Super Bowl Sunday's cooking less than 48 hours passed, a second episode of Glee hit the airwaves as I began to prep for tonight's meal and take on the challenge of one-pan cooking. The solution for tonight in particular: use one of the best multi-purpose pans in the kitchen, i.e., the sauté pan.
From the French, sauter (to jump), the technique of sautéing typically requires high heat and low fat (as the wide pan bottom evenly distributes the heat in such a way you don't need oil to provide that function), and is further characterized by the tossing of ingredients within the pan itself. At the same time, a sauté pan's construction lends itself to low heat/longtime cooking, as well as the development of deep-flavoured sauces, the base of which I've found to be called a "fond" (i.e., the brown bits usually rendered after cooking pork, poultry, etc.). Technical discussions on the proper use and materials of kitchen cookware are certainly a plenty, and so I say choose the one you're most comfortable with and adapt techniques to suit what works for you. [Contrary to what some suggest, and as you may note in some of the dishes I've prepared already, I get a fond quite easily with my non-stick pans.] More specifically, so long as you have either a sauté pan or a skillet, and a lid to match, you should be able to recreate tonight's meal: Italian Dressing Chicken and White Wine Orzo Risotto.
