My simple 8-piece cookware collection
A lot of you wanted more posts on simplicity, and you all also have asked for more posts about buying high-quality items that last.
Sooo, I thought a post about my somewhat minimalist collection of high-quality cookware might fit both of those requests!
Like a lot of you, I live in a kitchen that wouldn't win a prize for spaciousness. And it's never going to snag the blue ribbon for Lots Of Cabinet Storage either.
I mean, I know it could be way worse, but a lot of my cabinets are pretty shallow and are difficult to fit pots and pans into. And there's no pantry in my kitchen either, which leaves even fewer cabinets for cookware.
To make my few cabinets work, I've had to pare down my cookware to a fairly minimal collection, and surprisingly enough, I've realized that's really all I need to do the cooking for my family of 6.
You might need more or less cookware than me, depending on your situation, but I thought it might be helpful to share what's working for me.
Because I like to own a few quality items that last rather than lots of cheaper items, my cookware is mostly on the expensive side of things.
Even I'm shocked when I look at the prices, to be honest. 😉
I've slowly built this collection over the years, mostly via birthday/Christmas gifts, and as of now, I honestly don't think I will need any cookware for decades, or possibly for the rest of my life.
(This is the huge upside of quality items!)
Also, I have really grown to hate most nonstick cookware, so I own none. I find that the finish on nonstick stuff tends to wear off in just a few years and then the pot is trash and possibly dangerous to cook in.
So frustrating! And such a waste of money/resources.
Oh, and I've chosen to build my collection a lá carte because I always feel like cookware sets contain pieces I don't necessarily want, and that negates the price savings you gain by buying a set. Your mileage may vary, though.
So. Here are the eight pieces living in my kitchen cabinets:
- 2-12 inch skillets (one stainless steel, one cast iron)
- 1 small cast iron skillet
- 2 saucepans
- 2 Dutch ovens
- 1 cast iron grill pan
Note: This does not include bakeware...just cookware. I'm slightly less minimalist with my bakeware!
All-Clad
I own 4 All-Clad items, all-told.
All-Clad, which is recommended by Cook's Illustrated, is shockingly expensive, and for many, many years I resisted even putting any of these items on my list.
But, they are incredibly fabulous pans and considering how indestructible they are, I think they are going to last me a lifetime. So if that's the case, they are worth every penny.
(Cooks Illustrated does sometimes recommend some less expensive multi-clad pieces of cookware as best buy options, but All-Clad comes out on top of their testing on a consistent basis.)
All-Clad 12-Inch Skillet ($120)
This is my go-to skillet for anything that doesn't require a non-stick surface. It's awesome for browning, for making sauces, and for cooking meat and veggies. I own the version with the lid, which is super helpful...definitely recommend that! I don't use the lid all the time, but I'd really miss it if I didn't have it.
All-Clad Saucepans
I have a medium (4 quart) and small (2 quart) version and they are so so so so so much better than the old warped Revere Ware pans I use to suffer with. These actually sit flat on my stove, which makes cooking a whole lot easier!
And even when one of my kids boiled the water clean out of one the other day, it didn't warp.
(My Revere Ware pans all warped if you looked at them wrong.)
My only complaint about these is that they could have made the handles more comfortable. Other than that, I think they're pretty perfect pans.
Oh, and the helper handle on the larger saucepan is very useful.
($159 for the smaller pot, $216 for the larger)
All-Clad Stockpot/Dutch Oven ($305)
This too replaced a warped Revere Ware pot. My old stockpot really only touched the stove firmly in the middle, and the sides never got very hot. You can imagine that this made cooking something like a cream soup quite...challenging.
My All-Clad stockpot is sturdy, not warped, and I lurve it.
I use it every single week for making yogurt (seriously the best non-scorching pot I've ever tried for heating milk!) and I also use it for soups, making homemade stock, and for making applesauce.
Cast Iron
In addition to my All-Clad, I've got three cast-iron items. Thankfully, you don't have to pay oodles of money for good-quality cast iron, so these items are super affordable!
12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet ($45)
I bought mine from Aldi, but you can get a similar one from Lodge. This is the pan I use whenever I want to make something that requires a nonstick surface. Since my pan is nicely seasoned by now, I can even make something as delicate as a crepe in it with no issues.
