The dad probably did not know the kid was making the call. In some cities, after the first 1-2 non emergency calls from a minor they start to charge for the calls. I'd like to know if the dad gave in or made him eat it. Or go to bed without dinner! :-) T

This wouldn't work for a lot of you, but it's a near-ideal setup for our household of two: I have a 30" gas cooktop, with a Max Burton portable induction unit sitting on an aluminum cookie sheet over the rear left burner (which was a rarely used and unreliable small 'simmer burner'). The induction top is where all boiling operations happen, from daily water boiling for the coffee press to pasta to blanching veg to (frequent) pressure cooking. A big advantage of this setup is that the placement at the back corner of the stove, directly under the under-powered vent hood and slightly elevated, ensures that steam is carried right up and away. Before, we had to use the front right burner, the most powerful, for boiling, and it's too far forward for the vent hood to capture the steam efficiently. In the heat of summer, the combination of dramatically less heat from the burner itself plus the steam removal makes a huge difference in kitchen comfort. A second big advantage of the induction rig here is for long, low cooking -- simmering down apple butter, or ketchup, or making carnitas. Our cheapo gas stove has real problems with the flame guttering out at low settings, particularly if another burner is in use; the induction unit makes a long simmer worry-free. Likewise, some pressure cooker operations, like chicken stock, spend 45 minutes to an hour at pressure, and it's a blessing to be able to regulate the burner precisely and with no worry about the effect of using any of the gas burners while it's going. This arrangement frees up the powerful front right burner for the more hands-on kinds of tasks it's suited to: searing, stir-frying, browning meat & veg before braising, crepe-making, etc. There are a lot of reasons I'd be very reluctant to give up gas: I've cooked for forty years on nothing but, I have some wonderful copper and aluminum pans that take maximum advantage of the flame, it works when the power goes out (several times a year in our rural area), I regularly toast tortillas directly on the burner, and (for me, at least) skillet operations are induction's weak point. But the 'hillbilly hybrid', while not a thing of beauty, gives us the best of both worlds, seriously increasing the usability of the existing cooktop at an extremely low cost. If I were to get a completely new kitchen, I'd probably go with an induction cooktop: Full induction cooktops have much finer-grained power levels than the portable, with the lowest settings much more usefully low. But I'd add a big gas burner for all the reasons in the paragraph above.

I add coffee to gravies. I also use it in my pulled pork. I've seen it used as a dry rub also. I don't drink coffee. I don't even like the smell. But using it in recipes just adds a richness and depth to the flavor. You don't taste coffee,just a smoky richness.

Adding things to burned stuff dilutes it slightly but you always wind up with something that's burned. It's like overseasoning, you don't unseason stuff although diluting that will help. You could get a bunch of super hot chili peppers, something along the line of Naga Viper pepper, Infinity Chili, Bhut Jolokia chili pepper, Trinidad Scorpion or Butch T pepper and add to it. With enough, you won't taste the burnt parts! :) Sorry for the loss. It happens. Have a glass of wine and let it go. BTW, don't be too sure about a crockpot. Many of them get so hot they'll burn stuff too if unattended. I've had enough battles with day-long chili "simmering" to know that, which is why I like the Nesco so much better, but anything applying heat can burn something. You need to tend things appropriately. Something like a roast is less sensitive to it of course, but a soup, stew, chili, sauce or something usually needs to be stirred. Hope your day is improving!