With a stainless steel chef’s pan you can make a risotto, a small stew, sauté vegetables, simmer meat, scramble an egg, or make stove-top cornbread. It is the perfect thing for the one-pot wonder meals that make up the majority of my weekday cooking. This chef’s pan is dishwasher safe, and it has a sturdy, ergonomic handle plus a smaller grip on the opposite side so you can lift it easily (it’s amazing how heavy pans can get when full of hot food). At four quarts it’s the perfect size and lends itself to a variety of dishes. My favorite feature is that it is oven safe, so that when you have to start a dish on the stove top and finish it in the oven you only dirty one pan. It’s the one pan everyone needs, because it will make your life so much easier. You’ll find these and other great kitchen pans at The Smart Cook.