Cookware Pots and Pans : Buy the Right Cookware

Should you purchase a whole set of pans or buy them one at at a time?

A great question and one that really depends on several things including your cooking needs, level of cooking, and how much you want to spend.

Over the years I purchased a few pots and pans made by Calphalon, still use them today but can also recommend All Clad, Viking and Circulon. Since I bought my pans years ago, they have come up with some great new technology including handles that don't get hot and a better selection of non stick products.

I purchased my pans over time and in the end it has probably cost me more than just buying a complete set. At the time though, I didn't have the bucks to buy a whole set so it didn't matter. I still enjoy shopping for new pans and love when my wife surprises me on my birthday or during the holidays.

If you don't purchase a complete set, buy a couple of good quality essentials and add to your collection as you go along. Like investing in stocks, you wouldn’t buy your whole portfolio at one time but add to it when the market is right.

See below for some good RESOURCES.

The One at a Time Approach

Start with a couple of “Blue Chips” pans and add to your collection. These should include:

Saute Pan - a heavy duty 10 to 12 each saute pan for sauteing steaks, chicken, fish, and vegetables. You can use it instead of a wok for stir-fry. It can even double as a fry pan. For more information on choosing and buying a saute pan.

Sauce Pan - a heavy bottomed 2 quart sauce pan is perfect for making sauces, steaming vegetables, cooking smaller quantities of pasta or potatoes. It can be used for reheating leftovers, canned soups or just about anything that needs to be reheated. One of the most versatile pots in my house. For more information on choosing and buying a sauce pan.

Soup/Stock Pot - the third in my trio of important pots and pans for anyone starting out. What size you buy really depends on how many or how much you are cooking. I love to make big batches of soup or chili in the fall and winter so I have a couple of sizes but anything between 7 & 10 quart should be fine. It can be used for soups, stocks, stews, pasta, big qualities of sauce, corn, lobsters and a whole lot more. For more information on choosing and buying a soup pot or a stock pot....

Add To Your Collection Over Time

Later you can augment your portfolio by adding additional sizes and types like omelet pans, double-boilers, roasting pans, etc. Forget about buying cheap aluminum pans or any pan that is thin and light. They conduct heat poorly and you’ll spend more time cleaning the stuff that burns on the bottom than enjoying your food.

Buy a Cookware Set and Be Done with It
If you find a brand that you like, feels good in your hand and you can afford, buying the complete set isn't a bad idea. This way you are done shopping for pots and pans and you can start thinking about chef knifes, blenders, food processor and the rest.

If you are getting married or looking for a wedding gift, a cookware set is a great idea. Holiday time, birthdays, anniversaries (be careful - the message you send giving a loved one pots and pans may be misunderstood).

What to look for?

You want pots and pans made of stainless steel or heavy-gauge aluminum with non oxidizing surfaces. The base of the pan should be thick and flat on both the inside and out for better heat efficiency. You also want handles that are riveted to the pan and can be put in the oven(no plastic handles) and well fitting lids. And most importantly, make sure they feel good in your hands. Just because they might be highly touted, doesn’t mean they’re the right fit for you.

What I would buy today:

All-Clad 7-pc. Copper Core Cookware Set

For years, All-Clad has been the choice in 4-Star kitchens all over the world. Part of All-Clad's Copper Core Collection, this set includes the best of both - shiny stainless combined with brilliant copper. Dishwasher and oven safe. The 7-pc. set includes:

• 8-qt. Stock Pot with Lid, 2-qt. Sauce Pan with Lid, 3-qt. Saute Pan with Lid, 10-in. Omelet Pan
• Calphalon 13-pc. Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Cookware Set
• Tri-Ply Stainless combines the beauty of stainless steel with the superior performance of aluminum. Mirror-polished exterior provides the brilliant look stainless lovers admire. Ergonomic Cool V handle design provides superior balance and feel, and vents heat away from long handles, keeping them touchably cool on the stove-top.
• 8-in. omelet pan, 10-in. omelet pan, 1.5-qt. sauce pan with cover, 2.5-qt. sauce pan with cover, 4.5-qt.sauce pan with cover, 3-qt. sauté pan with cover, 6-qt. stock pot with cover, 6-qt. pasta insertViking 7-pc. Stainless Steel Cookware Set
• Viking is known for its exceptional appliances and offers high-quality cookware products that are manufactured in Belgium yet designed in the U.S. so you get the best of design and materials. Each piece is easy to clean and provides lasting beauty for your kitchen. Lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects.
• 8-in. Omelet Pan, 1.5-qt. Sauce Pan with Lid, 2-qt. Sauce Pan with Lid, 5.5-qt. Sauce Pot with Lid

Credit_G. Stephen Jones

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5 Steps to Indoor Grilling Goodness

When your grilling activities are sidelined in the dead of winter or the steamy humidity of a smoggy summer, you can still get a set of tantalizing char marks on your chicken breasts. You can even mesquite smoke your ribs and give your turkey breast an enticing, golden brown finish. How? By bringing the grilling indoors, that's how.

