear lid of the pot was completely opaque, as the pot was filled with smoke. Sensing some sort of danger, I got pot holders and moved the pot to an empty burner so everything can cool off. So far so good. My next move was not so smart, though, as I took the lid off the top of the pot. Apparently the only ingredient missing for combustion was oxygen, because as soon as I lifted the lid the oil ignited. In an impressive display of the 'flight' reflex, I jumped backwards three feet and landed on the trash can. I managed to get the lid back on to smother the burning oil, but in the meantime I fumigated our apartment with fried food stench. We had to open all the windows and doors just to get the fire alarm to stop going off.

This is the third incident in a series where I do something dumb involving oil, a stove, and myself. Perhaps I should let Jie handle all frying in the future.