Is there a certain brand which I can depend on to be oversafe? Is teflon always oven safe? I have lots of recipes which call for browning on the stove top and then transferring to the oven. I'm not sure of my cookware so I always put in a different pan and then have too many pans to clean. If my cookware skillet has an extra handle on the opposite side from the handle does that mean it is meant to put in the oven? At this point I don't have any cast iron and I don't think I can safely lift anything that heavy. I don't want any of my pans to melt or ruin my food or oven if I don't know for sure it is oven safe. Many thanks.
What you want to look out for is any plastic or silicon/rubber pad on the handles. Unless stamped "oven safe", any pan that is not all metal should never go in the oven. If you have a pan that is all stainless steel, handle included, it should be fine, but know the handle will be extremely hot when it comes out. It sounds like you might have recipes that call for Dutch Oven cooking. This is a specific kind of pan that can go on the stove, then be transferred to the oven. They are often ceramic on the inside I think and quite expensive. If you have a roasting pot or some other large pot that does not have any plastic on the handles you can probably use that for those recipes. I don't know how much difference it would make if your pot was thinner, probably would affect the edges a little, but not the overall result too much.
You can buy a reasonably priced dutch oven from Walmart or Amazon. Cooks Illustrated did a review of them recently and the walmart brand (started with a T) came out near the top. If you cook often it's definitely worth the investment. You can use it on the stove or in the oven or for both. You should look on the bottom of your pot for a oven safe stamp. As Dancinglady said, watch out for your handle. Some are oven safe and some or not--even if it is, it will still be hot when you take it out. Some pots have removable handles for oven use too. If you don't have a stamp or can't tell, maybe google the brand of cookware. The manufacturer's website should be able to tell you. Never put anything non-stick in your oven either.
