Need new pans

@ Catholiver: Roughly 700 last time I tried to count them! I really and truly am going to get kinda brutal about thinning the herd. The historically significant ones, especially significant locally to L.A. and Pasadena, can stay on that basis, but duplicates and too-redundant ones gotta go … My days of routinely buying whatever’s affordable at any given antiques mall are over. Says here …

And I just had the Instant Pot Bible land on my front porch. Yes, I got one of those. So far so good; if it proves to be as good a sidekick to the stovetop as I expect I’ll keep it. If I were ten years younger I’d get a nice “antique” stovetop pressure cooker, but I’ve had too many scary memory-lapse things lately.

I knew it was a very, very large #!!! I’ve never had a fraction of that many but I do purge periodically. I had a few that I bought new and had never cooked from. My library was thrilled to have them.

I have a fairly new pressure cooker that I’ve rarely used. I used to make chicken stock when I was cooking for my senile dog. I need to study up as it doesn’t seem easy to ‘calibrate.’ With that, a rice cooker and a slow cooker, I’ve just not been able to justify an instant pot. Trying to remember if there’s a thread here about it. If so, maybe you could share. Best, C

Well, buying the IP is about the first time I ever jumped on a bandwagon, appliance-wise. Getting that old-fashioned pressure cooker would have been much more my style, forty years or so ago. Fact is, I’d been reading all the raves, and then someone was selling the medium-sized ones for $70-some one weekend, free 2-day shipping on Prime (our latest Sucker Trap, right?), so there ya go. I found a place for it in the cooking corner, no easy feat, but it sat there until I placed it on a half-sheet pan at the seldom-used side of the cooktop, so I can sautée and pressure-cook separate items simultaneously, or whatever other combination works best. I was gonna try it on Peruano beans tonight until Tania remembered we’re meeting our Food Posse at an untried-as-yet noodle house at 7:45. Boy, this retirement thing is not for amateurs … !

BTW, I should not have ignored my doubts about that Bible – it is as narrow in focus (87 things to do with quinoa!!) as the pamphlet thingy that came with the Pot, though its failings are basically that it’s not a Good Read, unlike every cookbook I truly treasure. Well, two guys who have a track record of “successful” tomes of this sort – I shoulda guessed. Its one possibly saving stroke it that its focus on oatmeal is steel-cut only, but I thing rolled oats would be a disaster in there anyway.

Oh, you. Now I want one. Maybe I could donate a thing or two. LOL.

Hope you enjoy your IP, @nashwill!
I know it’s made my life easier in the kitchen. Braises, soups, stews, risottos…all have become much more attainable during 60 hour work weeks and a household with kids. I actually used it this past week…beef stock was made for beef and vegetable soup with the leftover prime rib bones from Christmas. Fantastic beef stock in two hours or less…can’t beat that.

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My lovely bride got me a De Buyer Mineral B 12" carbon steel pan for Christmas. I’m still in the “is it supposed to be this blotchy” stage of the seasoning, but I’m loving it. I will see how non-stick it is once it’s fully seasoned, but I would have no problem walking away from teflon. The pan was (I think) $60-70 on Amazon. Lighter than cast iron, but still pretty hefty.

The majority of my cookware is nonstick and looks like new. But I only ever use wood and plastic utensils. What’s been the problem with yours?

Not everyone in my family takes the care with it that I do. Example: My aunt got me a lovely omelet pan for a graduation gift 30+ years ago, and it was fine until others in the house started manhandling it (dishwasher, throwing it in with other pans haphazardly, etc.). It survived 25 years in pristine condition, and now it’s got tons of dings in it.

That teflon is a chemical that may or may not be harmful doesn’t bother me, but I wouldn’t be sad not using it. I will likely continue to use teflon for scrambled eggs, but I’m happy not to use it. The carbon steel pan falls under the category of things that others in the house probably won’t use, and I’m fine with that.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my family, and I adore my wife. She’s a great cook, but she values convenience over care sometimes, which makes sense because she handles a lot of the heavy lifting with the day-to-day cooking. This is why we still have separate knife blocks. She sees the care I put into mine and recognizes that it’s more important to me. She buys me wonderful tools for the kitchen, but she’s not into that level of care.

