I'm looking for cookware
 

im into food in a major way now. healthy eating, cooking right. im fanatical on the cokking shows and food network and shit and i wanna get some of the best coookware out there. money isnt an option. without good cookware you cant get the results you want.

any chefs here that take pride in their cooking and presentation?

If money isn't an option I really can't help ya much... :Oh crap

If it is... try to find the HealthyBake system... haven't seen it around in a few years, but it was a pretty amazing set. :thumbsup

Well not a chef per se but I do take pride in my cooking.

I use stainless steel cookware :thumbsup

You are what you eat.

yes, food is a passion of mine

i have page for my fav chef with some great recipes. i will make this into a crazy myspace page.

www.myspace.com/hellskitchennightmares

La Cruset makes some of the best stuff around. Enamel coated cast iron.

All Clad makes some incredible 18/10 SS with aluminum cores. Aluminum cores allow for better even heating inside the cookware

I have several pieces of both.

Now if you want to talk knives Wusthof or Henkles are my favs. Perfectly balanced awesome edge will last you a life time

I have a 10'' Henkle chefs and a 12'' wusthof chefs along with w 16'' Columbia Cutlery curved carving knife a wusthof 4'' pairing knife and a bunch of other knives made by other companies but those 4 are my favs and dailys

My mom sells Pampered Chef stuff to other old ladies.

She says it's good stuff and she can buy it for herself cheap.

man get some pyrex shit... its awesome

http://www.all-clad.com/ :thumbsup

I have a set of alum core allclad, had it for years, excellent

calphalon one is nice if you want anodized

unless you're a pro stainless steel & copper will just get burnt to shit... the calphalon one anodized aluminium has great heat distribution... i really like em

you'll like em, check em out at a retail store and then buy em online for way cheaper

I like to cook and for all practical purposes all you need a good cast iron pan, a good commercial non-stick pan, an 'all clad' sauce pan or two and then pots of varying size for boiling things. After that a nice ceramic on steel or cast iron dutch oven is handy, as well as a cheap wok that is seasoned right and a burner that puts out enough heat to actually use it right.
In my experience 90% of what they sell as cookware is hyped junk.

Dollar for dollar the knives you can buy for $35-$50 at restaurant supply stores are as good or better than the over priced named knives and yes I have used them both before.

then you'll need some great knifes like a set of wusthoffs... and for presentation some white serving plates... circular, rectangular, etc

yes ihave a set of wustoffs now.

they rock.

Calphalon for your non - stick

Stainless Steel for most of your cooking to get all the flavors - Fissler Cookware, Mauviel Cuprinox, and All Clad are great.

Or as mentioned here Le Cruset - they make some amazing cookware.


Best Knives = Wusthof and Messermeister

:2 cents:

Burned up all of your spoons?

Check out DealMeIn, I got some damn nice cookware from Amazon at less-than-half price a couple of years ago.

have you checked out the foodnetwork website where your favorites tv chefs might have their own line of cookware.

kitchenaid is pretty good. i love wolf gang puck cookware set it was on the shopping channel for a pretty good price.

you basically have to shop around and read reviews and then of course stick wtih your gut instinct of which one is right for you.

i recommend the george forman grill

Pretty much what I was going to say. That is what is in my kitchen :thumbsup

emeril has some cool shit too

Mostly listen to this guy unless you really want to waste money on crap you will not need.

Fire extinguisher.
Enameled cast iron frying pan with spiky lid.
A quality saute pan with high sides.
A quality egg pan that will only ever be used for eggs.
A two quart pot with lid
A one quart pot with lid
A large stock pot
A enameled cast iron dutch oven with the spiky lid
Pyrex 9x12 casserole dish
Measuring cups and spoons
Plastic cutting boards
Restaurant supply sheet pans (at least 1)
Wire rack
An old school collapsible like grandma used to have steamer insert
Teflon heat resistant to 400-500 degree spatulas, whisks, etc.
Tongs
Spider

Acceptable add ons.
Pressure cooker
Kitchen aid
Food processor
Wok
Teflon bread/muffin tins
silicon baking mat

As for knives.
Really just a good butchers knife that feels good in your hand.
A serrated knife
A paring knife
A fillet knife
and that's really about it.

sure you could go out and spend a fortune on some 16 piece set just for pots and pans, then another fortune on knives, and then 6000 accessories and you will end up using the above items almost always. PS the egg pan is just a thing of mine, I mean it its just for eggs and nothing else at all.

farberware... for non stick...

stainless steel for simmering...

get a copper bowl for your eggs...

knives are covered...

learn the techniques... acids... bases ... heats(peppers or herbs).. oil...

something i picked up off of the late cooking shows is the method of souvee

I really want to try it out more than I have... picking up one of them suction packers soon to mess with it...


after you get the art of taste down, then go with presentation... When i used to cook in restaurants I had(still do) great pride in how my food looked... I already knew it was good... but i had to make it look good... so many "cooks' dont give a fuck...

