Cooking Tools Contemplation

[silverthorne]

So, when my tax return gets back, depending on how much the vet bills end up being, I may or may not replace my Zune with a new player.

However, regardless, I am thinking of getting a bakeware/oven set, regardless of whether or not there's enough left over for the player.

My question to those with more oven cooking experience is this:

I'd like to be able to do casseroles, small chicken/fish dishes, and broiled veggies, but I already know that budget wise, I can probably only afford one 'kind' of set over another for the time being.

So, would I be better served to invest first in a set of glass casserole dishes? Metal pans? One stoneware (or whatever it's called these days) baking pan (you know--the metal ones that are typically either black or blue with the white speckled spots)...or something else altogether?

I don't mind slow cooking the food, either (most of my oven work will be on weekends where I can be on hand for several hours to check the progress).

I do request that it stays in the $50 or below range, if possible. :)

And...if the suggestion is for metal pans, please point me in the direction of a good set that doesn't attract rust just by virtue of sitting unused for a few months (yes, my very cheap, $5 metal pan set did just this, which is the other reason why I'm looking to buy a new set of something...When something rusts when it hasn't even had water in it, there's something wrong...)

So, help me, Oven-Wan-Kenobi...you are my only hope source of info (Since Dad, unless it's ribs or involves an outdoor grill or the simple solution of laying foil on the oven rack, is not much better at knowing this stuff than me)

Comments

[lakidaa.livejournal.com]

( ._.)/ hello there i can cook and so can you !

Grab at least one casserole dish. We have like three Pyrex (basically glass :V) ones and they're round with a pyrex lid and they're useful for every-damn-thing. See if you can find a ceramic dish that you can use in stove, oven, AND microwave; then they are always useful. We have a pair that are canned-vegetable-sized and awesome. Brownie pans (8x8 or 9x9; the important thing is the squareness) are like a million kinds of useful.

Get glass over metal just because you can microwave them. Versatility is kickass, I tell you what. (Yes, metal is better at some things. But I don't HAVE any metal baking PANS. only sheets. And a loaf pan.)

BASICALLY: something like this set: http://tinyurl.com/aovl48 :V

[lakidaa.livejournal.com]

Oh balls those don't have lids go for something like that but with ovenable lids :V

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

( ._.)/ hello there i can cook and so can you !

Hee!

Oh, that's a nice set...and I see other nice stuff under it, too. Which means I'll have to chain the Buying Monkey if I go through Amazon *twitch*. ;)

Yeah, lids for the fridge are definitely a good idea, especially for those days where it's time to go to bed by the time the food is cool enough to go in the fridge, and I don't want to spend another 30 minutes scooping it into servings. :P