<p>Anyone have any suggestions for some reasonably priced additions to my almost 10 year old t-fal set? it was a basic set that i got in college, with a few basic pots and pans in it. my BF and I both love to cook… He has what seems like a zillion Caphalon pots and pans at his house and its great because there is always the right sized thing for whatever I want. and while I like mine (not nearly as much as his…), I would like to pick up a few additional pieces. I recently bought what i think is a 12 inch pan w/ a glass cover which I like a lot and I use it all the time… but i feel like the rest of my pots and pans are either too big or too small for what i want to make in them. what i have is fine to cook for one or two people, but I do occasionally cook dinners for 6, 7, 8 people and I just don’t have the right pots and pans to do it. It may just be easier to buy a whole new set… though I hate to get rid of mine, as there is nothing wrong with them. Maybe I just need another pan similar to the one I bought recently. if I cook for such a large group it’s usually a ‘small’ dinner party where there are 2 or 3 or 4 things being cooked at the same time and I am constantly having to wash dishes as i’m cooking to re-use them.</p>
<p>Ask Santa (I mean, your BF :)) to get you this:</p>
<p>[Costco</a> - Kirkland Signature? 16-pc Stainless Steel Cookware Set customer reviews - product reviews - read top consumer ratings](<a href=“http://reviews.costco.com/2070/11257108/reviews.htm]Costco”>http://reviews.costco.com/2070/11257108/reviews.htm)</p>
<p>Or check Tramontina line of cookware sold at many stores, including Costco and Walmart. There was a recent thread about cookware with lots of good info. I will try to locate it and post a link.</p>
<p>I’m in college. My roommate and I like to cook. We usually cook for fewer than 10 people.</p>
<p>At the start of this lease, we decided to each spend $50 ($100 total) on pots and pans. We tried Macy’s (some luck, but not much) and ended up at Sam’s. I believe we have a 14-piece stainless steel set by Wolfgang Puck. </p>
<p>We have…a big stock pot (soup and chili), a pretty-big-but-smaller-than-that-one pot (soup or chili for 2 people), a small pot (melting butter, etc), and a medium-sized pot (pasta). We also have a big pan (lots of breakfast food), a small pan (omelettes), and a saute pan (huge). Also, we have the appropriate lids.</p>
<p>Love it. Looks like the pricey All Clad stuff. Cooks very evenly despite our electric burners. PS: The hard water deposits are easy to remove (which you have to do to keep them shiny!) with CLR Kitchen & Bath.</p>
<p>Fendergirl, here you go:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/861364-lecruset-martha-stewart-cookware.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/861364-lecruset-martha-stewart-cookware.html</a></p>
<p>and</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/987413-any-cookware-recommendations.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/987413-any-cookware-recommendations.html</a></p>
<p>and</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/795626-calphalon-vs-all-clad.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/795626-calphalon-vs-all-clad.html</a></p>
<p>There are some good suggestions in these threads, and not all of the suggested options are expensive!</p>
<p>Bunsen,</p>
<p>Santa has been bugging me to give him hints for what I want for Xmas. I think if I tell him pots and pans it will make his day, as he actually likes shopping for that stuff… plus they would be used to occasionally cook for him. So, that would be a win win as far as he is concerned, Haha! </p>
<p>However, on that note, I have been trying not to give him too many hints and have been telling him that he should buy whatever he thinks I would like… I want there to be some sort of surprise. He did so good last year coming up with ideas on his own. We both were completely surprised and loved our gifts. The year before we talked it out and instead of gifts we took each other to a sporting event. I bought the tickets, he drove, paid for parking, and took us out for dinner. (The surprise in that was where we were sitting and where we were eating, haha!) I’m pretty much done shopping for him this year, unless I see something else that appears to be screaming BUY ME.</p>
<p>I did, however, mention that I saw a really cute fleece blanket at the mall the other day. We’ll see if he picked up on my subtle hint. I described it in great detail. =)</p>
<p>Actually, we both were looking at LeCruset (more like drooling) recently and he said he read somewhere that you shouldn’t use things like that on a glass flat top electric stove. Is that true?</p>
<p>I recently ordered a 10" Tri-Ply Regal Ware pan, just to see if I liked it enough to buy a whole set. We try very hard to avoid buying anything made in China, and this cookware fits my budget better than most of the European brands. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality, and would’ve found the pan a good deal at twice the price. </p>