I kept my nonstick skillet on a shelf downstairs for a few years just in case I couldn't get along without it, but after it sat collecting dust, I decided I was gonna be ok without it!
Cast iron IS really heavy, though, so if you have weak wrists/arms, this might not be a great solution for you. But it's workin' great for me.
Small Cast Iron Skillet ($9)
I bought this little Lodge skillet eons ago for something like $5 and I love it to pieces. It's the perfect size for heating up leftovers, cooking a little bit of bacon, or frying an egg or two for breakfast. It's super-duper well seasoned and the nonstick finish rivals any actual nonstick pan.
Plus, since it's a pretty small pan, it's not that heavy, despite the fact that it's cast iron.
Lodge Grill Pan ($27)
This grill pan is my most recent acquisition and I got it to replace my last piece of nonstick cookware: a skillet with grill-shaped ridges. I only used it to make paninis, and this Lodge pan is doing just fine for that task.
Tramontina Cast Iron Dutch Oven (honorable mention)
I bought this one before I got my All-Clad stockpot, and while I did use it a fair bit before, it hasn't gotten a lot of use since the All-Clad stockpot came to town. So, I'm not actually counting it as part of my core collection.
I've thought about getting rid of it, but haven't pulled the trigger, largely because I still want to try that no-knead rustic bread and you need a cast-iron Dutch oven for that.
(There are several affordable options available for a pot like this one.)
___________________
If you want to try getting by with less cookware without taking a big plunge, take everything out of your cabinets and put back only the items you use super frequently. Put the rest of the pots and pans under your bed or in the basement and go about your regular cooking life.
If a year goes by and you don't find yourself digging up the out-of-the-way pans, you can probably go ahead and donate them. If you haven't needed it in a year, I'd say it's not important/useful/necessary. Get rid of it and embrace the extra cabinet space!
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I'm not sure what version of Revere Ware you have, but I have two of their pots and they have held up very well for me. I have the copper bottom ones. One is about 50 years old (from a garage sale) and the other is about 20 years old. No warping and no scorching (except that I time I really burnt the green beans.)
I hesitate to use my iron skillets very often because they scratch my smooth cook top. The manufacturer says not to use them. Do you have problems with that? Or it looks like you top is darker than mine. Maybe scratches don't show up very well on a dark surface.
Yes, my mom has some old Revere Ware and it's awesome stuff. She's had it for eons, and it hasn't warped at all. Her Revere Ware pans are so much heavier than mine were...apparently the older stuff is higher quality.
I actually bought my Revere Ware because hers had held up so well, and I was sorely disappointed.
I'm just careful not to slide my cast iron pans on the glass cooktop, and all has been well so far. My cooktop is very nearly black, though. I can see where you might have marking problems if you had a white glass cooktop.
I was going to say the same thing about Revere Ware. My mom got me a couple of copper-bottom skillets at a yard sale, and they're great. But then I registered for one in a larger size when I got married in 2001, and it's not as good. Not very flat on the bottom.
I think mine STARTED flat, but they didn't stay that way for long. And that's particularly problematic when you have a glass-top stove...warping really shows itself on that kind of burner.
Revere Ware used to be made in the USA. Today's RW is made overseas. Perhaps this switch marks the difference in quality. My RW, which I got in 1990, was made in the USA, still works great.
So, I'd love to someday get some All-Clads, but until then I'm pretty happy with my IKEA stainless steel set that I got a few years ago. My husband actually only paid $19.99 or something crazy like that because it was a Black Friday (or Saturday) purchase that we fortuitously happened upon. I think the set was a 12" skillet, a large stockpot, a smaller stockpot, and a small saucepan. I already had a regular-sized IKEA saucepan, and so I'm pretty set. Rounding out my pots and pans collection is a 12" cast iron, a 14" non-stick, and a small non-stick. The two non-stick pans, I got on sale at Target, and the cast iron was a gift from my sister-in-law who has a knack for seasoning them (she got that one at a flea market). All that to say, I agree with you about not really needing too many pans. I always have more than enough, and frankly, I'd rather not have more to wash.
