$250 burning a whole in my pocket....

[Melman]

ARgghh...as soon as I hit SUBMIT...I realized that I had the wrong word in the SUBJECT!! How about "HOLE in my pocket!!"

ANYWAY........

Ok...I ALMOST have a $250 gift certificate from Williams-Sonoma. It's one of those credit card deals where I've been saving points for most of my lifetime...or at least it seems to be that way!

I have two main kitchen "tools" on my list. I want a set of Wusthof Grand Prix knives and I want a set of All Clad stainless cookware. After realizing that W-S has the HIGHEST pricest of any other store on the face of the earth on Wusthof, I think I'll lean toward a couple of pieces of All Clad.

I've read on the board that it's better to buy pieces you need/want/use instead of buying a set (since I only have $250, there's no worry with that happening anyway). For those of you who have All Clad or whatever your favorite cookware, what are the two pieces you use the most.

Currently, the frontrunners are a 10" or 12" nonstick frying pan and either the 2- or 3-quart sauce pan. What are your favorites???

Note: The 7-piece Wusthof Grand Prix knife set is $250 nearly everywhere (in stores..on the web..in catalogs...other than one place where I found a set for $219!!)...at W-S, they're on *SALE* for a mere $299!!!! UP from $279 about a month ago! Ok..I'm off my soapbox. ;-) I still love that store.

[This message has been edited by Melman (edited 06-22-2001).]

[SusanT]

I don't know what part of the country you're in but WS does have an outlet in Memphis that sells first quality merchandise at a discount off of regular store prices.

[ebobbitt]

SusanT, where is the WS outlet? Is it at the outlet mall? I sort of know the area (I'm from the Little Rock, AR area) and I have been to that outlet mall a LONG time ago. thanks
Elizabeth

[SusanT]

It's not in an outlet mall. If you're familar with the Goldsmiths' at Oak Court Mall on Poplar, it's in that area. There's also a Pottery Barn outlet next door to it.

[Julia1Pin]

I went to Macy's to buy an All-Clad non-stick omlette pan and the salesman vehemently opposed it.

He told me that All-Clad had horrible non-stick products (and as an owner of Calpholon I know that their non-stick omlette pans aren't very good). He convinced me to buy a $12 non-stick 12-inch omlette pan by some french company.

It is one of the best non-stick products I have ever used!

I did buy a 3qt. saute pan by All-Clad, which is very good, and is the 2nd most used pan in my kitchen.

[ama47369]

Do you need a mixer? Just in case you missed the thread from a couple of days ago, Luckylin posted stating that WS is selling their Kenwood mixers for $150, regularly $500-700. Sounds like a deal to me.

Have fun spending your certificates!

http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif Amanda

[LGBurns]

I have a 12" All Clad saute pan and I love it. I even use it for many recipes that call for non-stick--I find that as long as you heat it well before putting the oil in the pan sticking isn't a problem (this does not, however, work with egg dishes like frittata). I use it all the time.

[Melman]

Great ideas! I'm leaning toward the Stainless line. Ok, so far, it sounds like the 2 or 3-quart sauce pan is a good choice. I still need to decide about the 10" or 12" frying pan....whether to go with non-stick or regular. I know I read lots of recipes that say to "brown whatever in a non-stick pan"....and I'm thinking about fried rice (loved those ideas in that topic a while back.)

I'm hoping they might have one of those "try me" deals...with the lid or utencils or whatever. I'm not sure if W-S has those though.

And I had forgotten about the outlet stores. There's one in the North Georgia Outlets a little more than 2 hours from my house. I might pick a Saturday and head in that direction (of course, I'd have to also drive the rest of the way and go to Harry's in Atlanta. ;-) Oops...I digress!!)

I saw the mixer topic a few days ago. I'm already the very happy owner of a LOVELY white Kitchenaid stand mixer that I bought last year. Sounds like a great deal for someone still wanting to buy a stand mixer though.

Thanks for these hands-on suggestions!!!

[Kimba]

Originally posted by jb:
P.S. for those BB members in New England, there is a Williams-Sonoma outlet in Wrenthem, MA.

There isssssssssss???

Hot diggity - that's only about 15 minutes from my house http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Kimba

[aggie94]

Melman,

I lived for years without a non-stick pan, because I own a bird (the coating, when heated, can be toxic to birds). I do lots of Chinese cooking, including fried rice, in a wok and have never had a problem. In fact, the only thing I do in a non-stick pan these days is risotto, but even that I've done in a stainless saute pan. You definitely don't need a non-stick pan for fried rice!

[laden]

From the tid-bits of information I've picked up on this board, and talking to people in the food business, more people than not recommend buying a cheaper non-stick pan (because the n/s coating eventually starts to peel off. (even on an All-Clad or Calphalon) Then you've spent all this money on a pan designed to last a lifetime. With the cheaper ones you can just throw them away.

I have an All-Clad 3qt saute pan and a 12" All-Clad fry pan (both not n/s) and as someone mentioned above if you heat them before spraying pam, or adding oil, then let that heat as well before adding your food, they don't stick.

[Lynn B]

After years of cheap (lousy!) cookware, I was so thrilled to get All-Clad several years ago. I have the stainless collection, and several non-stick pieces, and I love it all! IMHO, I love knowing that I won't ever need to buy cookware again! The non-stick is (again, IMHO) excellent! And, like all All-Clad, it has a lifetime warranty.

Anyway - to answer your question. The most used pieces in my kitchen are my large 3 qt (non-stick) saute' pan (I use that for EVERYTHING! It does everything a large fry pan can do, and more - and that lid is worth its weight in gold!); my 1 1/2 qt saucepan; and my 4 1/2 qt soup pot/casserole. But I truly USE ALL of my All-Clad... and every piece still looks store-new!

So, have fun shopping -- and please let us know what you end up getting!!!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Lynn

[This message has been edited by Lynn B (edited 06-24-2001).]