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. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Django (View Comment):

    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.

    All Ancho are dried.  An Ancho is a dried Poblano :-)

    At any rate — sounds DELICIOUS.

    • #151
  2. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Now — does chili take cumin? Or no cumin.

    I think that without cumin it’s just stew.

    I put in a whole lot of cumin, since that’s what makes it taste like chili.  But some others don’t.  That’s why I was asking.

    • #152
  3. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Now — does chili take cumin? Or no cumin.

    I think that without cumin it’s just stew.

    I put in a whole lot of cumin, since that’s what makes it taste like chili. But some others don’t. That’s why I was asking.

    Supposedly it’s the chili powder that makes it taste like chili.  Cumin gives it spice/heat.

    • #153
  4. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    BDB (View Comment):

    Django (View Comment):

    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.

    All Ancho are dried. An Ancho is a dried Poblano :-)

    At any rate — sounds DELICIOUS.

    Search string at duckduckgo.com “Tolbert chili a bowl of red” will yield lots of results. 

    Frank X. Tolbert’s Original Bowl of Red Recipe – Red.Food.com

    • #154
  5. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Django (View Comment):

    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.

     

    I’ll note that list includes neither beer nor water.

    • #155
  6. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Django (View Comment):

    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.

     

    I’ll note that list includes neither beer nor water.

    I posted a link to the full recipe below. This was just to answer the question about cumin. 

    • #156
  7. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Now — does chili take cumin? Or no cumin.

    I think that without cumin it’s just stew.

    I put in a whole lot of cumin, since that’s what makes it taste like chili. But some others don’t. That’s why I was asking.

    Supposedly it’s the chili powder that makes it taste like chili. Cumin gives it spice/heat.

    Cumin is the part of chili powder that makes it taste like chili.

    • #157
  8. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Now — does chili take cumin? Or no cumin.

    I think that without cumin it’s just stew.

    I put in a whole lot of cumin, since that’s what makes it taste like chili. But some others don’t. That’s why I was asking.

    Supposedly it’s the chili powder that makes it taste like chili. Cumin gives it spice/heat.

    Cumin is the part of chili powder that makes it taste like chili.

    See, I don’t think I’ve used chili powder ever.  I use ground spices, chilies, various peppers, herbs and vegetables, including cumin, but I’ve never used Chili powder.  Without cumin it just tastes like stewed ground beef.

    • #158
  9. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Now — does chili take cumin? Or no cumin.

    I think that without cumin it’s just stew.

    I put in a whole lot of cumin, since that’s what makes it taste like chili. But some others don’t. That’s why I was asking.

    Supposedly it’s the chili powder that makes it taste like chili. Cumin gives it spice/heat.

    Cumin is the part of chili powder that makes it taste like chili.

    They should call it good old fashioned Texas Cumin.

    Food based on chile tastes like chile.

    • #159
  10. EHerring Coolidge
    EHerring
    @EHerring

    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.

    Inappropriate, if you are eating BBQ. Then she should put the whole roll on the table for you to use as needed.

    • #160
  11. Hans Gruber Pfizer President Inactive
    Hans Gruber Pfizer President
    @Pseudodionysius

    Sock It To Me rhymes with Nakatomi.

    • #161
  12. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Hans Gruber Pfizer President (View Comment):

    Sock It To Me rhymes with Nakatomi.

    Nice name.  What does this have to do with the topic of this post: specifically how many paper towels you should be given per BBQ rib?  I say, one quarter towel for general population, one-half for men with thick fingers, and 1 whole for the bearded.  :)

    • #162
  13. Hans Gruber Pfizer President Inactive
    Hans Gruber Pfizer President
    @Pseudodionysius

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Hans Gruber Pfizer President (View Comment):

    Sock It To Me rhymes with Nakatomi.

    Nice name. What does this have to do with the topic: specifically how many paper towels you should be given per BBQ rib? I say, one quarter towel for general population, one-half for men with thick fingers, and 1 whole for the bearded. :)

    The answer is 47 square feet.

    • #163
  14. Jon Gabriel, Ed. Contributor
    Jon Gabriel, Ed.
    @jon

    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!

    If you ever get the chance, go to the Hatch Chile Festival in Hatch, NM, over Labor Day weekend. Some of the best food I’ve had in my life. For lunch, we found the concession that had a long line of locals. They only had one thing on the menu: Chile Relleno Burritos. I don’t have words to describe how great they were.

