Comments on: Pans. No Labyrinth

By: Consider a Spherical… - Asymptotia

Consider a Spherical… - Asymptotia — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 18:28:43 +0000

[...] Anyway, I went for the smaller kettle, and yes it was made by Chantal again. They do make such lovely ones, and so I thought I’d give them another chance. It has a brushed stainless steel finish, which some polished steel parts, and that’s all. It’s nice and simple. This is all in line with the look that I like for my kitchen (see, e.g. here), so that was a major deciding factor. Visual aesthetics won out here, and Physics played no role. However, when I got it home and put it down on the stove, I burst out laughing. Look at it! It’s the ultimate theoretical physicist’s kettle - basically a sphere with the other essentials added on! So… Consider a spherical kettle… [...]

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 21:22:02 +0000

I originally felt a strong attraction to the All-Clad line of pans, and then I picked one up and the spell was broken. They have the most uncomfortable handles of any pan I have ever held. How can you enjoy the full cooking experience if you wince every time you have to flip an omelet, etc.? Calphalon won me over, and I have yet to look back.

P.S. Not to throw too much credence behind Clifford’s assertion, but I am also a proud dog owner.

By: Amara

Amara — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 22:24:03 +0000

I have a vivid imagination, Clifford.

By: Clifford

Clifford — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 20:01:59 +0000

I would be more happy if the contents of the pans made your mouth water, rather than the pans themselves!

-cvj

By: Amara

Amara — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 17:05:29 +0000

Your beautiful cooking pans are making my mouth water. I cannot tell you how tired I am of living like a poor student. I’m anxious for my misadventure in Italy to finish.

By: Clifford

Clifford — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 03:48:18 +0000

“Calphalon or not, I am most definitely a cat person.”

(Hisssss!) I sense a disturbance in the force….

Seriously, there’s some dissonance there… you’ll convert to All-Clad one day. Or you’ll get a dog. One or the other.

-cvj

By: JoAnne

JoAnne — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 23:00:08 +0000

I woke up one day last Fall and realized that I am a grown up now and that I no longer had to use the set of pans that I got with grocery store stamps as a graduate student. I had used those “free” pans for over 20 years and they were pretty bad. So I asked for pans for Christmas (clearly the gift in vogue for this past season) and everyone in my family chipped in. Now I have every pan that Calphalon makes, including the turkey roaster! I honestly have no idea how I managed to live so long without real pans.

Next, I am working on replacing the stainless silverware that my college boyfriend’s brother and wife found in a shoebox in their attic and gave to me (it’s terrifyingly ugly)…. and then there’s the plastic college football stadium cups that I still use…

PS: Calphalon or not, I am most definitely a cat person.

By: Elliot

Elliot — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 18:57:03 +0000

I have done pretty well with copper bottom Revereware for quite a while. I think you get used to cookware the same way you get used to driving a car. There comes a familiarity that is comforting.

Elliot

By: Doug Natelson

Doug Natelson — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 15:02:01 +0000

All-Clad is wonderful stuff. I heartily recommend the big, deep roasting pan. Perfect for doing a Turkey or other large roasting hunk of meat.

By: Carl Brannen

Carl Brannen — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 01:36:46 +0000

Gosh, I just had to buy myself a new pan and I guess I’m a dog person.

There is no proper way to cook cornbread, as far as I can tell. I like it crispy, so I pour the batter onto a couple big non-stick cake pan and make it like crackers. And my favorite brand is also the cheapest. I try to buy them when they are on sale for 3 for a dollar. It turns out that the recipe dates to the 1930s, and the company that makes it to the early 1800s. I would guess that it must have been served to me often as a youth.

By: LeisureGuy

LeisureGuy — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 22:12:09 +0000

I love my All-Clad Stainless and Copper-Core cookware. I agree: it’s the best, and it’s a pleasure every time I cook. I use the 5.5 qt Dutch oven quite frequently: in a 200-degree oven, it works exactly like a slow-cooker on “Low”; in a 300-degree oven, like a slow-cooker on “High.” The 4-qt sautÃ© pan is a standby, as well. Also the 4-qt pot (soups and stews) and the 3-qt pot (casseroles). Great stuff.

By: Clifford

Clifford — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 21:40:39 +0000

I have four Le Creuset pieces too. Great heavy pans for long stews, oven cooking (as you say), etc. And you’ll have seen their wonderful wok in my detailed post on Beef Lo Mien a while back on CV.

Hmmm, that reminds me…

Cheers,

-cvj

By: spyder

spyder — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 21:36:59 +0000

Now i am officially envious; the Peace Rose and other garden/landscape opportunities mixed with a nearly full set of All-Clad is just too much. I was for years a faithful believer in Le Creuset (great to cook with, terrible to pack and move), and still have and use their large pots for stews, soups, and oven cooking, but slowly over the last decade i have been adding an All-Clad here and there (skillets and saucepans so far). Your giving to yourself is certainly a giant leep forward.

By: Clifford

Clifford — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 21:33:26 +0000

Yes.. no kitchen is complete without a cast iron skillet, imho.

Cheers,

-cvj

By: candace

candace — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 21:27:38 +0000

Nice! We’re still slumming it with IKEA. The one pan I really feel I need is a cast iron skillet so I can make proper cornbread. My mom was using one as a doorstop back home, but I thought cramming it into my suitcase would have put me over the luggage weight limit. Oh well.