Indoor grilling is growing in popularity, and there are quite a few ways to do the honors, too. Contact grills may have opened the door to new innovations in indoor grilling, but you don't need an expensive range setup or countertop appliance to grill food inside.

Let's take a look at five ways you can get smoky goodness into your food without setting foot outdoors. These are grill master worthy techniques, too. No liquid smoke here.

1: Fireplace Cooking

If all you do in your fireplace is combust a few logs around the holidays and admire the blaze, you can make your hearth earn its square footage by turning it into a grill. Yes, you too can have a second cooking area in your home for pennies by reevaluating the way you interpret the grilling experience.

You may have browned a few marshmallows in your fireplace, just for fun. Or maybe you've even thrown together a few 'smores for the kids' last slumber party. We aren't talking about small stuff like roasting chestnuts in the fireplace, though. You can prepare an entire meal in the hearth. Think of it as a camp side fire pit -- without the ring.

Although you can use a fireplace Dutch oven or long handled cooking implements designed to stretch into your fireplace while you hold the other end, if you want to make fireplace cooking a regular occurrence at your house, invest in a fireplace grill. It's basically a frame that allows you to raise and lower the cooking surface as you would with, say, a hibachi grill. Once you master the technique, you can upgrade your equipment to include a fireplace rotisserie for greater control and gourmet worthy results. Come on, give it a try. You know you want to.

2: Smokers

Yes, smoking is grilling -- grilling at its flavorful best. It's amazing what a little charred hardwood sawdust can do for the flavor of just about anything. Indoor smokers sound messy, but they don't have to be. Wash everything promptly after use, and you'll keep the campfire smell to a minimum. For the most part, the smoke stays inside the housing to flavor the cooking meat (fish, poultry, vegetables or fruits) for a deep, rich flavor you'll swear came from expensive outdoor equipment. You can buy a sturdy indoor/outdoor unit for less than $100. Smokers don't need much wood or water to do the trick, either, so smoking can be one specialty cooking method you can explore without spending a fortune.

If you've ever had the itch to make your own smoked salmon or specialty sausage, stovetop smokers make the process fun and efficient. Look for a unit with a nonstick interior finish. It'll make cleanup easier and faster.

3: Grilling Pans

For grilling on the cheap, nothing works better than a grilling pan. This specially designed stovetop skillet is ridged to create impressive crosshatch grill marks. You don't lose much flavor when you use a grill pan, either. Sure, some of the smoky aroma is absent, but you'll get a great sear that seals in meat juices. The ridges will keep the meat away from the grease, too, making the results less oily.

What grilling pans lose in authenticity, they make up for in convenience. Using one is like using any other skillet. Unlike a countertop grill, a grilling pan will store easily in the corner of a cabinet, too. We recommend nonstick or cast iron varieties. With non-stick you have easy cleanup, but cast iron has a rock solid feel and holds in the heat. If you do opt for cast iron, pay the extra pennies for a pre-seasoned pan. It'll save you the effort of conditioning and sealing the cooking surface yourself.

4: Rotisseries

If you've ever watched a chicken turning lazily on a rotisserie, you've experienced firsthand the value of cooking as entertainment. Stick a few hungry viewers in front of a rotating bird, and you'll have rotisserie converts for life. It isn't just the mesmerizing, revolving motion, either. Rotisserie cooked meats are amazingly moist. The juices (not just the fat, but the flavorful juices in the meat) don't drip out as they can during other types of cooking and grilling. Because rotating the meat keeps the juices circulating, rotisserie prepared fare is naturally basted from the inside out.

There's more. Less dripping means less smoke, which results in grilled foods with wonderful aroma that won't make your eyes water while they're making your mouth water. You can find countertop rotisseries, accessory rotisseries (from specific range manufacturers), and even rotisseries you can mount to your fireplace. Rotisseries are surprisingly easy to use, and they're addictive, too. If you crank out dry turkeys and shriveled roasts no matter what technique you're using, put a new spin on mastering meat with a rotisserie.

5: Contact Grills (Small Appliance Grills)

These desktop grills come in all shapes and sizes, from hinged arrangements that can be used as Panini presses to convertible models with base plates that switch out for griddle and waffle applications. Contact grills are pretty effective, and you can't beat them for ease of use. Hinged lid models like the George Foreman grill make for fast prep hamburgers, hotdogs, and even salmon steaks and chicken breasts.