    Later, they had a chile-eating contest. A girl, 19 or so, won the female division. The next event was the Miss Hatch Chile pageant, so she quickly changed outfits and was the runner-up for that. I leaned over to my wife and said, “I’m gonna marry that woman.”

    (My wife rolls her eyes a lot.)

    • #164
  15. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Hans Gruber Pfizer President (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Hans Gruber Pfizer President (View Comment):

    Sock It To Me rhymes with Nakatomi.

    Nice name. What does this have to do with the topic: specifically how many paper towels you should be given per BBQ rib? I say, one quarter towel for general population, one-half for men with thick fingers, and 1 whole for the bearded. :)

    The answer is 47 square feet.

    Per rib?  That sounds outrageous.  One, maybe two, but no more.  Think of the baby trees.

    • #165
  16. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    EHerring (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.

    Inappropriate, if you are eating BBQ. Then she should put the whole roll on the table for you to use as needed.

    BBQ IS different.

    • #166
  17. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    EHerring (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.

    Inappropriate, if you are eating BBQ. Then she should put the whole roll on the table for you to use as needed.

    BBQ IS different.

    Yeah, from what I understand grilling, even with a sauce, is different from BBQ, which is slow cooked over low heat for several hours.

    • #167
  18. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Flicker (View Comment):
    Yeah, from what I understand grilling, even with a sauce, is different from BBQ, which is slow cooked over low heat for several hours.

    Lol.  I don’t know anything about that.  We always buy ours.

    • #168
  19. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    Yeah, from what I understand grilling, even with a sauce, is different from BBQ, which is slow cooked over low heat for several hours.

    Lol. I don’t know anything about that. We always buy ours.

    Though the wife is about to buy a pellet smoker.  I figure I’m about to learn a lot more about barbecue.

    • #169
  20. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    Yeah, from what I understand grilling, even with a sauce, is different from BBQ, which is slow cooked over low heat for several hours.

    Lol. I don’t know anything about that. We always buy ours.

    Though the wife is about to buy a pellet smoker. I figure I’m about to learn a lot more about barbecue.

    Pellet fuel could be hard to come by if there’s a crash.

    • #170
  21. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    Yeah, from what I understand grilling, even with a sauce, is different from BBQ, which is slow cooked over low heat for several hours.

    Lol. I don’t know anything about that. We always buy ours.

    Though the wife is about to buy a pellet smoker. I figure I’m about to learn a lot more about barbecue.

    Pellet fuel could be hard to come by if there’s a crash.

    We’ve got a fireplace and a lot of trees.

    • #171
  22. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    Yeah, from what I understand grilling, even with a sauce, is different from BBQ, which is slow cooked over low heat for several hours.

    Lol. I don’t know anything about that. We always buy ours.

    Though the wife is about to buy a pellet smoker. I figure I’m about to learn a lot more about barbecue.

    Pellet fuel could be hard to come by if there’s a crash.

    We’ve got a fireplace and a lot of trees.

    Sure but that doesn’t help the pellet smoker.

    • #172
  23. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):
    Yeah, from what I understand grilling, even with a sauce, is different from BBQ, which is slow cooked over low heat for several hours.

    Lol. I don’t know anything about that. We always buy ours.

    Though the wife is about to buy a pellet smoker. I figure I’m about to learn a lot more about barbecue.

    Pellet fuel could be hard to come by if there’s a crash.

    We’ve got a fireplace and a lot of trees.

    Sure but that doesn’t help the pellet smoker.

    True.  But buying a pellet smoker isn’t going to break the bank.

    • #173
  24. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Jon Gabriel, Ed. (View Comment):
    If you ever get the chance, go to the Hatch Chile Festival in Hatch, NM, over Labor Day weekend. Some of the best food I’ve had in my life. For lunch, we found the concession that had a long line of locals. They only had one thing on the menu: Chile Relleno Burritos. I don’t have words to describe how great they were.

    A friend of mine hired me on for a couple of jobs installing satellite dishes etc for public buildings.  We went to hatch and hooked up a school.  I was already a convert, but the Blake’s Lotaburger there said they had the freshest green chile on the planet, and they were right.  It was very nearly life-changing — seriously, I was looking at jobs and housing down there for a while.

    The town of Hatch sits along I-25 in the Hatch valley, and produces the famed green chiles of the ubiquitous name.  It was a nice small town, between Truth or Consequences to the north and Las Cruces to the south.  Heaven knows what’s going on there these days, but even if the place goes to Hell, there’s hope: Hatch Green Chiles Harvested aboard International Space Station.

