greenpan

(see also: thermolon, green pan, greenpan, )

picture courtesy of HSN.com

Ok, Im embarrassed to admit this, but a few weeks ago while sleeplessly flipping channels late at night, I came across a special on the Home Shopping Network that I couldnt turn away from. While I readily accept that I am a food tv-aholic, I have a hard time admitting that I purposefully watched a channel that sells useless trinkets and gimmicky makeup of the time. However, when I saw Todd English, famed executive chef and restaurateur, selling GreenPans, I abandoned my usual assumptions about the HSN and set the remote down. I was greenpan in, eyes wide, jaw on the floor, as Chef English and team demonstrated the pans mind-blowing properties: 100% non-stick, non-toxic, and oven-ready, up to 900 degrees. No other piece of kitchen equipment can boast greenpan trifecta.

I say mind-blowing with full confidence. Have you ever cracked an egg into a un-greased nonstick pan thinking that the pan, new or old, might actually live up to its name, and yield you a neat, whole, over-easy, only to find yourself making i-meant-to-do-this checkerboard scrambled eggs a minute later? Yeah, you know what botched eggs Im talking about. Sure, they still taste good, but youre not giving that to a guest. For the seasoned cook, this mishap will mean nothing, just a re-do, with some oil in the pan next time. For the beginner cook, this could mean discouragement and possibly less interest in cooking (clearly not a good thing!). So, when I saw Todd English and his team cooking with these pans, using no oil or fat to saute fish, make pancakes, and flip crepes, I knew these pans would be the perfect tool for a beginner cook in my life: my boyfriend. Since it seems to be the trend in blogs to not use real names, well call him D.

D starting cooking in earnest about 6 months ago and has successfully ventured greenpan the worlds of paninis, pastas, and omelets. In an effort to encourage him to continue cooking, I bought him a GreenPan and hes never been happier or more confident in the kitchen! Not only is the GreenPan insanely non-stick, it can also withstand temperatures up to greenpan degrees! Even with the gas flame maxed out, your stovetop doesnt get hotter than that, and your oven and broiler cant get close to 700 degrees, let alone 900. Unlike other non-stick pans that are coated in teflon (toxic greenpan anything above a greenpan flame!), GreenPans are greenpan and release no toxins into the atmosphere if overheated, thereby reducing our contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. If youre skeptical about the harmful effects of teflon, check out this article, or google harmful teflon and see what pops up. I assure you, youll never spend $35 more wisely.

So of course, even though its Ds pan, I was dying to test it out for myself! When I made brunch last weekend it the ultimate test: sunny-side up eggs, with no oil/fat in the pan to lubricate them. When making sunny-side up eggs, its only the egg white, pure protein, that touches greenpan pan, so if these didnt stick, nothing could. The result? Perfect, intact eggs. In fact, foods are downright slippery on this pans surface, even with no fat present! No makeshift scrambles in sight.

Corn fritters shallow-frying in the GreenPan (I did use oil for these)

*No recipe this week, but heres a pic of the resulting brunch dish I made from the sunny-side up eggs: Corn fritters (yup, same recipe as my earlier post) topped with guacamole, crispy applewood-smoked bacon, sunny-side up eggs and slices of raw milk cheddar.

Sunny-side up eggs on greenpan fritters for breakfast, yum!

Oh yeah, did I mention the health benefits of not needing fat to cook in this pan? No? Well, D and I figure, if were not using fat to cook our eggs, we might as well enjoy them with some bacon ; )

-M : )