Wedge a wine cork crosswise beneath the handle on the lid of a pan cooking on the stove. You can then lift the lid by grasping the cork, not the hot handle. Standard corks fits snugly under shallow handles, but are not thick enough for many handles that are more highly arched. I find that champagne or other bubbly corks work well under many All-Clad lid handles, for example. For handles that are in-between, I’ve cut slices off champagne corks to make them square(ish) in cross-section. It really is a lot more convenient than using a hot pad.
I read about this in Saveur a year or so ago and have been using it since: http://www.saveur.com/article/mise-en-place/Put-a-Cork-in-It" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
