Ready to grow beyond the basics? A cast-iron skillet is a wondrous piece of equipment; read more about it here. A griddle—aka a big, shallow, square frying pan, is terrific for grilled cheese, burgers, bacon, and eggs. And it’s a godsend if you’re cooking brunch for a crowd, as you can fit so much on to it. A roasting pan is indispensable for roasting birds (whether chicken or turkey) or large cuts of meat. And then there’s the million-dollar question: Do you need a wok? Well … it’s not an easy question to answer, but we’ll say this: With its high walls and graduated heating zones, a wok comes in clutch for much more than stir-fries. Two surprising uses: Use it to help evenly distribute sauce onto food, or keep it off the heat completely and deploy it for mixing up a chopped salad like a pro.