The Great Baklava Debacle of 2005

Tonight, I prepared a batch of baklava for my Orchid Society's holiday gathering.  I couldn't help but recall the great debacle five years ago.  I was using this recipe from AllRecipes.com which calls for baking buttered phyllo dough while preparing a simple syrup with vanilla and honey.  On that fateful evening, I set the syrup on the counter and pulled out two Pyrex 9x13 glass cake pans from the oven.  I set the pans on the oven and, following direction, began to pour the syrup on baked pastry dough.  The syrup began to bubble up from the pan with a quickness.  I still didn't realize anything was wrong.  I still didn't realize I hadn't turned off the burner on the stove.

I turned away for a moment and heard the explosion.  It was like a gunshot!  The Pyrex blew up into hot shards of glass, dripping with burning sugar.  The baklava, now embedded with glass chips, was ruined.  The kitchen clean up took far more time than the cooking.  It was, in short, a baklava debacle.  

I've had success making baklava since the incident, but I'll never forget the sound of exploding glassware.