What Cookware Is the Best?

 

Spilling over from Susan’s post on Kamala’s recent cookware purchases is a minor debate on what cookware works the best, for what purpose, and at what price. @doctorrobert, @kedavis, and @jimmcconnell have already commented. But what do you think? I suppose I started the digression with this comment:

I confess to you, I have one of these. I’ve only used it once to fry a single egg. I told my wife before l’affaire Kamala that she might as well start using it — we’re not getting any younger.

Mauviel Copper M'200 CI Fry Pan

Mauviel Copper M’200 CI Fry Pan

Select : 12″

$435  (It was much cheaper when I bought it.)

Williams-Sonoma many years ago. Up ’til now it’s just been too special to use.

What is your favorite skillet, chicken fryer, or saucepan?

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  1. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    TBA (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    What’s Hatch green chile?

    Only the best canned green chiles you can buy. My wife orders the 28 oz cans by the case . . .

    Are the particularly hot?

    You can get them in mild, medium or hot. Even the hot is well-behaved. Chile (the vegetable techically a “berry-fruit”, whateverrr) can be quite spicy, but it’s not mean spirited like some japalenos (or all habaneros). It is the spice of life — it cures the cold, improves the flu, and probably prevents COVID.

    Flagged: Please report to the CDC authorities for deprogramming.

    Fauci is on his way . . .

    • #121
  2. DaveSchmidt Coolidge
    DaveSchmidt
    @DaveSchmidt

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    EHerring (View Comment):

    Guruforhire (View Comment):

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    Not cookware, but prompted by “we’re not getting any younger, ” so we might as well use it is our Wedgwood China. Since realizing that neither of our kids had any interest in inheriting it, we decided we might as well use it, and not save it for special occasions. We even (horrors!) Put it in the dishwasher.

    When I got married I had read an article somewhere about things people wished they had done differently. And one was not eating on china every day.

    So I went to the outlet center (Neither of us had any money at that point), and was going to buy a couple of place sets of china. When I walked in they gave me a scratch off coupon, which for me ended up being the coveted 40% off coupon (the ladies were all atwitter about the coupon). So ended up bringing home a 12 place set that we have been using daily ever since.

    We have added the mid sized plates, and most convenient “weekday” meals I think are better consumed out of a pasta bowl (pasta with sauce, and the many crock pot goo’s over rice). So I recommend getting a handful of pasta bowls.

    Up your Game and add cloth napkins of cotton or linen, not the cheap, harsh ones.

    My wife gives me paper towels torn in half.

    Better than a roll of TP. 

    • #122
  3. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    EHerring (View Comment):

    Guruforhire (View Comment):

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    Not cookware, but prompted by “we’re not getting any younger, ” so we might as well use it is our Wedgwood China. Since realizing that neither of our kids had any interest in inheriting it, we decided we might as well use it, and not save it for special occasions. We even (horrors!) Put it in the dishwasher.

    When I got married I had read an article somewhere about things people wished they had done differently. And one was not eating on china every day.

    So I went to the outlet center (Neither of us had any money at that point), and was going to buy a couple of place sets of china. When I walked in they gave me a scratch off coupon, which for me ended up being the coveted 40% off coupon (the ladies were all atwitter about the coupon). So ended up bringing home a 12 place set that we have been using daily ever since.

    We have added the mid sized plates, and most convenient “weekday” meals I think are better consumed out of a pasta bowl (pasta with sauce, and the many crock pot goo’s over rice). So I recommend getting a handful of pasta bowls.

    Up your Game and add cloth napkins of cotton or linen, not the cheap, harsh ones.

    My wife gives me paper towels torn in half.

    We have nice napkins to the side, but we, too, use half paper towels.

    • #123
  4. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    What’s Hatch green chile?

    Only the best canned green chiles you can buy. My wife orders the 28 oz cans by the case . . .

    Are the particularly hot?

    Not really. When my wife makes green chile, she adds diced jalapenos . . .

    Green chili?  Is that with very new cheese or very old meat (The Odd Couple)?  Seriously, I’ve never heard of green chili.

    • #124
  5. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    DaveSchmidt (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    EHerring (View Comment):

    Guruforhire (View Comment):

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    Not cookware, but prompted by “we’re not getting any younger, ” so we might as well use it is our Wedgwood China. Since realizing that neither of our kids had any interest in inheriting it, we decided we might as well use it, and not save it for special occasions. We even (horrors!) Put it in the dishwasher.

    When I got married I had read an article somewhere about things people wished they had done differently. And one was not eating on china every day.

    So I went to the outlet center (Neither of us had any money at that point), and was going to buy a couple of place sets of china. When I walked in they gave me a scratch off coupon, which for me ended up being the coveted 40% off coupon (the ladies were all atwitter about the coupon). So ended up bringing home a 12 place set that we have been using daily ever since.

