Cookware Blogging

The Cohens are red meat eaters. Unfortunately, over the last few years, we've been suffering for our love: whenever we would cook meat in our oven, our smoke detector would go off. Whenever our smoke detector would go off, our fire alarm would go off. That was unpleasant. Soon, whenever we smelled cooking meat, our ears would start to sweat. Something had to be done.

Red meat cooking being the man's job in our house, it fell to me to solve this problem. I succeeded by heating up a frying pan and, before putting the meat in the oven, searing the meat in the pan. This not only solved the smoke problem, but it tastes great, shortens the cooking time and more reliably results in the medium rare meat we prefer. It soon became clear that we were going to need a new frying pan big enough for some good sized steaks, durable enough for constant use and easy to clean of baked on meat juice. We bought a Swiss Diamond 12.5" frying pan.

This is the greatest frying pan on Earth. The theory of Swiss Diamond pans is that they are made of aluminum mixed with industrial diamonds. Whatever. The result, though, is a heavy though not too heavy, durable pan with great thermal properties. The heat spreads evenly, without any discernible cold or hot spots. It is oven safe up to 500 degrees, even though it has a plastic coated handle which stays cool on the stove top (though not in the oven). Oil, butter or other cooking fats are not necessary other than for taste or texture, so they can be reduced considerably. Swiss Diamond says to go ahead and use metal utensils, though I don't mostly just because I got out of the habit to protect all my other pots and pans.

The best thing about the pan is cleanup. Last night I made oven fried chicken in the pan. After letting it sit on the stove until after dinner, I took it over to the sink. Having first briefly fried flour coated chicken in butter and then baked the whole thing in the same pan in a 425 oven, I just ran it under hot water and then used a soft brush with dish soap for about ten seconds. The pan immediately came clean and even the water just beads up and runs off. I stick the pan in the dish rack and it's all set for whatever I make in it tonight (probably meat sauce for spaghetti). Clean up is always that easy.

Swiss Diamond products are pricey, but worth it. We only own the one and use it every most days for all sorts of things you wouldn't ordinarily use a frying pan for. Since it's oven safe and you can cook with it over a low heat without oil, there's almost nothing you can't cook in it.

Oven Fried Chicken.

Mix two cups flour, two tablespoons paprika and other spices to taste in a bag. (Last night, I used onion salt, garlic salt, toasted sesame seeds, mustard powder and chili powder; it was still a little bland). Rinse chicken parts (up to about 3 pounds) and pat dry. Put in bag and shake to coat.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large, oven-safe frying pan. When butter is hot, add chicken parts, shaking off excess coating into bag. Fry a few minutes to seal coating. Put pan in oven preheated to 425 degrees F (220 C) for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and turn. Cook for another 20 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.