Kitchen Tip: Burnt Pots

It happens even to the best of us ... burnt dinner. My recent nemesis was marinara sauce. This is the second time that it's happened, there must be something about slow cooking tomatoes that causes my kitchen senses to be derailed and my pot bottom scorched. Now I use some very nice cookware -- Le Crueset, to be specific -- with heavy bottoms and industrial-strength non-stick enamel interiors .... however even such culinary luxuries cannot prevent the occasional charred pot bottom. 

This time, it was bad enough that there was a thick layer of black stuff (burnt onions and fennel) on the bottom of the pot and I caught Ryan trying to vigorously scrub it off using only elbow grease and the dedication that true love and a full stomach brings to washing dishes. My solution -- one that came to me in one of those out-of-the-blue epiphany moments -- worked wonders and saved tons of time spent scrubbing and cursing. I filled the pot with an inch or two of water, added a generous amount of baking soda, and cooked it on the stove top. The baking soda magically lifted the charred bots off the pan and allowed some gentle scraping with a wooden spoon to do the rest. Ta da! My beautiful stock pot back in action and hours of scrubbing saved for something more worthwhile ...