Sunday, July 13, 2008

We Panned Out

We thought we had found a good gift for our recent anniversary celebration. Williams-Sonoma was selling mesh grilling pans: open-weave metal pots you put food inside and place over a barbecue.
They were kind of expensive, though. Eep.
Ah. What the heck. It was our anniversary. Splurge a little.
First, though, we had to stop at Ross, the discount clothing/housewares store. We were searching for throw pillows for our new blue-suede love seat (OK, fake suede, but true blue). I just about never buy clothes there, but the pillow selection has, on occasion, sizzled. Not this time, though.
Then, we walked by a sale display. Marked-down BBQ junk, cheaper than usual.
Look! See that pan in the picture? Eight bucks. And if you buy it on Geezer Day (in my neighborhood, it's Tuesdays for those of us above a certain age), you get 10% off.
Well, there were too many people in line; we didn't want to wait. Besides, it was Monday.
So we drove over to a local upscale grocery store. It's the only place around that carries a brand of buttermilk I adore. (I know. I'll tell you about it someday.) We walked up one aisle, past some cool kitchen hardware, and there was that Ross pan, for $25 — at least. I can't remember perfectly; it was too shocking.
Needless to say, a return visit to Ross first thing Tuesday morning occurred. Eight bucks, with 80 cents off. Chortle.
Two lessons here: If you don't shop at Ross for kitchenware (Marshall's is good too), you should. If you can. And, this is a really cool tool for cooking vegetables on the grill — you don't lose them down into the coals, you get a little smoky heat, and you can stir them with a spatula.
We never did get over to Williams-Sonoma.

16 comments:

Anita (Married... with dinner) said...

happy anniversary to my favorite cheap old geezers :)

(takes one to know one, that's my defense)

Kalyn Denny said...

Score! I'm well acquainted with geezer day (Tuesday here too, must be a Ross thing.)

Hope you had a fabulous anniversary.

cookiecrumb said...

Anita: Gorgeous photo of you.
Cheapitude is a mantra here...
Happy anniversary to you, too.
xx

Kalyn: Of course, you know, I learned about this BBQ pan from your blog!! You rock.

Zoomie said...

Holy shit, you really scored on that one! Veggies look great, too! And Happy Anniversary!

Ilva said...

not to speak about how good THAT pan is to roast chestnuts in, you just wait and see....

The Italian Dish said...

Way to go! What a deal. You'll love that pan. We grill vegetables all the time in ours.

Anonymous said...

Happy anniversary! Yay. I have a pan like that too; somehow can't just limit my pan acquisition to indoor ones. Still, my fave thing to use on the grill is my old cast-iron skillet. (Sheesh. Could've saved some dough!) I adore barbecued squash. Is it dinnertime yet?

ChrisB said...

Hope you had a great anniversary celebration.

We could have done with one of those pans in Portugal as we lost too much food into the coals!!

cookiecrumb said...

Zoomie: It will inspire us to do lots of outdoor cooking. I also dug up a hot plate to use out there.

Ilva: Oh, GOSH, what a fantastic idea. I just mentioned it to you-know-who, and Cranky says thanky!

the Italian Dish: We are currently wondering whether it would be good for cooking a pizza in... I'll give it a try and report back.

El: Nothing beats cast-iron. I have, I think five of them, all different. But this holey pan is great for that whiff of smoke.

cookiecrumb said...

ChrisB: Thank you!
It would be almost worth thinking about traveling with this pan, wouldn't it? :D

Dagny said...

I miss having a Ross in Berkeley. They have the best housewares department.

Oh, and happy anniversary.

cookiecrumb said...

Dagny: Thanks, sweetie.
They kicked the Marshall's out of Corte Madera; not upscale enough, I guess. I feel your pain.

Sweet Bird said...

I thought I was the only one who scoured Ross for kitchen finds! Ever since I found Polish crystal stemware for $2 a piece and ceramic souffle dishes for a dollar I've been sold. It takes some scouring sometimes, but it's totally worth it!

cookiecrumb said...

Sweet Bird: You're making me want to go back already!!

Sweet Bird said...

Well then won't you be jealous when I tell you I found a $35 dollar solid marble mortar and pestle for....$4.99!

Oh yeah, that's right...

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