The only down side to having one of these countertop appliances around is the real estate involved in keeping it front and center. If you have a coffee maker, can opener, blender and toaster on your countertop now, adding another appliance may be crowding things. We think having a contact grill around is definitely worth the investment, but if you plan on using your popcorn maker or crepe pan more often, by all means, snag a contact grill and stow it in a cabinet. You can always pull it out for the occasional mushroom burger or Philly cheese steak marathon. When evaluating the options, look for non-stick and smokeless units. They're less messy overall, and you won't pay much more for these features.

Credit_Sara Elliott

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Favorite Cookie Baking Tools and Equipment

Baking homemade cookies is a lot more enjoyable when you have the right tools and equipment. Here's a list of items that will help insure cookie baking success.

Baking Pans and Cookie Sheets: Come in a wide variety of styles and materials. Dark metal pans absorb heat and will cause cookies and brownies to brown more quickly. Shiny metal pans reflect heat making them perfect for more delicate baked treats. Air-cushioned sheets provide extra protection from burning but make it difficult to obtain golden brown cookies. Glass pans carry heat more effectively so your oven temperature needs to be adjusted down 25 degrees when using them. I prefer dull, light colored heavy duty aluminum baking pans. Basic pan sizes you'll want in your collection include:

* 9 X 13-inch
* 8-inch square
* 9-inch square
* 9-inch round
* Cookie sheets with or without sides. Although many books suggest rimless pans for baking cookies, I have had great success using rimmed half sheet pans.


Bowls: Small, medium, and large mixing bowls in glass or stainless steel.

Wooden Spoons: Great for stirring brownies batter

Measuring Spoons: One or two sets of graduated spoons designed specifically for measuring

Measuring Cups: A 2-cup glass or plastic one for liquids that has a spout and a set of dry graduated measuring cups

Spatulas: One thin metal spatula for removing cookies from the pan and a couple of plastic spatulas for scraping cookie dough and brownie batter from bowls into baking pans

Whisks: One or two medium to large whisks for mixing both dry and wet ingredients

Ice Cream Scoops: Small ice cream scoops make easy, speedy work of dropping cookie dough onto pans. They're one of my favorite inexpensive cookie making tools

Microplane: A wonderful tool for zesting and grating zest from citrus fruit and chocolate

Silicone baking pan liners: Make clean-up a breeze and are available in a wide variety of sizes. With a silicone liner you are able to forgo greasing cookie sheets too. Just be sure to not cut them.

Parchment Paper: An indispensable aid for quick and easy baking. Available in both rolls and sheets, I bake all my cookies on parchment lined sheets for the easiest clean-up

Wire Racks: For cooing your cookies and brownies

Electric Mixer: I love my KitchenAid mixers, both hand-held and standing versions, for making brownies and cookies. If you only bake occasionally or have limited space, start with one or the other. If you bake a lot, you will eventually want both.

Food Processor: I am a fan of Cuisinart food processors. They can really speed up the process for many kitchen tasks like chopping, grating, shredding, and pureeing. Get one that has at least a 6-cup capacity.

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Cheap And Economical Cooking Tools And Equipment That You Can Buy

Cooking needs not to be an expensive hobby or activity. It must be enjoyed without spending too much. There is no need to hurt your pocket with the tools that you need to buy. Keep in mind that some equipment cost a lot and these can cause a lot of financial damage to you. There are economical equipment also. You need to look for those cheap yet reliable cooking equipment for you to enjoy this hobby. There are some tips that you need to know.

READ MORE SOURCES

One good thing that you need to do is read different sources that may help you search for the best tools that you can afford and are within your budget. Keep in mind that there are magazines and online sources that give reviews for these things. They will surely help you find the most affordable quality equipment.

SEARCH ONLINE

Online references are always popular among a lot of restaurant owners since these sites are convenient to use. Make use of them also. Search for online sites that will guide you in looking and buying for the best kitchen tools to use in the kitchen.

CATEGORIZE EQUIPMENT

There are a lot of cooking tools in the market and they also have different uses for that matter. You need to choose the one that only matches your need. Categorize the equipment according to their use for you to be able to choose those that will be needed in your kitchen according to the "cooking" that you do.

POLICIES

You need to make sure that the store has its own return policies so that you will be able to turn the equipment back in case there is a problem to it. Try to ask them about it. This will protect your rights as a consumer and buyer.

It is very important that you set a budget for the cooking equipment that you will buy so that you will not go beyond it. There are a lot of them in the market and you need to choose those that are within the budget that you have set. Try to remember the tips mentioned for you to

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Tips in Choosing Kitchen Countertops and Cabinets

Your kitchen is indeed the place where you often spend more time. It is one of the most important rooms in the house. Families usually gather around the kitchen to cook and enjoy meals and bond with one another. It also serves as the place where you can relax and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, cook dinner for a large family gathering or simply preparing a meal for two.

Every homeowner dreams of having the best equipment and tools in their kitchen. It all begins with the best countertops and cabinets. These do not only make the kitchen more stylish but also hold several sizes and number of kitchen utensils and tools.

