Kaboom! and the Oven Door Flew Open...

The day before Thanksgiving last year, my husband decided to bake pumpkin pies at my mother-in-law's house. He decided to use Alton Brown's pie crust recipe which calls for a mixture of vodka and water instead of plain ice water, but would "improve" it by using straight Everclear instead.

Ten minutes at 425 degrees and there was a great KABOOM! The oven door blew open and WHOOSH! Hot air and pretty blue and yellow flames shot out of the oven. The door hit my husband in the hip, causing the superheated gas to inflate his shirt and singe the most of the hairs off his belly. My mother-in-law, an innocent bystander, received a complimentary depilatory treatment on her wrist.

In case you were wondering, they're both fine now and the story of the exploding pies has passed into family lore. Oh, and the part about the oven breaking a short time later and needing to be replaced was probably just a coincidence.