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Until a few years ago, I’d never purchased a sheet pan. Instead, I made due with castoffs from my mom’s kitchen and pans left behind by old roommates, whatever was around. I also had this weird pride in a sheet pan that was, shall we say, world-weary. My sheet pans had made countless roasted vegetable dinners and seen more than a few late nights reheating frozen french fries. I claimed to like it that way. I’d justify a sheet pan that was caked in a permanent layer of blackened grease by saying it was “intentionally well-seasoned” to mortified dinner guests.
Then I made plans to host Thanksgiving at my apartment. I knew my mom and my brother would be puttering around my kitchen with me, and that I’d be unable to prevent my “wizened” or “well-seasoned” sheet pan from revealing what it really was: old and gross. Plus, I knew I’d be cooking more dishes at one time in my apartment than ever before.
I ordered a fresh three fresh half-sheet pans from Made In, and I can now say that I wouldn’t have gotten through cooking Thanksgiving dinner without them.
Yes, I saved myself from embarrassment by having a fresh set. But also, simply having more sheet pans meant that I could be super organized with dinner prep: I cut sweet potatoes and delicata squash a few days in advance, positioning them on the very sheet pan I’d use to roast them on Thanksgiving day. Since I wasn’t going to need that sheet pan to toast nuts, dehydrate bread, or simply to make dinner in the meantime (there were additional sheet pans for that), the prepped food could live on the vessel that would eventually take it to the oven.
At the end of the week, my refrigerator looked like a restaurant kitchen, with neatly stacked sets of sheet pans filled with brussels sprouts, green beans, etc. at the ready. On Thanksgiving I didn’t have to worry about transferring prepped items from a bowl to their sheet pan, which cut down on time hustling back and forth from the fridge and dishes.
I’ve realized that sheet pans follow a Field of Dreams mentality: If you have them, you will fill them. If I had ordered more sheet pans that Thanksgiving, I would have used them. It might even be smart to get multiple sizes. If you have a toaster oven or multi-oven that you’re planning to use for some of your Thanksgiving cooking, first of all, smart. Second of all, order some quarter-sheet pans that will fit perfectly in that smaller oven.
Thanksgiving is just the beginning. Remember, you’re headed into a holiday season full of cookie exchanges, and you’re gonna need sheet pans for that. You’re going to be rushing between holiday parties and school concerts and family gatherings, and you’re going to need quick dinners in between—sheet pans will come in handy here too. Having a totally fresh set might even give you the illusion of control in your life during the most chaotic time of the year.
You may be thinking, Okay, yeah, but then those sheet pans will clutter my cabinets, unused for the rest of the year. But I think the Field of Dreams logic lasts beyond the holiday season. You can use your quarter-sheet pans to create a prep station near your stovetop. Use a half-sheet to serve a charcuterie board with a chic utilitarian look. My family uses sheet pans to wrangle crafts and Lego projects that kids leave out on the table for days. You can use your sheet pans any way you’d use a regular tray, really. I just recommend investing in a sturdy set.
Listen, I’ve learned there’s no shame in bringing in a young, fresh-faced sheet pan to liven up the kitchen—maybe even to work alongside that well-loved garage sale find. But before you get into the spirit of giving, give yourself a few extra sheet pans to help you get the holiday cooking done.