    We have added the mid sized plates, and most convenient “weekday” meals I think are better consumed out of a pasta bowl (pasta with sauce, and the many crock pot goo’s over rice). So I recommend getting a handful of pasta bowls.

    Up your Game and add cloth napkins of cotton or linen, not the cheap, harsh ones.

    My wife gives me paper towels torn in half.

    Better than a roll of TP.

    I some places, that’s to fight for on your table.

    • #125
  6. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    What’s Hatch green chile?

    Only the best canned green chiles you can buy. My wife orders the 28 oz cans by the case . . .

    Are the particularly hot?

    Not really. When my wife makes green chile, she adds diced jalapenos . . .

    Green chili? Is that with very new cheese or very old meat (The Odd Couple)? Seriously, I’ve never heard of green chili.

    The spelling matters.  Green chile is not chili.  Chili is a meat-and-beany based spicy tomato stew that Texans eat.  Chile is a kind of pepper.  They can be red or green, and are used in making sauces and stews which are *not* chili.

    I recommend that you proceed post-haste to your nearest Mexican restaurant for dinner and ask for enchiladas verde (mild or medium spiciness).  That will have a green chile sauce smothering the enchiladas.  Also, try green chile stew.  Finally, when you have decided that you cannot live without green chile, order chile rellenos (“RRe-ye-nohss”).

    Any place that makes a green chile cheeseburger can be great — but Blakes Lotaburger is only in NM.  Worth the drive!

    • #126
  7. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    BDB (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    What’s Hatch green chile?

    Only the best canned green chiles you can buy. My wife orders the 28 oz cans by the case . . .

    Are the particularly hot?

    Not really. When my wife makes green chile, she adds diced jalapenos . . .

    Green chili? Is that with very new cheese or very old meat (The Odd Couple)? Seriously, I’ve never heard of green chili.

    The spelling matters. Green chile is not chili. Chili is a meat-and-beany based spicy tomato stew that Texans eat. Chile is a kind of pepper. They can be red or green, and are used in making sauces and stews which are *not* chili.

    I recommend that you proceed post-haste to your nearest Mexican restaurant for dinner and ask for enchiladas verde (mild or medium spiciness). That will have a green chile sauce smothering the enchiladas. Also, try green chile stew. Finally, when you have decided that you cannot live without green chile, order chile rellenos (“RRe-ye-nohss”).

    Any place that makes a green chile cheeseburger can be great — but Blakes Lotaburger is only in NM. Worth the drive!

    Here I always thought Chile was a country.

    • #127
  8. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    What’s Hatch green chile?

    Only the best canned green chiles you can buy. My wife orders the 28 oz cans by the case . . .

    Are the particularly hot?

    Not really. When my wife makes green chile, she adds diced jalapenos . . .

    Green chili? Is that with very new cheese or very old meat (The Odd Couple)? Seriously, I’ve never heard of green chili.

    The spelling matters. Green chile is not chili. Chili is a meat-and-beany based spicy tomato stew that Texans eat. Chile is a kind of pepper. They can be red or green, and are used in making sauces and stews which are *not* chili.

    I recommend that you proceed post-haste to your nearest Mexican restaurant for dinner and ask for enchiladas verde (mild or medium spiciness). That will have a green chile sauce smothering the enchiladas. Also, try green chile stew. Finally, when you have decided that you cannot live without green chile, order chile rellenos (“RRe-ye-nohss”).

    Any place that makes a green chile cheeseburger can be great — but Blakes Lotaburger is only in NM. Worth the drive!

    Here I always thought Chile was a country.

    Of course Chile is, chiles (small c, except at the start of a sentence) are not.

    • #128
  9. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    BDB (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    What’s Hatch green chile?

    Only the best canned green chiles you can buy. My wife orders the 28 oz cans by the case . . .

    Are the particularly hot?

    Not really. When my wife makes green chile, she adds diced jalapenos . . .

    Green chili? Is that with very new cheese or very old meat (The Odd Couple)? Seriously, I’ve never heard of green chili.

    The spelling matters. Green chile is not chili. Chili is a meat-and-beany based spicy tomato stew that Texans eat. Chile is a kind of pepper. They can be red or green, and are used in making sauces and stews which are *not* chili.

    I recommend that you proceed post-haste to your nearest Mexican restaurant for dinner and ask for enchiladas verde (mild or medium spiciness). That will have a green chile sauce smothering the enchiladas. Also, try green chile stew. Finally, when you have decided that you cannot live without green chile, order chile rellenos (“RRe-ye-nohss”).

