Foods that you prefer "slightly burnt"...

It might sound crazy, but there are a few foods I actually prefer slightly burnt/charred (at least on the edges).

Macaroni & Cheese
Au Gratin Potatoes
Hot Dogs (on the grill)

I think all of the above are at their delicious best when they have that charred layer that coats the top and edges of the dish.

Jeff

Toast.
rwj

For some, but not all applications, caramelized onions.

[Jenise]

Pan fried chicken, especially the wings
Pizza

Anything cooked in a tandoor - that slightly smoky/charry flavour adds so much to good naan or kebabs. Also have a liking for slightly charred lamb merguez sausages.

[Robin Garr]

Pizza

This, from a wood or coal-burning oven.

Boneless leg of lamb, grilled....I grab the charred pieces on the ends first
Edges of farm fresh fried eggs
A bit of charring around the edges of fried potatoes
When I make my roasted tomato sauce every fall, I make sure the tomatoes all have some charring to them
Turkey skin
Thick Globe Zucchini rounds, done stove top, always has very brown edges













zucchini rounds done on stove top with evoo and lemon juice must have very brown edges

Traditional lasagna (love those burnt corners).
Pan seared lamb burgers.
Turkey stuffing that is sticking out of the bird.
Any meat on the grill. Always order my steaks Pittsburgh medium rare.
Like Karen, sauteed zucchini must have charred edges.
Frosted Pop Tarts.
Lazy Daisy cake's carmelized coconut topping.
Hot dogs, like Jeff. The more charred the better.

Frosted Pop Tarts.

It took me awhile to warm up to Pop Tarts until I discovered that I like them plain. I never think to toast them. I just grab one out of the silver wrapper and start munching...

Jeff

Pizza is a good one, although, I like the burnt edges (corner pieces) on deep dish ones the best. I prefer thin crust pizza a bit more "rare". For some reason, charred thin pizza is more of a turn-off for me. Yet those crisped grease edges on deep dish pieces are heavenly. Just don't tell my arteries...

Jeff

NONE - absolutely nothing.

Red peppers, not the skin, but the pepper itself; and then stored in OO.

Pizza and hot dogs. My mother didn't burn things, but she did have a tendency to overcook things like cookies, pies and roasts. My M-I-L was just the opposite. My wife seemed to get it right. That being said, when I make French Onion Soup, I start with onions, butter and sugar in a hot cast iron skillet. I stir it constantly with a wooden spatula - "daring" it to burn. When they reach the right level of "almost burned" I douse with a water & flour mixture, stir, remove from the heat and add to the pot with more onions that are just sweating. When all the onions are cooked, I then add chicken stock. The result, from caramelizing the onions, is a dark brown soup with a flavor I prefer over the beef stock.

creme brulee

Lamb chops.

These days, when you get lamb chops on a menu at a restaurant, they are apt to be slightly underdone unless you can convince the staff that you mean it when you say you want them really, really well done. In the pub that was our regular Friday night meet-and-eat spot for two or three years, they had a dish on the menu called "Tuscan lamb chops"- grilled lamb chops on a sweet-potato mash with a balsamic vinegar dressing. My order always went to the kitchen with the word "cremated" written in the margin. The cook was a bit timid at first but after a while became relaxed about sending mine in to the dining room absolutely frazzled. To be fair, it probably grieved her heart to do that but I was a regular, even if I was eccentric in the lamb chop department.

Same at barbecues. I won't touch lamb chops unless they are charred-up.

One of my favorite sayings: "Between burned and bland, is brown."

I can't say I actually like anything burned. Thin crust pizza and tandoor items should have black blisters, and grilled meats should have good char marks.

But burned all over? No.

Yeah, I don't know about 'burnt', but I like carmelization on lots of things, onions, carrots, roasted potatoes and cauliflower to lead the list.

On the other hand, my wife is very sensitive to these things because of some purported health risk from burned foods. So she picks off all the darkly cooked bits.