funny story, when i first learned about cooking, i thought tempered glass wouldnt break easily. i was going to braise a roast, so i decided to put a pyrex baking dish of some sort on the stovetop with the heat on. i figured i would just sear the roast on there then take the whole thing and put it in the oven. i didnt even get to the point of pouring the liquid for the braise in before i exploded the entire thing. when i say exploded, i mean exploded. there were peices of glass everywhere, behind the oven, under it, in the sink, in my shoes, all over. needless to say I threw the roast away.
My suggestion, get atleast a cast iron skillet. its hard to get a lot of materials up to the temperature cast iron can get to without hurting them, especially those with non-stick surfaces. working in kitchens ive seen people burn teflon right off of a pan, making it a toxic sticky surface. just make sure if you get cast iron to learn how to take care of it.
I had a girlfriend once take a metal spatula to a brand new teflon pan of mine. I immediately went out and bought cast iron, and its never happened since.