    Any place that makes a green chile cheeseburger can be great — but Blakes Lotaburger is only in NM. Worth the drive!

    Thanks.  That answers a lot of questions.

    • #129
  10. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    What’s Hatch green chile?

    Only the best canned green chiles you can buy. My wife orders the 28 oz cans by the case . . .

    Are the particularly hot?

    Not really. When my wife makes green chile, she adds diced jalapenos . . .

    Green chili? Is that with very new cheese or very old meat (The Odd Couple)? Seriously, I’ve never heard of green chili.

    The spelling matters. Green chile is not chili. Chili is a meat-and-beany based spicy tomato stew that Texans eat. Chile is a kind of pepper. They can be red or green, and are used in making sauces and stews which are *not* chili.

    I recommend that you proceed post-haste to your nearest Mexican restaurant for dinner and ask for enchiladas verde (mild or medium spiciness). That will have a green chile sauce smothering the enchiladas. Also, try green chile stew. Finally, when you have decided that you cannot live without green chile, order chile rellenos (“RRe-ye-nohss”).

    Any place that makes a green chile cheeseburger can be great — but Blakes Lotaburger is only in NM. Worth the drive!

    Here I always thought Chile was a country.

    Please!  Turkey is the only country named after a food.

    • #130
  11. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    kedavis (View Comment):
    order chile rellenos (“RRe-ye-nohss”).

    Isn’t that essentially a stuffed pepper?

    • #131
  12. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):
    order chile rellenos (“RRe-ye-nohss”).

    Isn’t that essentially a stuffed pepper?

    Wasn’t me.

    • #132
  13. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    What’s Hatch green chile?

    Only the best canned green chiles you can buy. My wife orders the 28 oz cans by the case . . .

    Are the particularly hot?

    Not really. When my wife makes green chile, she adds diced jalapenos . . .

    Green chili? Is that with very new cheese or very old meat (The Odd Couple)? Seriously, I’ve never heard of green chili.

    The spelling matters. Green chile is not chili. Chili is a meat-and-beany based spicy tomato stew that Texans eat. Chile is a kind of pepper. They can be red or green, and are used in making sauces and stews which are *not* chili.

    I recommend that you proceed post-haste to your nearest Mexican restaurant for dinner and ask for enchiladas verde (mild or medium spiciness). That will have a green chile sauce smothering the enchiladas. Also, try green chile stew. Finally, when you have decided that you cannot live without green chile, order chile rellenos (“RRe-ye-nohss”).

    Any place that makes a green chile cheeseburger can be great — but Blakes Lotaburger is only in NM. Worth the drive!

    Here I always thought Chile was a country.

    Please! Turkey is the only country named after a food.

    Oh come on!  Mexico is named after Mexican food, China is named after Chinese food…

    • #133
  14. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    BDB (View Comment):
    Chili is a meat-and-beany based spicy tomato stew that Texans eat.  Chile is a kind of pepper

    I don’t think real Texans put beans in their chili.

    • #134
  15. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    What’s Hatch green chile?

    Only the best canned green chiles you can buy. My wife orders the 28 oz cans by the case . . .

    Are the particularly hot?

    Not really. When my wife makes green chile, she adds diced jalapenos . . .

    Green chili? Is that with very new cheese or very old meat (The Odd Couple)? Seriously, I’ve never heard of green chili.

    The spelling matters. Green chile is not chili. Chili is a meat-and-beany based spicy tomato stew that Texans eat. Chile is a kind of pepper. They can be red or green, and are used in making sauces and stews which are *not* chili.

    I recommend that you proceed post-haste to your nearest Mexican restaurant for dinner and ask for enchiladas verde (mild or medium spiciness). That will have a green chile sauce smothering the enchiladas. Also, try green chile stew. Finally, when you have decided that you cannot live without green chile, order chile rellenos (“RRe-ye-nohss”).

    Any place that makes a green chile cheeseburger can be great — but Blakes Lotaburger is only in NM. Worth the drive!

    Here I always thought Chile was a country.

    Please! Turkey is the only country named after a food.

    Oh come on! Mexico is named after Mexican food, China is named after Chinese food…

    Mexico, I can’t explain.  But China is named after tableware.

    • #135
  16. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Flicker (View Comment):
    But China is named after tableware.

    Those bastards steal everything.

    • #136
  17. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    But China is named after tableware.

    Those bastards steal everything.

    Yeah.  Cheap, knock-off china.

    • #137
  18. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    But China is named after tableware.

    Those bastards steal everything.

    Yeah. Cheap, knock-off china.

    I was thinking about the name.

    • #138
  19. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):
    Chili is a meat-and-beany based spicy tomato stew that Texans eat. Chile is a kind of pepper

    I don’t think real Texans put beans in their chili.

