Sexy food at home starts with sexy kitchen tools, and this week I’m pleased to be able to give away to two lucky readers an 8” frying pan that fits that bill in spades. Read on for details of how you can win one of these sleek new pans.

This frying pan and the rest of its ilk are made by GreenPan, a company that seeks to revolutionize the way we cook in an environmentally-responsible manner. The entire GreenPan collection is availabe at West Elm, the newest feather in Seattle’s chic and modern housewares cap. It’s an apropos collaboration, since nestled within West Elm’s mission statement is this:

We’re working to keep our prices reasonable and help sustainable products go mainstream.

Now that’s a company I can get behind. And so is this line of pots and pans. Aside from looking all cool and contemporary, GreenPan pans offer a healthy and eco-friendly alternative to non-stick coating called Thermolon which is a better heat conductor than traditional coatings. This results in evenly seared and fried foods every time. The superior heat distribution leads to perfectly cooked and browned foods as well as savings on your energy bill since you can cook on low and medium temperatures more often.

I had the opportunity to test drive a GreenPan recently and being the design whore that I am, the first thing that struck me was how sleek it looks. This is a pan that will be equally at home in an urban loft or a lakeside retreat. But fashion is nothing without function, so I played around with searing scallops, filet mignon, and chicken breast, you know, all in a day’s work.

Aside from being extremely well-fed, I noticed a significant difference in the searing capability of these pans. I normally don’t sear on nonstick because it just doesn’t conduct heat the way cast iron does, but this pan held its own and then some. The scallops caramelized, the filet exuded the telltale signs of maillard reaction as evidenced by a crispy crust, and I wouldn’t have kicked that chicken breast out of bed, if you know what I mean.

If you want to win a pan, all you need to do is leave a comment at the bottom of this article letting me know what the first thing you plan to cook in it will be. This contest is open to anyone; however you must pick up your prize in-person at the Seattle WestElm store near the shores of Lake Union.

This shouldn’t be much of a penance — I could hang out in that place for hours. Two winners will be chosen at random on Monday, March 26^th at noon PST, so get your comments in prior to that time. Please leave a valid email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win. To prevent spam, you’re welcome to write your email out such as: linda (at) saltyseattle (dot) com.