On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 22:57:52 -0500, Stan Horwitz >
wrote:
<snip>
>I got back to Jan and Rob's a few minutes later and Jan showed me that I
>must have not turned off the burner, as I thought I had. It was still
>on, but not on the high setting. I had no idea because the red color of
>the burner element went off, so I thought it was reasonably cool. If it
>was gas, I could have easily seen that the burner was not off.
>Fortunately, I did not make that mistake with the pot of mac & cheese,
>so it came out fine and it was a big hit at the party.
>
>My sister consoled me and she said it took her a while to get used to
>her electric range.

That's very true. I have had both over the years in apartments. With
the first electric I had, I also learned the hard way to watch very
carefully when turning burners on/off. A roommate had left a frying
pan with grease on the stove and I put a pot of tea on, but picked the
wrong dial. The pan with grease heated up and caught on fire.
Fortunately I was close by and smothered it with the lid.

I learned two lessons that day: 1. always wait to check the burner
to make sure that the one you want is on/off, and 2. always keep the
lid handy when frying even if you're not using it.

Both types of fuel are do-able; a lot depends on the situation. If
you live in a drafty castle with wind howling through the kitchen and
blowing out the flame ;> then an electric stove would be better.

Although I prefer gas, I had no problem adapting to electric in
various apartments. I think some of the issues people have with
either type are with cheap/old units or when switching from one fuel
to the other.

When I chose a new range for myself, I looked for and bought a gas
cooktop/gas oven. I was so happy the house had gas service so I
wasn't compelled to buy an electric range (or clothes dryer).

Sorry about the meatballs. I did get a chuckle out of the idea of
your sister washing them

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!