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Recipe for Disaster

Instructions for ‘Pillows From Heaven’ Dinner Rolls Pose Risk of Injury

L E W I S V I L L E, Texas — Southern Living Magazine is certainly not the type of publication known for explosive stories. Dotty Griffith, the food editor of the Dallas Morning News says, "Mothers give it to their daughters, it is passed down from generation to generation. They keep it and clip it and always make sure that a young bride has a subscription to Southern Living Magazine."

But the marriage won't be off to a good start by reading April's issue. The recipe for dinner rolls that are supposed to taste like "Pillows from Heaven" is so dangerous that five people have been injured. One chef called it a mixture for "napalm."

The magazine is pulling the issue off newsstands nationwide.

With the help of the Lewisville, Texas, fire department, the fire chief showed us what can happen if you follow this month's recipe at home.

Hot Spatter

Chief Jeff Smith and I followed the directions on page 154 which call for one cup of water and one-half cup of shortening to be brought to a boil for five minutes in a small saucepan.

With extinguishers ready and two firefighters in full protective gear, we watched and waited. The recipe says to let it boil for five minutes but three minutes and fifty seconds later, the mixture exploded, splattering hot grease onto my shirt. I was standing more than 12 feet from the burner.

Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, we tried the experiment one more time. After three minutes and forty-five seconds, the mixture exploded and burst into flames.

Chief Smith says the reason for the explosion is that the shortening rises to the top and traps all the heat in the pan until it bursts.

Revised Directions

Southern Living has revised the recipe, which now calls for the boiling water to be poured over the shortening and kept away from a hot burner.

The magazine has sent e-mail and postcards to its two-and-a-half million subscribers who already received April's issue to warn them about the danger. The magazine's editors told ABC News they do not know how much money the magazine will lose by pulling this month's issue from the newsstands, but their main concern is the safety of their readers.

Posted by thinkum at April 1, 2004 05:47 PM