I've seen a few cooking videos where the chef uses little serving dishes like these and puts them directly in the oven...

I've seen a few cooking videos where the chef uses little serving dishes like these and puts them directly in the oven. Are these things worth buying and what are some alternatives?

Would just a regular pan work? thanks

Restaurants use these because they have to make lots of individual servings of things. Unless you throw a lot of fancy dinner parties at home, you don't need them.

what's a good alternative then? i have square bowls that look nice, but idk if they're oven safe or whatever.

A casserole dish? Do you need to have individual servings or are you just looking for something oven safe to cook in?

Ramekins.

It's going to be two servings but I can divide it up after.

A glass or ceramic casserole dish will do fine.
You can usually find one at the thrift store for a couple bucks. You can probably find some ramekins there if you really want those, too. Most tableware isn't oven safe at higher temps, though.

thanks

I have these bowls that say they're oven safe on the bottom. Would these work?

400 degrees for 20 minutes

...

You're welcome.

Sure. As long as it says oven safe it's fine.

i don't have any of those, but i do have some large oven safe cups i use for browning cheese on top of french onion soup. they were worth it.

I fucking love french onion soup, but it's gotta be served in one of those little brown and tan ceramic crocks. It's just wrong if it's not.

i didnt see any when i was looking for individual serving dishes for the soup. these soup cups are great though. nice piece of crusty bread, shreaded Gruyere, under the broiler for a few mins. they are white so the contrast makes it pretty. specially with some parsley flung across it. i agree. those crocs are the best, though.

Those pictured dishes are dirt cheap at Ikea like maybe $1, and good sets can be found in the marshalls/tj maxx inventory with other french crockery for maybe $7/pair or less!

An individual casserole dish can mean each user gets to pick at a nice crust, and you don't need to let a casserole cool before dishing out without any slip sliding, so its nice like that. Being smaller dishes, they also cook a little faster. Being flat and not that deep, means you get more surface area for more crunchy crust goodness, bite for bite.

Some are ovensafe in a sense that they can do high temps for a long time, or can safely go from freezer to oven without shattering.

I always see them in thrift stores but a buddy of mine said you can find them pretty reliably in restaurant supply stores.

How old are you? What do you think oven safe means? How do you not have a single better place to ask this insane question?

Goddammit, inane.

insane worked too

>How do you not have a single better place to ask this insane question?
fuck you faggot. i made some lobster mac and cheese off this recipe while you sat home alone like a neet which you'll always be for your whole entire life lmao.

Not just "oven safe" but "broiler safe".
Usually a serving dish is intended to be for a fancy presentation, often with a crispy browned top, and that means broiler.
The broiler can be twice as hot as the "oven", and what is called oven safe can and will shatter. This is not pretty, so do not cheap out.

Those are called "gratin" dishes, and they are specifically designed for baking any dish that has a gratin, or crumbly crust, on top. You can find them in a range of sizes, from individual servings, to large enough for a whole family.