I got a free pan from Marie Callendars

WIML - I've used my Calphalon and Cuisinart cookware on both electric and gas, ceramic and element. I've never had a problem on any of them, really. Once you get to a heavy enough pan with a smooth enough finish, it doesn't matter where you cook with them.

I like an electric element for simmering, but don't like a ceramic surface. The heat doesn't seem to be even. But I much prefer gas for control and high heat.

I would love gas. Better heat control for all types of cooking.

The flat ceramic tops look good, but heat control is out of sight

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I just like the way they look.

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Me too! The CC are the first All Clad I've used, so I can't compare the two.

I recently bought my first adonized frying pan (you may call these someting different, like skillet) from Analon. It's a full bloodied lump of metal, the sort that fishwives smack their husbands around the head with. It does cook beautifully but I crick my shoulder whenever I pick it up.

i just got 4 of my grandmothers cast iron pans (2 small 2 medium)... those are heavy. unfortunately they had not been taken care of and there was a little rust on them, so i had to scrub them and reseason them...

no vegitarians eating off my cast iron any time soon.... eheheh. mmmm bacon!!!


most of our pans are All Clad SS (go wedding presents). we have a couple of kitchenaid copper colored outside/stainless inside, got in in a deal from the Chefs Mag a while ago. they work pretty well, especially as a workhorse.

i like my large All Clad Chefs pan.

the Stainless may scratch a little, but it cleans well. I don't need it to maintain a "mirror" polish. is looking a little used a bad thing?

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is looking a little used a bad thing?

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Heck no! I call that the 'cook's patina'

Just wanted to report on a positive find this weekend. I have had a Williams Sonoma Gift Certificate burning a hole in my pocket since Christmas. I intended to use it to get a Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven, but all they sell is Le Creuset and I prefer Staub. Either way, I was looking at a $200+ item. Well, I was in a local kitchen supply store this weekend and spied the newMario Batali 6 Qt. Dutch Oven. $100 bucks and has all the weight and heft of the more expensive brands. And it has the "basting dimples" on the lid that set the Staub apart from the Le Creuset. So remembering a thread here that touted the virtues of some of Batali's other products (the pannini press, I think), I took a flyer and bought it. Highly recommended. Although I have only had it a week, for the life of me I cannot see what one gets from Le Creuset for an extra $100+. Great conductivity, heat retention, and easy cleanup. If anyone is in the market for a Dutch Oven, I would seriously consider this one. I bought on impulse and paid $100. If you shop around, or have a coupon or something, you can probably do $20 better. But even at full price I would buy this again.

I think this line came out only in the last 4-6 months or so. Glad to hear it is a good product.

What the heck is a basting dimple, though?

From a Staub advertisement:
"The underside of the lid is covered in small raised dots, computer-designed to distribute juices directly back on the food. This self-basting trick produces a more thoroughly cooked, tender and moist dish than is possible with traditional lids, which lead liquids down the sides of the pots."

In essence, the bumps form a place for steam to collect. When enough collects on a dot, it forms a drip which falls on to the food below. Lids without dots collect steam at the top which then drips down the side of the pot back into the pan, but not on to the food itself.

ahhhhh very cool

Have I mentioned what a Dutch Oven is, here?

Umm, the name for that bedroom trick where you pull the bed covers over your wife's head and break wind?

That would be it

If this thread turns into a discussion of "The bucking bronco," I'm outta here...

I just bought a 5 quart Staub Cocette...and I am really excited to have my first Dutch/French oven. I bought it for $99.99 with shipping BRAND NEW. The temperature is suppose to plummet this weekend and I want to cook up some soups.