Friday, November 19, 2010

R.I.P., Old Roaster

I've fallen prey to roaster lust. I read cooking and recipe blogs, I subscribe to Bon Appetit and Saveur, I watch Chopped and Iron Chef. I want to smile with perfect white teeth beneath my perfectly coiffed hair as I pull the golden turkey from the oven, to the approval of my family. (Yes, I know each of my children lives at least 600 miles from me.)

And so, though the All Clad roaster at Sur La Table sang the song of the siren, I picked up the less expensive Oneida version last night at the local wholesale club. I hesitated not over the price of the All Clad, but casting aside tradition. This old faithful friend has been replaced:

On the way home from the store, shiny new roaster taking the place of honor in the back seat, I thought about the old pan. I've had that old guy for 41 years. I think it was 41 years in July, maybe August. All I remember is tripping down the streets of the small town where I was working for a home builder, the summer after high school graduation, with my then-boyfriend. We made a "statement" of sorts, paying $1 for a roaster, at the sidewalk sale during Crazy Days - an unspoken plan for a future together.

Well, the future together didn't happen, but I kept the roaster. I married a different guy, and through all our years together, I roasted the holiday meats in this pan, and now I'm feeling a little fickle. Cast off the boyfriend, the husband, and now the roaster. Is that pan in the "fond memory" bank of my children?

Oh well - at $1, amortized over 41 years, I guess I've earned shiny and new, and it's about time that my dear Oldtimer gets a meal cooked in a pan without a past. Sure hope that turkey comes out golden.

6 comments:

Jim L said...

All Clad is right near here. I have a couple of their pans from their factory store.

Over 20 years and still my favorites.

MaryO said...

Yes, I look longingly at All Clad, too, Sue. But my roasting pan is very similar to yours and it works just fine! Your turkey will be GOLDEN!

Serena Lewis said...

Bye, bye old roaster with a past. The new roaster looks quite fancy and has a nice rack...hehehe

I love those old style roasters and have one too although I have no idea what brand. The only thing I find is that, with lid, they take up a lot of oven space.

Have a lovely weekend, Sue!

Love, light and peace,
Serena xo

BumbleVee said...

ooooohm me too.... after all ... we do expect a lot of the new and shiny. ... and we should. They cost so darn much!

I sprang for two All Clad pans several years ago...and hardly use them. It's so much work cleaning up versus a non stick...and you have to use oil...which I am always trying to cut back on..... sigh.... can't win. My "oldtimer" always asks after the All Clad....they sit nice and shiny in a drawer.....

Shashi Nayagam said...

I bet the turkey turned out all golden and tasty. Is there a morsel left for me?

ruthanne said...

I left my old roasting pan up in the attic this year and brought a throw away from the grocery. Also, the smallest turkey ever, so less clean up. Yippee, as I do all cooking and cleaning. Only one son home and he seems to take after his father.