I have wanted All-Clad forever, but eek, the prices! Not sure if it'll ever happen, but honestly, when I think about the number of cheapie skillets and saucepans I've bought over the years....I could have purchased a whole set of the good stuff, probably more than one! But I have to agree with Libe and Learn. I received two Revere Ware copper-bottom saucepans from my parents, trying to think of the year, pretty sure 1983. They are the longest-lived pieces of cookware I've ever owned, apart from my cast iron. They have never warped and are the only decent saucepan in which rice cooks up fluffy and non-sticky. (After many frustrating attempts at Spanish rice, I finally figured this out).
I know...it is crazy expensive cookware. But like you said, if you keep buying cheaper pans and replacing them, the All-Clad cost is not so bad in comparison.
Good cookware is a priority for me, so it's a spot I don't mind being a little splurge-y, and also, I don't think it's a spot where I will have to be splurge-y again, due to the high quality.
We just received a 12 piece stainless cookware set as a wedding gift. We love it BUT I can't figure out a way to make the food stop sticking and burning on the bottom! I've tried oil, butter, everything. Any tips?
heat the pan up first then add the oil/butter. It's the only way i can fry an egg in my stainless pan and not have it stick
Thank you, I will try that tonight! 🙂
Stainless steel has to be warmed to expand to make it non-stick. Put the pan on the stove and put it close to the temp you will want. I rarely have to go over medium and usually start out at low hi or medium low. Let it warm for 2 to 3 mins. Then take some water and flick it on the pan. If the water steams and disappears, it's still not ready. Wait another minute. If the water balls up and 'dances' around the pan, it's ready! Turn the temp down a smidge and add ONE smidge of oil. If it smokes, it's a bit warm and let it cool just a bit then add the rest of your oil and swish it. It's ready! It sounds like a lot, but I've gotten to where it takes me so little time to prep the pan that I prep all the food first. I can almost always get the temp right on the first go now that I've learned each pan and my new stove. Even rice comes out perfect and not sticking. 🙂
I second the statement "older stuff is higher quality". I am slowly making transition to have few quality things rather than a bunch of cheaply made stuff. Fewer possessions = Simpler life 🙂 As a part of it, I recently bought All Clad 3qt saucepan and I absolutely love it. I use it almost everyday for our family of 4. I agree there is a bit of learning curve to cook in stainless steel. Once you get a hang of it, there is no looking back.
I had a small saucepan that waved, and I thought I'd replace it with an All-Clad pan, which I paid a good amount of money for. When I received the pan, I realized it had a straight lip, rather than a rolled one for pouring. I couldn't believe such an expensive pan could have such a poor design. I ended up donating the All-Clad pan, and finding a nice one at TJMaxx for about 1/3 the price.
I have an old Revere Ware copper bottom pan I've used for 23 years that I love. My husband had it when we got married. 🙂
I also have an enamel Dutch oven. I like the size but heating milk for yogurt leaves a mess that is a pain to clean.
I also have a little non stick saucepan and frying pan I very rarely use. That's it in my kitchen. 🙂
I mainly use my electric pressure cooker. It's amazing! 🙂
Yes! You probably have a high-quality Revere Ware pan, then. The newer ones are thinner and more prone to warping. So sad.
I use pots and pans from Calphalon and have lasted me a good 5 years now. Usually buy them on clearance or sales.
I had a Calphalon non-stick saucepan for a while, but sadly, the nonstick finish on even that pot began to wear. Cook's Illustrated says that no non-stick finish is super long-lasting, even really expensive nonstick finishes. Between what they said and my experience, I decided that I was just done buying nonstick pans. It's too frustrating!
I bought a set of Revere Ware before I got married, and 15 years later, most of it is still around, though not in the greatest condition. I bought some pots at IKEA and...LOVE THEM! They have heavy bottoms so they don't scorch like Revere Ware does. They aren't as high-quality but they are a great option for when your budget won't allow something more fancypants like All-Clad. 😉 😀
I love cast iron. I bought a shelf for my kitchen so I'd have room to store it, since I don't have much room in my cupboards and lugging it in and out and arranging it was kind of back-breaking.
I wish mine had fared as well as yours! I got them 18 years ago, and they warped not long into me owning them. They were just so thin compared to my mom's old Revere Ware.
