Hi, all! I got an invite here from bandylu...thanks, B! Food and cooking. It doesn't get any better than that.
I love non-stick finishes, and I don't feel guilty about using them any more after reading Kitchen Confidential. Real chefs love them, too.
I used to buy non-stick saute pans for $35 and replace them every year when the finish went. Then insight hit. Why not buy an All-Clad non-stick saute pan for $100, which will last forever? I did that recently, and I loooooooooooove this pan. I make lots of omelets, so the pan gets used, and I treat the finish as gently as I would a baby's bottom.
When I refused to accept a real estate commission, ten years ago, from a friend for whom I had done a deal, he gave me a $500 gift cert from William-Sonoma. I used it to buy a set of Cuisinart cookware, three different size saucepans plus a wonderful 12-inch covered pan about three inches deep. These do not have impervious linings, but they are stainless steel and easy to clean. They look new, even today.
I have iron skillets in many sizes, including a ridged one that leaves stripes on food. They are heavy to handle but cook like nothing else. On my wish list is a cast-iron wok, made by that Belgian company (or is it French?) that does the enameled iron ware. The large wok costs about $150 so I may pass on with this wish unfulfilled.
Bandylu, now aren't you sorry you asked me??? LOL
bandylu, M & M is two stores down from my favourite Safeway. I wander in there now and again for stuffed chicken breasts like chicken kiev. Too lazy to make them myself.
kara, is All-Clad a brand? I'm in the market for a new pan.