I love my Calphalon anodized cookware. I get the most use out of things like the nonstick grill pan and a couple of the larger saute type pans. The grill pan is great because I can sear something on the stovetop and then put it directly into the oven on the pan. it's not in the normal sets they sell.
http://www.calphalon.com/calphalon/c...Id=CLCat100409

I personally like All Clad cookware. They have some really good products.

http://www.all-clad.com/

Give their stuff a try.:winkwink:

This is the best advice in this thread. I would just add that the sets are usually a waste of money, although All-Clad sets are really nice. The non-stick pan is crucial if you are trying to eat healthy and cook with less fat. I recommend Calphalon for nonstick. Le Creuset is amazing but really unnecessary for the price. If you have electric burners I would skip the wok. I use my Kitchen Aid food processor constantly. A few gadgets that I love:
Misto sprayer for olive oil: http://www.misto.com
remote probe thermometer http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=131322
asian mandoline http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=163512

I have one of those, without any heat regulation it just burns and dries out the food. I tried a few times then gave up, now my wife uses it every now and then to cook toast. :1orglaugh

holy shit theres some good info in this thread now. i just printed this and am hitting amazon.com and overstock.com and later bed bath and beyond and the rest of the overpriced stores over in shopping mecca land. maybe i will wait till day after christmas and go get me my new kitchen outfitted.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Amway-Queen-Cook... QcmdZViewItem

There, I just saved you $800. :D

There is no substitute. A full set probably costs $2k but it's worth it. I'll never use anything else.

Culinary Products

Jayne's La Cuisine
2551 Beverly Blvd.
Suite A
Los Angeles, CA 90057
Phone: (213) 386-2727

Sur La Table
Farmers Market
6333 W. Third Street, Space P-10
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: (323) 954-9190

Universal App. and Kitchen Center
12050 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604
Phone: (818) 755-1111

California Kitchens
2305 W. Alameda Ave.
Burbank, CA 91506
Phone: (818) 841-7222

Sur La Table
1616 W. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91105
Phone: (626) 744-9987

ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh thanks tony


nice.

You could get everything you need at a decent sized Sur Le Table.

I'm not kidding, that Queen set of cookware is fine fine fine quality.


as long as you can get past the whole 'amway' thing

i find some good prices on ebay right now for some of these brands.

wonder if any asshole can counterfeit cookware or i should just go to crate and barrel or some good home store and get full price to guarantee my authenticity.

yah im looking at that too. i might contact gordon ramsay people and ask them what the best shit is. one thing i hate is cheap shit sold as expensive shit that sucks.

it also matters if you are cooking on gas or electric.

this biz ruined me - i read "cockware" :-/

Henckle's and Wustof both make amazing cutlery. I have a henckles 10 piece block and set, and i am very happy with it.

my only complaint is the profile of the 10" chef's knife that i have. it's a bit too thin. i prefer ones with a thicker profile, almost similar to a santoku shape. i seem more apt to bringing the knife up just a hair to high when cutting and knicking my finger. :1orglaugh

that's just a personal pet peeve though. the actual quality of those two brands is superb. if you're not going to buy henckles or wustof, make sure you look for good forged knives with a high carbon steel, full tang handle, and 3 rivets in the handle.

oh, and of course if you get good knives, don't put them in the dishwasher. it is hard on the handles and the blades. hand wash only.

as far as pots and pans, i don't generally stick to a single brand. although, as much as i hate to admit it (because i HATE him) emeril actually makes some decent cookware. usually what i do is just head out to a good kitchen or restaraunt supply store and bang on pots and pans for a few mins until i find the one i want. good rules to abide by, like forest said, are heavy 18/10 stainless steel construction, and an aluminum core can be a plus. you want something thick and durable, it will heat a bit slower, but it will hold and disperse that heat much better.

i don't use non stick, and i don't use aluminum. reason being is that if non stick coatings are heated too much, the can produce toxic gases and eventually over time the coatings tend to break down and sometimes flake off into food. the only exception to that rule is pans for eggs. with eggs the heat is usually low enough to avoid those kinds of things. i usually stay away from all aluminium cookware because it is reactive, and if used with foods higher in acid can produce some nasty flavors, and doesn't hold onto or dish out heat as well as heavy 18/10 stainless. anodized aluminium is ok, but i will take steel over it anyday.

You can easily tell the difference.

And no, it doesn't really matter. The only difference is if you have an induction cooktop. Then you'll need magnetic stainless like All Clad.

lmao me too and I'm not embarrassed. :P

This isn't true anymore. Any good non stick is safe up to 500 degrees. Like, again, All Clad.

I'm just going to keep posting in this thread until I get a check from All Clad.

You won't get counterfeit. You'll get factory rejects or seconds sold as firsts and you'll get used sold as new.

i still don't trust non stick pans. i've never found one that i have ever really been pleased with. half of it is prejudice, i will admit. but there is something about them that just never seems to cook the same.

i am checking out this all-clad stuff now. their shit looks fucking sweet. i might need to replace my current collection with this stuff. i'm really liking their copper core collection.