Let me give you just one great example.  Debbie and I entertain a good bit and one of the great pleasures that we have these days is having my daughter come over on Mondays for dinner and a chat.  I wanted to do something special, so I went out to the local Central Market to find something impressive.  Low and behold!  King Crab legs on sale for a price cheaper than the pork chops right down the meat cases for the display!  Wow!  Also Uh oh.  How am I going to cook these great big things?  They are two long to go in a pot, unless I use the one outside on a burner (if I have to I will).  How about using the roaster as a steamer?  It has a rack that sits up off of the bottom of the pan.  It will go on the stove without touching anything that might be damaged by the heat.  It has a lid to hold in the steam.  Great!  It worked out much better than boiling because the steam does not rob the crab of any flavor.  One word of caution, the steaming process can soften the shell.  That would mean you would need scissors or, perhaps, kitchen shears to be most effective.  The normal cracker and hammers won’t work on steamed crab legs.  It didn’t take very long either.  We pared that fabulous crab with some drawn butter, wilted spinach, bacon and fennel salad and a brilliant Argentine Sauvignon Blanc from the Mendoza region and just enjoyed!  The only problem was that we forgot about the chat.

Here’s the main point.  If you have a lot of awkwardly shaped or voluminous items to cook, consider the roasting pan that you use for the Turkey on thanksgiving.  I’ve done potatoes, winter squash (particularly butternut), crab legs, fish and a variety of other things this way.  You can eve flavor the liquid that you are using for the steam.  Additionally, it cleans up pretty easily!  You still have the roaster for roasting that great big, beautiful, delicious bird and that savory roast beef, when you wish.

Great Eating and Pura Vida - Terry