<p>[Regal</a> Ware Worldwide :: Unity? by Regal Ware features tri-ply, an aluminum core sandwiched around two layers of stainless steel](<a href=“http://www.regalware.com/index.php/regal-ware-products/american-kitchen-tri-ply/]Regal”>http://www.regalware.com/index.php/regal-ware-products/american-kitchen-tri-ply/)</p>
<p>You may find a deal at Amazon on some pieces.</p>
<p>Looking at the sizes on the link you just posted… I must have… a 1 quart covered sauce pan, a 2 quart covered sauce pan, some big size covered stock pot, an 8 fry inch pan, a 10 fry inch pan, and my new 12 inch pan which i would describe as a frying pan that is a little deeper then normal but it has a lid so maybe it is considered a saute pan. Other then that, I don’t have any shown saute pans or the everyday pan. He has the sizes of all my pans, as well as what looks like the 3 qt covered sauce pan, a few bigger stock pots, and a couple sizes of saute pans. He also has something that looks like that everyday pan that I use all the time when I cook over there. Maybe i should ask someone for one of those. That seems like it would be a nice middle sized thing. I never know how to describe that one. Other then a short pot with handles. :)</p>
<p>here’s the recent thread about cookware, I was the OP. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/987413-any-cookware-recommendations.html?highlight=cookware[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/987413-any-cookware-recommendations.html?highlight=cookware</a>
After much agonizing, I ended up going with a 10 piece set of All-Clad from Williams Sonoma. The pieces made sense and they have a new product, d5 stainless steel, which has improved handles (more comfortable and do not get hot) and a curved lip. I am loving them. I also bought a new set of 2 non-stick saut</p>
<p>^^Although Walmart carries some types of Tramontina pots and pans in its stores, it only sells Tramontina TriPly online. I’m planning to give one of my kids the 10-piece set of Tramontina TriPly for Christmas. Just waiting to see if there’s a price rollback on Black Friday.</p>
<p>Still loving the set of Tramontina I purchased for myself after the Cooks Illustrated review came out last year. It compares very favorably to the well-used All-Clad pots and pans I passed along to my daughter at the time. In fact, I can’t tell any difference except for the pot handles. I like the Tramontina handles better!</p>
<p>I read somewhere that Tramontina manufactures some of the TriPly pots and pans sold by Costco, but I don’t know which ones.</p>
<p>I was thinking about new and beautiful pots and pans lately and was lusting after Le Crueset. Then I went to the store and found I couldn’t lift the pans when they were EMPTY much less if they’d had food in them! So… what’s pretty and doesn’t weigh a ton? I understand I may sacrifice some even heating for lighter weight.</p>
<p>I actually really like the look of this Rachel Ray stuff… </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Rachael-Ray-Anodized-14-Piece-Nonstick/dp/B002NVL3S2[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Rachael-Ray-Anodized-14-Piece-Nonstick/dp/B002NVL3S2</a></p>
<p>Anyone have any experience with that? Every site has great reviews. They look like they would look decent mixed with the Caphalon ones should I ever merge households.</p>
<p>I have to laugh, I always assumed all of the BF’s pans were non stick - till I attempted to make pancakes in one that wasn’t. Big big big mistake. No matter what I did, my pancakes stuck to it miserably. I wound up giving up, thinking I just was all of a sudden ridiculously bad at making pancakes. Then, when trying to make scrambled eggs on another occasion, I grabbed the same pan… Yeah… lets just say he spent a lot of time cleaning that one after I was done with it. Lol. They got done, but that was the messiest most icky pan I’ve ever seen in my life. He said he’s going to hide that pan from me and I have strict instructions to never use it again. LOL.</p>
<p>fendergirl, I have a Rachel Ray cast iron enameled dutch oven that DH bought for me at Costco. I don’t use it too often, but I like the quality. I have no experience with her regular pots and pants. Are the handles of that set oven-proof? If you plan to use any of your pots and pans in the oven, that is an important thing to consider.</p>
<p>You will need a non-stick pan for making pancakes, etc. and a stainless steel one for searing. These two functions cannot be combined in one piece of cookware.</p>
<p>(BTW, you can shop at Costco dot com without being a member. And Costco has one of the best return policies.)</p>
<p>It says they are oven proof up to 400 degrees. I have always liked that set, just never really got around to buying it. (Those orange handles are just too cute!). When my ex and I were talking about getting married, I had dreams of putting that on my registry, haha! I have a bunch of her stoneware dishes that I use for in the oven. I really like them a lot.</p>
<p>I know I need a non stick pan for pancakes, I just didn’t realize the pan I was using wasn’t non stick. I was certain that I was just mucking them up. =)</p>
<p>I make my pancakes in a well seasoned cast iron pan. It’s my favorite pan - much nicer than my nonstick ones!</p>