 A grill pan is a great piece of gear to add to your toolkit if you love the smoky flavor and nice charred edges of grilled vegetables. There are a lot of styles of baskets, pans, and walks out there. This versatile one by Weber has a flat bottom and short sides that can accommodate a single layer of asparagus or thin onion slices, long skewers, or even chopped vegetables for a stir fry. Some pans have long handles, but the short handles on this one make it easy to close the grill so heat doesn't escape. They're also wide and sturdy, which makes the pan easy to pick up, and the openings are small enough that food won't fall through. You want to preheat the pan at least 10 minutes over medium high heat before adding food. This way the hot metal will steer the food so you get good browning. The vegetables are less inclined to stick to. Some pieces are going to cook a lot faster than chunky ones, so group them by size for the pan. Carrots, potatoes, and artichokes are really dense and any pre-cooking before they go on the grill. Otherwise they take forever to cook or can even turn rock hard. Be sure to give the vegetables a good coat of oil before they go in the pan. This is the time to add any seasoning you dream up to, or just salt and pepper so they're more versatile with the rest of the meal. The grill pan is hot and we can go ahead and load it up, packing the vegetables in pretty close because they're going to shrink. Give them a stir or turn them every few minutes, but not constantly because they need time to brown. After 15 or 20 minutes the vegetables are caramelized and tender and ready for your favorite burger, pasta, or grilled salad. For Sunset Magazine, this is Elaine Johnson.