    • #174
  25. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    BDB (View Comment):

    Jon Gabriel, Ed. (View Comment):
    If you ever get the chance, go to the Hatch Chile Festival in Hatch, NM, over Labor Day weekend. Some of the best food I’ve had in my life. For lunch, we found the concession that had a long line of locals. They only had one thing on the menu: Chile Relleno Burritos. I don’t have words to describe how great they were.

    A friend of mine hired me on for a couple of jobs installing satellite dishes etc for public buildings. We went to hatch and hooked up a school. I was already a convert, but the Blake’s Lotaburger there said they had the freshest green chile on the planet, and they were right. It was very nearly life-changing — seriously, I was looking at jobs and housing down there for a while.

    The town of Hatch sits along I-25 in the Hatch valley, and produces the famed green chiles of the ubiquitous name. It was a nice small town, between Truth or Consequences to the north and Las Cruces to the south. Heaven knows what’s going on there these days, but even if the place goes to Hell, there’s hope: Hatch Green Chiles Harvested aboard International Space Station.

    It this anywhere near Humble?

    • #175
  26. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Flicker (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):

    Jon Gabriel, Ed. (View Comment):
    If you ever get the chance, go to the Hatch Chile Festival in Hatch, NM, over Labor Day weekend. Some of the best food I’ve had in my life. For lunch, we found the concession that had a long line of locals. They only had one thing on the menu: Chile Relleno Burritos. I don’t have words to describe how great they were.

    A friend of mine hired me on for a couple of jobs installing satellite dishes etc for public buildings. We went to hatch and hooked up a school. I was already a convert, but the Blake’s Lotaburger there said they had the freshest green chile on the planet, and they were right. It was very nearly life-changing — seriously, I was looking at jobs and housing down there for a while.

    The town of Hatch sits along I-25 in the Hatch valley, and produces the famed green chiles of the ubiquitous name. It was a nice small town, between Truth or Consequences to the north and Las Cruces to the south. Heaven knows what’s going on there these days, but even if the place goes to Hell, there’s hope: Hatch Green Chiles Harvested aboard International Space Station.

    It this anywhere near Humble?

    Not really.  From Humble go directly west until you see I-25, the main north-south interstate highway.  Humble is at the eastern border of NM, and Hatch is west-central.  Interesting roads to get there though.

    Never even heard of Humble — had to look it up.  Why do you ask?  That’s onion country.

    • #176
  27. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    BDB (View Comment):
    Never even heard of Humble — had to look it up.  Why do you ask?  That’s onion country.

    • #177
  28. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Percival (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):
    Never even heard of Humble — had to look it up. Why do you ask? That’s onion country.

     

    And it’s not the only one:

     

    • #178
  29. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    BDB (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    BDB (View Comment):

    Jon Gabriel, Ed. (View Comment):
    If you ever get the chance, go to the Hatch Chile Festival in Hatch, NM, over Labor Day weekend. Some of the best food I’ve had in my life. For lunch, we found the concession that had a long line of locals. They only had one thing on the menu: Chile Relleno Burritos. I don’t have words to describe how great they were.

    A friend of mine hired me on for a couple of jobs installing satellite dishes etc for public buildings. We went to hatch and hooked up a school. I was already a convert, but the Blake’s Lotaburger there said they had the freshest green chile on the planet, and they were right. It was very nearly life-changing — seriously, I was looking at jobs and housing down there for a while.

    The town of Hatch sits along I-25 in the Hatch valley, and produces the famed green chiles of the ubiquitous name. It was a nice small town, between Truth or Consequences to the north and Las Cruces to the south. Heaven knows what’s going on there these days, but even if the place goes to Hell, there’s hope: Hatch Green Chiles Harvested aboard International Space Station.

    It this anywhere near Humble?

    Not really. From Humble go directly west until you see I-25, the main north-south interstate highway. Humble is at the eastern border of NM, and Hatch is west-central. Interesting roads to get there though.

    Never even heard of Humble — had to look it up. Why do you ask? That’s onion country.

    I just spaced out and thought you were talking about Texas.  I see that Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces are down south, but Humble, Texas is just north of Houston.

    I thought it might be halfway between Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces, philosophically. 

    • #179
  30. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    I think there’s also still the annual Vidalia Onion Festival in Brookings, Oregon, near where I grew up.

    • #180
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