Use Your Muffin Tin As a Large Coaster
Open any drawer where you keep your coasters and coasters and count them. Count your trivets. Count your hot pads. How many do you have? I have four. Usually this is enough.
Now count how many coasters and coasters you have that would fit very large and very heavy cooking utensils. I don’t have one. In the past, I often just set up two coasters (or coasters) side by side. But sometimes all four of my coasters/hot coasters are used. What is a girl to do?
“Just use kitchen towels,” you might say. This is a good way to set fire to a kitchen towel. Instead of reaching for fabric, grab something strong, something elevated, something made of metal. Take the cupcake pan (then turn it over).
An inverted cupcake pan makes a great stand. It’s meant to be used in the oven (where it’s hot) so you don’t have to worry about the hot casserole damaging it in any way. It is also very strong and can support your heaviest enamelled cast iron broiler without warping. Inverted cups lift your dish off the table, allowing air to circulate underneath, cooling the bottom of your very hot dish. (What about the grate ? They are good for large, light dishes, but can sag under the cast iron, which can cause the cast iron to come into contact with the table, which can lead to scorching and blaming.)
The best part is, I bet you already have a cupcake pan in your closet. I hardly ever use mine for baking, but I never get rid of it just in case I need to bake muffins, or corn muffins, or – right now – I need a big rack.