Perfection is way overrated.

One of the things I like about truly good food is that it does not need to be perfect to be enjoyable.  A cookie that is not quite perfectly round is no less a cookie than one that is.  An amazing brownie that is not quite cut the same shape as others from the same pan is still amazing.  Sometimes even when a mistake is made in a recipe, the end result is not failure but instead is something unexpectedly wonderful.  Once long ago I was making a creamy chocolate dessert.  Ultimately, melted chocolate, a custard base and cold whipped cream were supposed to be combined.  However, I got distracted for a bit and let everything cool more than was indicated in the recipe.   No longer would the chocolate thoroughly combine with the mixture.  I marched onward to see what would happen.  Well, the chocolate instead of remaining liquid began to solidify but only in a minor way.  What resulted was a concoction where the chocolate had become became moderately firm slivers and threads that were unspooled throughout a sweet creamy custard.  The texture was amazing, the taste was fantastic, and the visual impact ... well, it was striking.  I have since seen recipes where this "mistake" is part of the process.  But I happened to stumble upon this as a result of a mistake I made.  I continue to make this dish from time to time and every time I do, I remember what happened long ago.  Certainly some mistakes will absolutely destroy a food, and anyone that has cooked anything in the kitchen, no matter the level of experience or skill, has stories to tell of dishes that just didn't measure up because of regrettable errors.  But equally as certain is that sometimes these events can be fortunate happenings.