As a homeowner, you should be able to choose the perfect countertop and cabinets for your kitchen. Before you select cabinets or countertops, you should get an idea of the space needed for storing kitchen tools and utensils.

Kitchen cabinets have several sizes that range from twenty-four inches in depth and thirty-five inches in length, with the width starting from twelve inches and higher. Because there are numerous sizes of cabinets, as a homeowner, you will have more flexibility on how to place your kitchen cabinets. If you cannot find the right size for your kitchen, you can have it customized or built especially for your kitchen. This is the best option to have the right cabinet for your kitchen.



Kitchen cabinets come in various styles, quality and material. Among them is a wide variety of woods like Poplar, Hickory, Pine, Maple, Cherry and Oak. The best woods for the kitchen cabinet are the birch, maple and cherry. For a longwearing cabinet, you can opt for Oak or Hickory.

There are practically so many different colors to choose from for your cabinets. These days it is preferable to mix colors to create a cool and warm kitchen ambience.

When choosing countertops, granite is definitely the top choice for most homeowners. Granite comes in various colors such as white, black, beige, green and coral. You can also get them in polished vanish that gives a shiny look to your kitchen. Granite costs will depend on the style, color and the place where the stone comes from.

Besides granite, other option includes natural stone like marble, limestone and soapstone. These are softer than granite and should be used with extra care. These days, concrete countertops are getting more popular since it comes in different finishes like smooth, grounded and pressed. Many also prefer wood because they are easy to clean and scratches could easily be sanded out.

If you cannot decide on a single material, you can mix and match surfaces. This is helpful in differentiating and assigning countertops for specific uses. For example, many households use butcher block in chopping while marble are used for baking.

Before deciding on the material for your countertop, you should first see the surface by looking at samples in homes and visiting a showroom.

Most importantly, in choosing countertops and kitchen cabinets, you should be able to allocate a budget. If you have enough or more budget, you can opt for the more expensive but durable and modernized materials and models. If you have a tight budget, you can opt to modify your existing cabinets and countertops.

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7 Professional Cooking Tools for Your Home Kitchen

Outfitting your kitchen with all the gadgets and specialty equipment of a commercial kitchen will often result in overcrowded cupboards and countertops. Instead, pick a few key elements and enhance your home cooking without breaking a sweat, or the bank. Let’s take a look at seven professional cooking tools to get your meals from meh to marvelous.

1. The Pizza Stone. This versatile baking tool will simulate the hearth of a pizza oven. With the ability to hold heat well, a pizza stone can be used to bake pizza, breads and pretzels, as well as frozen food such as fries or chicken nuggets.
2. Baking & Pastry Mats. Baking and pastry mats add an enduring value to your home kitchen collection. These mats can be used as an easy to clean, non-stick surface for rolling out pastry or cookie dough. Silicon mats help reduce waste, as they can be placed on a cookie or pastry sheet in lieu of cooking spray or parchment paper. Most mats can withstand oven temps up to 500 degrees and can be used up to 3000 times.
3. Colanders and Strainers. Colanders and strainers are as practical to your cooking as heat. This is a tool that can be used to wash vegetables, fruit and leafy greens thoroughly before cooking, strain pasta, or remove large clumps of food from soup ingredients. More uses for colanders include, draining canned foods, keeping moisture loving produce fresh in the fridge, steaming vegetables and straining yogurt or soft cheese. A more uncommon, but just as practical use can be to use it as a cover for splatter prone cooking (frying) or as a plate cover to keep bugs off your picnic items.
4. Cutting Boards. Wood and plastic cutting boards provide effective cutting surfaces that will keep your countertops and knives in great shape. Plastic cutting boards are ideal for cutting meat and poultry as they are non-porous and run through the dishwasher. Wood cutting boards are great for bread, cheeses and vegetables and do not wear down the blade of a knife. Wood cutting boards also make great presentation platters for serving cheese.
   
5. Cast Iron Fry Pans. Cast iron cookware is an endurance runner in your kitchen line up. Built to last for generations, cookware made from this material will season over time and can be used on the stove top or in the oven. Cast iron fry pans (also referred to as skillets) can be used to make frittata’s, cobblers, steaks, seafood and more.
6. Steel Crepe Pans. Steel is an incredibly durable and economical material for cookware. In fact, authentic crepes are made in steel pans. A well-seasoned steel crepe pan will have a non-stick surface that is resistant to stain and rust, which is ideal for making delicate crepes.
7. Knife Sets. Purchasing a knife set is a great way to gather all the essential knives. Most sets include a paring, chefs and utility knife. Sets may also provide a bread knife, spatula and butcher steel. These knives are all great tools to prep, prepare and serve fruits, vegetables, bread and meat.

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