I often host dinner parties for groups of 6-8 people at my apartment. I usually cook simple meat-based entrees using pan-frying, sauteeing, braising, poaching, etc., usually accompanied by rice/salad.
The challenge is that my apartment has a very small kitchen area with only 1 stove burner:
(I have no oven — just a microwave, rice cooker, and water boiler.)
I have this frying pan (which measures 12 inches across the top, 9 inches across the base, and is 2.5 inches high):
Is this an ideal size? Or is it too big for my stove burner? The only alternative I see is to cook my meals in 2 batches, but that seems like it could make it hard to time things properly.
Best Answer
Generally, it is said that you should avoid pans which are not the same size as the burner. You are wasting energy in both the "smaller" and "bigger" case. Besides, as Jessica mentioned, you are wasting time and getting lower quality food with a larger pan, because you have to stir a lot, and still get unevenly heated food.
But if the alternative is to cook two batches in a fitting pan, I still think that you are saving electricity and time with the inefficient large pan. So I would stay with it.
I can also recommend buying more burners and an oven, if you are going to cook. A portable burner is very small and can be stuffed into a cabinet when not needed, to save counter space even in the tiniest kitchen. It can be cheap, or you can get an induction one for better quality heating and energy saving. A toaster oven is, in my experience, much more useful than a microwave. This will depend on the way you eat - if you frequently get frozen meals, the microwave is more convenient. I do all of my normal baking if a toaster oven, and it does everything, even complicated cakes, so if you are serious about cooking, it might be a better use of space than the mw.