This pan is the best one I own and perfect for cooking big dinners for my family:
https://www.cuisinart.com/products/cookware/multiclad_pro/casseroles_mcp/mcp55-30n.html
I can easily brown 3 lbs of ground beef or more at once. It has a very heavy bottom and doesn't warp or scorch.
You have great taste as we have many of the same items. We received our All Clad as wedding gifts and have added a few items as our family grew. They are truly a lifetime purchase and probably is the more economical way to go than the cheaper cookware. Plus I believe the cookware portion of their line is still made in this country which supports so many working families. We have some of the Lodge and Wagner cast iron products actually handed down to us from my wife's family.
I got about 14 years out of my Calphalon omelet pan and stock pot, so I went ahead and replaced them when they wore out. I like a nonstick omelet pan, but I might go cast iron next time.
LOVE my 12-inch Lodge skillet! It is getting nicely seasoned now. It's actually my only skillet (I also own a carbon steel wok and the aforementioned omelet pan) and it does everything I need.
Yep, I love mine too! So great once it's nicely seasoned.
The tratamina (?) cast iron Dutch oven is great, non stick for yogurt and you can put it in the oven. I have other pieces from same brand and they rival my all clad pans. We need a tutorial on seasoning cast iron!
Even old cast iron is better than new, and not just because of the seasoning (although that's important, of course). Apparently the metal was just of a different composition. We have cast iron pans that belonged to my husband's great-great-grandmother and are easily 125 years old. They might as well be non-stick, the seasoning on them is so flawless. I love them more than anything. Close second, though, is my Lodge enameled dutch oven. I use it almost every day in the winter.
We are looking at replacing our cookware. I've wanted to go get away from non-stick but it's really intimidating me and my husband more so. How do you season a cast iron pan so your food doesn't stick? Do these $9 pans really last? Do you need to use a lot more oil so you food doesn't stick on the stainless? I recently bought one stainless pan and every time I use it I get burn marks all over it and food stuck to it. I know I'm doing something wrong. Growing up my mom also used non-stick so the idea of ditching them is completely foreign. TIA for any helpful advice!
CI recently recommended a very inexpensive skillet that was second in testing after All-Clad. I don't have my mags at hand - FG, maybe you could look online to tell us what it is? It costs something like $30 rather than $150.
It is true that most sets aren't a deal because of all the items you don't want. However, if you're buying many at once and there are bargains on the sets but not open stock, it could work out. There's a chunk of legwork involved: decide what you would buy open stock, price it as open stock, find the closest set, price the set plus whatever you'd have to buy open stock, compare.
If you pans don't come with lids, get ye hence and buy some even if it's not from the same company. To their discredit, All Clad does *not* make pots and pans of the same diameter (Mauviel, the maker of the best copper pans on the market, does) or even sell lids separately, so I had to buy some off-label ones. Boo All-Clad.
Hmm. I'm not seeing anything near that price range except for the carbon steel skillet that was their winner. It's $44, and I'm super tempted to buy one just to try it out and review here.
(It could be a good nonstick alternative for people who can't lug cast iron around.)
Should I take the plunge??? Thinking...
(Edit: apparently the Cook's Illustrated review of this pan has increased demand incredibly, to the point where it's out of stock! I'll have to wait.)
That sounds about right. I've been tempted to try it out as well, just because. Except that I have everything I need and then some so why add to the pile?
I'm mainly interested because I think it would be a fun and helpful thing to blog about. If I didn't blog, I might be less inclined to look at buying one.
But since they're out of stock, I'll just have to patiently wait!
Oooh, get the carbon steel! I love mine, and it's now my go-to skillet over my cast iron. I commented on it (and the rest of my collection) below.
Alrighty...I'll wait for it to come back in stock at Amazon and then I'll buy one and review it.
Another option you may want to review/mention is going to a restaurant supply and getting a look at their individual pieces. I did that for my kitchen before my husband bought a set of amazing All Clad for me for Christmas last year. Super sturdy, thick, professional grade at some very reasonable prices!
Your cookware looks surprising similar to mine, except I also have a Le Creuset Dutch oven that we use probably five times a week. My All Clad almost all came from a good friend who worked at a store with a 40% discount and would buy me AC for big events. The last was for my wedding 18 years ago, so most are more than 20 years old and still fabulous. I don't expect to ever need a new one, and there's really no piece that I feel I need.
