Cooking Investment: Pots and Pans

The only gifts I might use more than my iPad from the hubby are my new All-Clad pans from my parents!  I did a lot of research beforehand and told my mom what I wanted.  I liked the basic stainless steel pans.  I was done with non-stick saucepans.  I looked at a lot of pans but I had always (secretly) wanted All-Clad pans, probably even when we got the other Calphalon pans!  Also, my mom bought me the All-Clad lasagna pan last year for Christmas and a square baker for my birthday last April.  These pans are great and get a lot of use.  So, even though All-Clad was a the top of my list, I looked around at other options.  In the end, I knew what I wanted and I wasn't going to settle.

I figured I would get a set but I looked at a lot of the All-Clad sets available and none of them seemed to be exactly what I wanted.  I have had my non-stick Calphalon set for over 10 years so I knew which pans got used the most and which I could live without.  Of course the Calphalon sizes didn't translate into the All-Clad sizes (my Calphalon pans were in 1/2 sizes - 3 1/2 quart, 2 1/2 quart, etc.).

Amazon

So, I started by making a list of the pans that I wanted (which more or less correlate to what we already have that we want to replace).  I should also note that I have a Wolfgang Puck covered frying pan (like this) and a fairly new Calphalon Everyday Pan (like this) both of which are relatively new and definitely did not need replacing.  In the end, this was my new pan priority list:

•   3 quart saucepan
•   2 quart saucepan
•   5 or 6 quart saute pot
•   4 quart saucepan
•   8 quart stock/pasta pot
•   large non-stick frying pan*
•   small non-stick frying pan*

My mom and dad came through with the 3 quart saucepan which is the most used saucepan.  THEN, my mom gave me my early birthday present - the 2 quart saucepan which she found at TJ Maxx!  Go Mom!  A few days after Christmas I was digging around at a Marshall's in Western Massachusetts (my in-laws live there) and found a 5 quart saute pot!  Perfect use of Christmas cash.  Woohoo!

AND THEN, I was browsing Williams Sonoma last week and found the 8 quart stock pot for $99 which is less than half the regular price.  There were several reviews complaining about the insert being difficult to clean.  I almost never use an insert for pasta or veggies so this was not a big deal.  The bonus was that I got a Williams Sonoma gift card using credit card points to cover most of the cost!

**As for the frying pans, that was a separate issue all together.  I read a bunch of reviews of the All-Clad non-stick and nobody likes them and they seem to wear out quickly.  I considered some green non-stick but they also got lukewarm reviews.  So, I continued looking.  I ended up choosing the Cuisinart frying pans because they got great reviews and they were not as big of an investment so if the non-stick fails, I won't feel badly about tossing it.  My mom and dad got me the large one for Christmas (thanks guys!) and it works soooo well.  Made me rethink my decision to hang onto the Calphalon Everyday Pan!

So after a month, here's what's left of my wish list!

•   3 quart saucepan
•   2 quart saucepan
•   5 or 6 quart saute pot
•   4 quart saucepan
•   8 quart stock/pasta pot
•   large non-stick frying pan*
•   small non-stick frying pan*

BUT... There was one issue with these pots.  The handles are really high so the small pan didn't fit into our island drawers where I keep the pans.  I really did not want to move them to the lazy susan as hubby suggested.  So, I stared at it for a while.  Flipped it over.  Voila!  Fits!

What kind of pans do you have?  Did you find a set that fit your needs?

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