    Real Texans who drove cattle sure did.

    • #139
  20. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):
    order chile rellenos (“RRe-ye-nohss”).

    Isn’t that essentially a stuffed pepper?

    Yes, sorta — it’s a chile pepper typically stuffed with cheese, batter-breaded and fried (or baked I guess?), and smothered in its less fortunate brothers; chiles who have been pulped to verde sauce (or a red sauce).  Refritos on the side or black beans in a classier place, and for some reason, the interminable scourge of rice.

    ON-TOPIC: I uh don’t know what the best cookware is for making rellenos.

    • #140
  21. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    BDB (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):
    Chili is a meat-and-beany based spicy tomato stew that Texans eat. Chile is a kind of pepper

    I don’t think real Texans put beans in their chili.

    Real Texans who drove cattle sure did.

    “Blazing Saddles” isn’t history.

    • #141
  22. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    BDB (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):
    Chili is a meat-and-beany based spicy tomato stew that Texans eat. Chile is a kind of pepper

    I don’t think real Texans put beans in their chili.

    Real Texans who drove cattle sure did.

    That spicy beef and bean stew is good, but if you go by the bible, i.e. A Bowl of Red by Frank Tolbert, no beans, no tomatoes. In fact, he seemed suspicious of onions as well. 

    • #142
  23. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):
    Chili is a meat-and-beany based spicy tomato stew that Texans eat. Chile is a kind of pepper

    I don’t think real Texans put beans in their chili.

    Real Texans who drove cattle sure did.

    “Blazing Saddles” isn’t history.

    It will be soon  :-(

    Seriously, my father was a no-kidding horse cowboy when he was young.  He worked for some fellows who had been Texans before escaping to New Mexico.  Dad didn’t do actual cattle drives, but he worked with people who had.  Still, his crew would ride the fences for days, and in general see to things.

    Perhaps modern city Texans who can’t saddle a horse turn their nose up at beans in chili, and to be honest I view beans as filler, like potatoes or rice, but of a higher caliber.  But filler was valuable back in the day.  Beat the crap outta being empty.

    • #143
  24. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    BDB (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):
    order chile rellenos (“RRe-ye-nohss”).

    Isn’t that essentially a stuffed pepper?

    Yes, sorta — it’s a chile pepper typically stuffed with cheese, batter-breaded and fried (or baked I guess?), and smothered in its less fortunate brothers; chiles who have been pulped to verde sauce (or a red sauce). Refritos on the side or black beans in a classier place, and for some reason, the interminable scourge of rice.

    ON-TOPIC: I uh don’t know what the best cookware is for making rellenos.

    Actually, I have a cast iron pan with depressions for the peppers.  It’s actually a mold for chile shaped corn bread.  Never used it.

    • #144
  25. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    BDB (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):
    Chili is a meat-and-beany based spicy tomato stew that Texans eat. Chile is a kind of pepper

    I don’t think real Texans put beans in their chili.

    Real Texans who drove cattle sure did.

    “Blazing Saddles” isn’t history.

    It will be soon :-(

    Seriously, my father was a no-kidding horse cowboy when he was young. He worked for some fellows who had been Texans before escaping to New Mexico. Dad didn’t do actual cattle drives, but he worked with people who had. Still, his crew would ride the fences for days, and in general see to things.

    Perhaps modern city Texans who can’t saddle a horse turn their nose up at beans in chili, and to be honest I view beans as filler, like potatoes or rice, but of a higher caliber. But filler was valuable back in the day. Beat the crap outta being empty.

    And dry beans were less of a burden on the wagons, etc.

    • #145
  26. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Django (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):
    Chili is a meat-and-beany based spicy tomato stew that Texans eat. Chile is a kind of pepper

    I don’t think real Texans put beans in their chili.

    Real Texans who drove cattle sure did.

    That spicy beef and bean stew is good, but if you go by the bible, i.e. A Bowl of Red by Frank Tolbert, no beans, no tomatoes. In fact, he seemed suspicious of onions as well.

    Back in the day, when I worked out of town a lot, I made chili without beans once.  It was pretty good.  Can’t get my wife to attempt it, though.

    • #146
  27. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Now — does chili take cumin?  Or no cumin.

    • #147
  28. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Now — does chili take cumin? Or no cumin.

    I suppose not, if you just want boring stuff.

    • #148
  29. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Now — does chili take cumin? Or no cumin.

    I think that without cumin it’s just stew.

    • #149
  30. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Now — does chili take cumin? Or no cumin.

    According to Tolbert, yes. This is a variation, but every recipe of his that I’ve seen uses cumin. One listed Lone Star beer in place of water. 

     

    • #150
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