I also do a good deal of cooking in a large and small cast-iron skillet, and also don't have non-stick for the reasons you site. I remember once being in Williams Sonoma and someone brought in a nonstick piece that was from a premium collection and was peeling. The person working there said that if you really care for nonstick, you can get eight or so years of good use from a piece. I can't imagine buying expensive cookware every eight years!
That's how I feel too. It's very disheartening to buy a good nonstick pan with the idea that it will last for 5-8 years.
Now you've got me thinking about what pans I use most.
- 12" traditional skillet
- 12" nonstick skillet
- 4 qt pot
- 8-10 qt pots (several options, could reduce number if I had to)
- stock pot
Used less often, in rough order of use:
- pressure cooker
- 2 qt pot
- chef's pan (looks like a wok, but cooks very differently)
- 10" cast iron (I also have 6", 8", and 12")
- 2 sided, 2 burner grill pan
- 8" traditional skillet
- 8" nonstick skillet
BTW, if you're looking for a big pot (8 qt or more) that won't warp, look to buy an old pressure cooker. Pressure cookers are generally a half inch thick - ain't nothing going to warp that baby! Best is if you can find one with a broken pressure seal because it'll go cheap.
Ooh, that's a good idea!
That is what I use, I inherited it. The one I have is over 40yo, I never used it as a pressure cooker. It works great for soup, beans, or anything I need a large pot for. I've even made pop corn in it. I like the way the lid locks in place and lets steam out.
I lust after All-Clad, but have to admit that I'm pretty happy with my IKEA 365 pans. I've had them for several years now, and they may have changed the design in the meantime, but if you can't spring for All-Clad, I'd give this and their other stainless steel lines a look. Their skillets now all have non-stick coatings, so I've passed on them.
Love my cast iron Dutch oven and skillets (8", 10" and 14"), but boy are they heavy! Now that I'm getting old and feeble, I went with two Lodge steel skillets (9" and 12", I think they are). Love them, too. With all pans that don't have commercial non-stick surfaces, heat the pans HOT, then put in your oil/butter and whatever you're cooking. I get minimal sticking this way. Cheers!
I've had my non-stick IKEA skillet for 10 years; it cost me $0.99 and despite weekly use it hasn't yet started to peel. Nothing else is as effective for grilled cheese sandwiches and scrambled eggs.
T J Maxx occasionally has All Clad pans, some say seconds and some must be old stock from somewhere, that did not sell.I have bought a few there. You have to be diligent and go there frequently.They have great cooking utensils too, again, you have to really look. They work very well.They are my favorite to cook with.
How do you clean your cast iron? We're still working on getting ours to become non-stick. My husband recently said he thought we were cleaning it too much after using it. But I'm hesitant to just swipe out the big stuff.
For my small pan, I mainly just wipe it out, and sometimes I use water, but never soap. If something is stuck to the bottom of the pan, I use a plastic hard spatula to scrape it off.
My red-enameled pan sometimes gets greasy on the bottom, and I do use soap on that part. I just keep soap away from the actual cast iron part.
If your pan is on the new side, try to use it whenever you're cooking something kind of greasy. For instance, if you need to fry bacon, get out the cast iron pan!
To clean cast iron after you've cooked with it, run it under water while it's still hot, then wipe it dry. If there's muck that won't come off with the hot water rinse, use a plastic something (I like scrub brushes) but NO SOAP.
Then reheat the clean pan on the stove and when it's hot, wipe it with a bit of oil and a paper towel.[1] (I.e., pour a little oil on the hot pan, then use a wad of towel to wipe the oil all around the inside of the pan, including the sides. You can use tongs to hold the towel if you're nervous about the hot pan.) This step helps preserve/increase the seasoning.
If your pan is quite cruddy, rinse it as above then use some salt (maybe 1/4 cup???) to scrub the pan. Then rinse and grease as above.
[1] You can use a rag, but cleaning a greasy rag may well be harder on the environment than using a bit of paper towel.
Thank you! I'll just say a, "Yeah, that.".
And I second your idea of cooking bacon! That's rarely a bad idea.