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I forget sometimes that, with it being just the two of us, that I don’t have to consider things that others do. We have a white porcelain-ceramic farm sink that I love but I wouldn’t recommend that for a family. Stainless steel or bear the consequences :slight_smile:

Sur la Table can be pricey, but they have great sales 2-3 times a year - usually one this time of year. I’d wait for a sale and get the best. I bought one All-Clad for 60% off and one for 30% off. I find they’re not so great with eggs though. Maybe needs seasoning?

I don’t trust non-stick with Teflon anymore, especially if they’re old and scratched. World Market had a $35 non-stick GreenPan gift set w/wooden or bamboo utensils (may still have it or at least a solo pan). I got it for my cousin. I think the pan was around 12” and was way cheaper than when I bought mine at SLT a few years ago. But I don’t think you can use olive oil in it (gets gooey).

Omelettes and scrambled eggs are great in a non-stick. But other than that my favorite non-stick is Cast Iron, unless I’m adding sauce, then I use All-Clad. :grin:

I love my Calphalon pot too @attran99, but it’s not a sauté/fry pan.

P.S. Not what you’re looking for, but WM also had or has a big Lodge dutch oven for around $50. My big Le Creuset was 5 times that on sale.

Happy Pot Hunting!

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I don’t give medical advice but here’s a good article regarding Teflon:

http://tibbs.unc.edu/ask-a-toxicologist-is-it-safe-to-use-teflon-pans/

My LC DO is a 9-1/2 qt!!! oval that costs almost $450!!! I traded a little old lady who bought and then couldn’t pick it up for IIRC a Mexican sombrero that she thought would look great in her bathroom. I had no idea what it was worth until recently when I considered donating it. Not :slight_smile:

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That’s enormous. You could cook a turkey in it. Mine is in storage but I think it’s 5-1/2 quart.

Yep. ENORMOUS! Still has the LC sticker on it which probably shows how little I or she used it :slight_smile:

We have a 34 cm / 13-1/4 quart Le Creuset round oven. Not something one needs every day, but handy when cooking for a big party, or when you need to break a finger or crush a toe.

LOL! Yes indeed. The lady I traded with is a tiny thing and she had it sitting on the floor of her pantry :slight_smile:

A lot to think about but seems like there are many people on the board who recommend the Sur La Table brand. Anybody own these? Seems like a good deal

3 piece set for $70 and free shipping

I can vouch for this one. No experience with others.

https://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-2393601/Sur+La+Table+Tri-Ply+Stainless+Steel+Saucepan?cat=TCA-257759_Saucepans

These are the saute pans in that line:

https://www.surlatable.com/browse/index.jsp?N=18895+4294966926&showMoreIds=10010

Their tri-ply stainless line is similar to All-Clad. The hard-anodized nonstick is not.

https://www.surlatable.com/browse/index.jsp?N=18891+4294966926&showMoreIds=10010

Or actually maybe it’s similar to this All-Clad line:

https://www.all-clad.com/Cookware/B1®-Nonstick-2-Pack-Fry-Pan-Set-8"-%26-10"/p/2100085503

I’m going to piggyback on this thread, as I might acquire a set of vintage cast iron enamelware. I currently have a nonstick skillet that I do most things in, and a couple well seasoned cast iron skillets for things I want to sear. Basically, I want an alternative to my nonstick skillet for things like eggs (mostly eggs, actually :laughing:).

My kitchenette set-up is not ideal, with a double hotplate and toaster oven with a convection/bake function. My friend offered my choice of vintage cast iron skillets and covered casserole dishes, the latter of which are small enough to fit in my toaster oven. Is CI enamelware suitable for my cooking set-up? Thanks!