The things we got wrong
This is not a list of successes. It is a log of the mistakes we made—what we published wrong, what failed in practice, and what we had to undo. The only reason to read it is to see whether we still care enough to fix them.
A site that does not correct its own errors is either hiding something or does not notice them. We do neither. If you find something here that should not be, it means we did not catch it in time—or worse, that we let it stay.
Three we had to fix
These are the first three mistakes we had to correct. They are the ones that hurt the most—not because they were the worst, but because they showed us how easily things can slip through. Some stood for weeks before we noticed.
Others were caught by readers before they even went live.
The mistakes we fixed
- 1Wrong oven temperature chart
The first version of our ‘Perfect Fry Guide’ listed oven temperatures for crispy potatoes that were 25°F too low. Readers started asking why their skins weren’t golden enough, and we double-checked the source. Turns out, the chart had been copied from a baking site for *roasted* potatoes, not fried. Estelle Novak fixed it, and we added a note: *‘We test every recipe twice—once for accuracy, once for taste.’*
- 2Unworkable one-pot method
Our ‘Weeknight Hash’ recipe called for layering raw potatoes, onions, and peppers in a single pot, then cooking them all at once. It sounded efficient, but the potatoes ended up soggy while the onions burned. A reader sent a photo of their failed attempt, and Estelle Novak recreated it in her kitchen. The fix? Separate skillets—first potatoes, then onions, then peppers. We updated the recipe and labeled it *‘For the impatient (who hate cleanup).’*
- 3Typos in a key ingredient
The ‘Crispy Smashed Potato’ recipe listed *‘2 tbsp heavy whipping cream’* instead of *‘2 tbsp heavy cream’*—a mistake that would have ruined the texture. It went live for three days before a subscriber pointed it out. Estelle Novak caught the next batch of edits, and we added a *‘Proofread by hand’* badge to every recipe. The old version is still online, but with a red *‘Corrected 07/09/26’* stamp.
What those three changed
These mistakes taught us three things: never trust a copied chart without testing, always assume a reader will try the recipe *exactly* as written, and that even small errors can make a big difference. The fixes were simple, but the habits they created were not.
Rules that came from mistakes
- 1. *Test every temperature and method in-house before publishing.* (From the oven chart error)
- 2. *Assume the first attempt will fail—then write the recipe for the second.* (From the one-pot disaster)
- 3. *Proofread ingredients twice, once for spelling and once for function.* (From the cream typo)
The people behind this
Estelle Novak is the founder and editor of *Potato Recipes Fry*, and she is the only one who signs off on corrections. That’s because she is the one who has to live with the mistakes—and the ones we haven’t found yet.
The log above is how you meet her: not as an expert, but as someone who still gets things wrong, even after years of cooking.
Keeping a public log of corrections is uncomfortable. It means admitting that perfection is not the goal—that the point is to keep getting it right, even when you don’t. Some days, Estelle Novak would rather hide the errors.
But then she remembers the reader who sent that photo of the soggy hash, or the one who emailed to say, *‘I almost didn’t try it because of the cream mistake—thank you for fixing it.’* That’s when she knows it’s worth it.
There was a time Estelle Novak burned a batch of fries so badly they had to be thrown out. She was twelve, standing at the stove in her grandmother’s kitchen, and the smoke alarm went off before she even tasted them.
Her grandmother just laughed and said, *‘Now you know why we keep a fire extinguisher nearby.’* That’s the kind of lesson this site is built on—not just the big failures, but the small, stupid ones too.
If you find something we got wrong, the best thing you can do is tell us. Not to shame us, but to help us fix it before someone else tries it. The contact page is where to start.
There will be a next one
This log is not finished. The next mistake could be ours, or it could be yours pointing it out. Either way, we will correct it—and add it here. The only rule is that we keep fixing them, no matter how small.
If you spot something that needs changing, the contact page is where to go. No need to be gentle. Just tell us what’s wrong, and we’ll make it right.
The recipes are grouped by category: Appetizers, Beverages, Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Main Courses and Reviews.