A Burning Question...

I wasn't planning to post again today, but this topic just happened to come up tonight in my kitchen!

Q: If I burn my rice or sauce, is there any way to save it?
A: Maybe.

Here's how:
Turn off the heat-immediately. 
Resist the urge to stir! (This is the key.)
Let it cool so that most of the burnt stuff sticks to the bottom of the pan. (It will anyway.)
Taste it from the top to see if it tastes scorched. If it does, throw it away. There's nothing you can do.
If it doesn't, spoon it out carefully from the top. Do NOT scoop down to the bottom. Your objective is to transfer all the good-tasting food into another container, leaving the icky mess in the pan. If it's rice, it's probably fully cooked by the time it burns, but if it's a sauce, and it's not done yet, just continue cooking it in a fresh saucepan.

See, it worked for me!

Q: Is there an easy way to clean the scorched pan?
A: No. Soak it in soapy water overnight and scrub like h-e-double-toothpicks in the morning.

I hope you weren't expecting two miracles in one post!