Never wrong. Always right. Moooooore bacon!
If you want all-clad quality without the design flaws, check out brands from European companies like Demeyere. About the same price, but better composition, better handles, and NO RIVETS. It seems like a simple thing, but it makes such a difference. And they're available from BBB with a 20% discount, too.
Oh, interesting. I've never heard of that brand!
They don't flood the market with ads like all-clad does 😛 I presume that's how they can offer superior products at a competitive price.
There's a good review of their fry pans at http://www.centurylife.org/product-review-demeyere-proline-skillet-aka-frying-pan-28-cm-32-cm-diameter-11-inch-12-6-inch-diameter-aka-5-star/
Just wanted to say that we received an All Clad set for a wedding gift almost 13 years ago. My mom kind of laughed at me because I had wanted this, thinking that I just wanted the "best". Until she cooked a few times with my set. Then she purchased her own. My set still looks almost brand new, and is used almost daily. I love it. I agree, I do not foresee needing to purchase any other cookware for a very, very long time. Expensive - Yes. Worth the price - Yes. Just a tip, Williams Sonoma has a sale on All-Clad right now!
Also, have you tried any of the ceramic non-stick pans? I purchased a small one at Target on clearance and have been very happy with it.
Alright, what am I doing wrong with my cast iron stuff then? I have an amazing set of non-stick cookware from Pampered Chef that I bought 10 years ago (yep... barely 20 years old and ordering expensive pots). It's held up amazing...no chips, no warping, solid and durable.
But my cast iron.... is HORRIBLE. Everything sticks. Even if I wait for it to cook fully and flip, then it burns. I have no clue...I can't cook with it to save my life!! Help 🙁
It sounds as if your pan may not be seasoned properly. How to season cast iron "properly" is a hot topic with many theories. But whatever the theory you pick, the basic idea is the same: heat the pan, apply fat, let fat soak in, cool. Repeat many times. (Oh, and you need to thoroughly clean the pan before you reseason it. I recommend putting the pan in the oven and turning on the oven-cleaning cycle.)
I love this post!
I need to invest in better cookware. I got a set a few years ago and while it is serviceable, there is some warp to them. I like the mix and match option and agree, they have too many things in a set you don't really need or ever use.
I love my cast iron cookware. I have a skillet that's probably 60 years old. It was my grandmother's and I am still using it, making cornbread! It's not great for the stove eye but it bakes just fine!
Just remember, with cast iron, never use soap!
Two pieces live on my gas stove top: a 12" cast iron round griddle and a 12" carbon steel wok with a wooden handle. I have a Thermos thermal cooker that I do all my soups, stews, and chilis in; it is also dynamite for cooking brown rice -- just bring your ingredients to a boil in the heavy-bottom inner pot (about 10 minutes or so) and then stick in the thermos sleeve for roughly the same time you would simmer (but you don't have watch it and nothing ever scorches). I have two saucepans for cooking veg and boiling eggs. I use my Dutch oven heavily in canning season and for making poultry stock. I think I have more pots for food preserving than I do for everyday cooking!
I need to pick up one of the smaller Lodge cast iron skillets, we have a 12" one and it's overkill a lot of the time. This is a good reminder to get that 6.5" or 8" one for those smaller cooking jobs.
Nothing beats good cookware, it makes cooking so much more enjoyable and if it's enjoyable, it's more likely I'll do it!
Luckily, I live less than 20 miles from the All-Clad factory in Canonsburg, PA. Twice a year they hold a "seconds" sale at the nearby Washington County Fairgrounds. I've purchased 3 of my 4 All-Clad pieces there and they look (and perform) as good as the full-price piece that I own. If anyone is ever in the Pittsburgh region during the 1st weekends of July or December, it is well worth the detour for the savings and quality.
I'm right there with you! I took the plunge and replaced my piecemeal 15-year old college set of pots and pans with a nice set of d5 All-Clad. It's been totally worth the investment, and I'll probably never have to buy another piece ever again. Which is great for my small cabinets.
I know the focus of this post is your cookware, but you mentioned no-knead bread in a dutch oven. It is definitely worth a try. Before we had to go gluten-free, I almost always had a bucket of no-knead dough in my fridge. With the dutch oven, I could easily make a perfect little loaf just big enough for dinner or lunch. The crust comes out so crusty that you can hear it sing as it cools on the counter. Ohhhhh, how I miss that bread.
