Help; my Kitchen's on Fire!

In the Fall, my In-Laws are busy harvesting. Here are the hot peppers they grew in their garden. They are hung to dry, and their seeds will be added to sopresata, (cured meats) and other dishes.

My Father-in-Law is also busy making wine. These photos were taken in his garage.

So the other day I ATTEMPTED to make Stracotto al Chianti. It was going well and smelled like heaven.

I was to leave it in the pot with the lid on- for 2 hours. After an hour, I realized that I burnt it! I just know it's because I didn't close the lid tight and the juices evaporated. I do this all the time. I'm so disappointed that I didn't get to taste it! To make things worse, the house smelled horrible all day.