one. The good news here is that when it comes to stockpots,
the absolute cheapest will do. You’ll never be doing
anything in here aside from boiling or simmering vast
amounts of liquid, so all you need is something that will
hold water and stay level. You shouldn’t have to spend
more than $40 or so on one.
- Something to Roast In
Decent roasting pans are expensive; there’s no two ways
about it. Just like with skillets, the best roasting pans are
made with layered metals—stainless steel sandwiched with
an aluminum core. When choosing a roasting pan, I look for
one that I can use directly on a burner on the stovetop as
well as in the oven, something with comfortable handles,
and something that is thick enough that it won’t warp under
the heat of the oven or the weight of a turkey. My Calphalon
pan is large and sturdy, and it has a nice U-shaped rack for
holding large roasts. It’s about $140, and I use it about twice
a year, when I cook big roasts on holidays.
Want to know the honest truth? I could easily live without
it. What I couldn’t live without is a heavy-duty aluminum
rimmed baking sheet with a wire cooling rack set on it. It’s
lighter and cheaper, stores right in the oven, and has the
added advantage that it’s shallow, making it much easier for
hot air to circulate around the food that’s cooking. It’s what
I use for roasting the other 363 days of the year. Mine has
seen countless roast chickens, and it is warped and bent
beyond belief, but it still does its job just as well as it ever
did. I bought it for about $10 at a cooking supply store,
along with a rack that cost another $5 or $6. (You can get