Kitchen F#!% Ups

I don't particularly like hazelnuts, so I've never used them at home. I've started to use them sparingly, because I've decided they're okay in small doses. I had a recipe that called for roasting hazelnuts. First the nuts are roasted in the oven, then you rub them in a clean kitchen towel and the skins come right off. I went to the store, bought the nuts, and roasted them. Took them out of the oven... hey, why aren't the skins coming off?

Turns out the hazelnuts need to be shelled before roasting. Duh.

I roasted a couple of trays of tomatoes, fresh from our garden today. We have a bumper crop of sauce tomatoes, and I didn't feel like making a bunch of sauce. This is a great way to use them up. I like the roasted tomatoes just eaten plain as a snack, or on a good grilled cheese sandwich. Or on bruschetta. Don't ask me why I took these smaller tomatoes and set the oven and timer for the same amount of time as what I use for larger tomatoes. Basic bone-headedness - nothing in the recipe calls for slow-roasting until almost ashy.

• Slow-Roasted Summer Tomatoes (Fine Cooking #66, September 2004, p. 60)

This is the second time I've made this cake, and it's really not easy to work with. It fell in the middle and when I cut it in two, it wasn't thick enough in the middle so I ended up with the top in pieces. And a gigantic hole on top. Luckily ganache covers all and it ended up looking and tasting okay in the end... but I'm not sure I'm going to try making this cake again.

• Chocolate Stout Cake (King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, p. 422)