"Melanie" > wrote in message
om...
> I am planning a buffet dinner for Thanksgiving. I have a warming tray
> that will keep a couple of dishes warm. I would also like to use my
> chafing dish for maybe the mashed potatoes, but I can't quite figure
> out how to use it. The chafing dish is a round one, about 4 quart
> capacity. It has an inner pan that fits into the outer pan, that in
> turn can be heated with Sterno from below. The instructions say to
> put water in outer pan, and food in the inner pan. When I tried that,
> and lit the Sterno, the water produced steam that had no where to go.
> It started hissing and gurgling and I chickened out. When I put the
> food directly in the outer pan, it started to burn. What is the right
> way to do this?

Try to put the wick of the sterno back in the can a bit, so that the flame
isn't so high (the longer the wick the bigger the flame). Alternatively use
the sterno lid to half cover the flame, less flame = less heat. make sure
you use lots of water. God speed.

J.