I Heart Stoneware

As some of you may remember, 5 or so years ago I was a consultant for Pampered Chef. I became a consultant because I was absolutely obsessed with their kitchen products. However, it wasn't until I became a consultant that I actually owned my first Stoneware product. I was reluctant to purchase any, in part because of the cost. I also felt that my good-ole pans were doing just fine, thank you very much.

Until the day that my Director invited me over to bake some cookies. We baked one batch on the traditional cookie sheet, and the other batch on the large Bar Pan Stoneware. OH MY GOD! What a difference. The cookies baked on stoneware were perfectly even, perfectly cooked. The others, while not bad, were not cooked evenly (the bottoms were slightly overcooked compared to the tops).

Since that day, I have gone on to replace all of my pans with Stoneware. They are SO easy to clean (scrape 'em off under hot water, no soap), and they cook EVERYTHING evenly. I have NEVER, repeat, NEVER burned anything since I started using stoneware. Everything is juicy and delicious. Even Ian will tell you how much he loves stoneware.

One thing - don't bother with the cheapo $10 pizza stone you see at the grocery store. It is NOT the same thing. The material is cheaper, and you just won't get the same result. Not to mention - Pampered Chef has a 4 year (if I remember correctly) guarantee on their stoneware. Which is a guarantee I've used twice.

Most of my stoneware is now a glorious dark brown, well-seasoned and completely non-stick. My favourite pieces are the large round stone, the large bar pan, the small bar pan, and muffin pan (you'll never need muffin liners again), and the rectangular baker.

It's been a few years since I updated my stoneware collection, and now that I'm home for the next 8 months (yes, 4 months have already gone by, yikes), I plan to really start some serious baking. Thus - it's time for some more Stoneware.

If you haven't already been converted, I highly recommend you try it. Start with the medium bar pan or the large pizza stone - I find that these are very flexible, and can be used for cookies, pizza, chicken breasts, bars, etc etc etc. Always cook something with fat in it first - I usually start with cookies or croissants - so that it seasons the stoneware right from the start.

So - time for a Pampered Chef show. I'm going to book one for either late September or early October... so if you're in town, hope you can make it! (Jill, wish you were here! I'd TOTALLY use you as my consultant).

By the way - half of the fun of a Pampered Chef show is the free food, wine, and good company. I don't care if you buy anything - I appreciate the discount that I get if my guests purchase things, but I always save up enough to buy what I want with or without the discount! So please, don't feel any pressure to buy. Do feel pressure to come and eat, drink, and be merry!