I am going to echo all of those who say that they have old revereware copper bottoms and they have held up excellently!
About non stick finishes, they are bad for you and no one should use them ever.
And about all clad, I see them a lot at tjmaxx and marshalls and homegoods. They still aren't cheap, but they are much cheaper. 🙂
Sounds like my kitchen! My husband and I live in a modest one-bedroom apartment and our kitchen is barely big enough for two people to work in at once. A number of years ago we went through all of our cabinets and kept only what was multipurpose and highest quality. (I'm an All-Clad fan too.) We kept some of the better items his grandparents left us, especially the CorningWare casserole dishes with lids and the old Pyrex glass measuring cups.
My pet peeve is uni-taskers like those junky items they sell on TV, especially the ones made from plastic for cooking in the microwave.
And Bed Bath and Beyond always has a bunch of odd plug-in unitaskers too, like a thing that cooks hot dogs and toasts the buns.
I always wonder who has space for things like that!
Certainly not me. One of my two tiny counters barely fits the toaster oven and the microwave. The other is just big enough to chop and prep on. Hopefully when we remodel one day, (our place was built late 1960s), we will have just a bit more counter space but I will still keep it minimal, much quicker to clean that way.
If only I could fry eggs are n my Lodge cast iron skillet without them sticking I would be soooo happy. Y'all are going to tell me it doesn't have enough built-up grease, I'm guessing?
Probably not...if it's well-seasoned, even an egg should be fine. There are some helpful tips from WilliamB here in the comments...maybe try those out and see how it goes?
We were given a Le Creuset stock pot as a wedding gift (twelve years ago). It is fabulous.
Your post reminded me of getting our metal Williams-Sonoma (or maybe Crate & Barrel?) measuring cups. They were a gift and our friends were there when we opened it. I seemed a little unduly excited over measuring cups, but then I showed them our dollar store cups; the 1/2 cup didn't even have a handle anymore. I promptly threw the old ones in the trash.
I completely understand. I wrote a whole post about a ladle I got. https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2012/08/out-with-the-old-in-the-with-the-new/
And 3 years later, that ladle is still blowing my hair back. I love good quality kitchen items!
I have more than a few All-Clad pieces I got really inexpensively on open stock sales. I also LOVE Scan Pan( non stick made in Denmark) that I got super deals on at the williams sonoma outlet. They have lifetime guarantee and the company even sent me a new pan when I had an issue.
Just a quick question on the Aldi cast iron skillet: I notice that you mention that yours is now well-seasoned. I just bought an Aldi skillet that looks just like yours, and the instructions say that the black interior of the pan is a porcelain coating and that it doesn't require seasoning. Did you have to do anything special to season yours? I am just wondering if I should be doing anything differently to mine, or if Aldi has changed how their skillets are made since you bought yours. Thanks much!
I am a Le Crueset fan after finding a stock pot years ago at Home Goods for $40. I found a Tramontina enamel skillet at Goodwill for $8, another favorite. After cooking soak for 10 minutes and mine wipe right out.
I appreciate your product posts, I love to read what works for some might not work for others. I just can't get the knack of using my cast iron pans. I keep them to cook things on the grill.
I see that the 12 inch cast iron pan that you recommend has an enameled exterior and that Lodge also makes a 12 inch cast iron pan that isn't enameled on the exterior. Do you recommend the enameled pan over the other one? Just curious if the exterior makes a difference.
Thanks
Sharie
I think either is just fine! Mine happens to be enameled on the outside because that's what Aldi had, but either way is equally good in my opinion.
I currently have a basic 10" cast iron skillet, plus a flat one that doubles as a lid. Also a non-stick saucepan, and that's it (no bakeware since I eat low carb for my medical condition).
I did have a non-stick skillet but it was in such bad shape that I didn't bring it on my recent move. I am trying to figure out what to replace it with, and considering stainless instead. I just want to have as few as possible but be able to do everything I need to. I feel like the needs that haven't been met with my lineup are a nice sear and something to make sauces (with acidic ingredients). But I'm afraid the harder cleanup would keep me from cooking!