Earlier today, I posted my review of the 3-quart covered saute pan with helper handle that I had a chance to use for the last few months. That pan is normally $80 (on sale) to $100 (regular price) by itself. This ten piece set is normally $300 and can be a great value if you need more than one additional pot or pan (for someone just starting out or someone who needs to replace more than one piece of cookware).
This set comes with six pots as well as four lids:- 3-quart saute pan with lid
- 1.25-quart saucepan with lid
- 2.5-quart saucepan with lid
- 6.5-quart stockpot with lid
- 8-inch french skillet
- 10.5-inch french skillet
This time I'm running the giveaway for two weeks (ending on December 24, 2012) and would appreciate any help in spreading the word!
I'll run the giveaway similarly to the Thermapen giveaway from last week but change the comment from "your favorite article on CFE" to "what's your favorite pot and why?". Here are the rules for this contest:- You need to be in the United States to qualify for this giveaway. (Sorry, world! Feel free to participate in the comments if you wish, but leave a note that you aren't entering if you can't or don't want to win.)
- Join Cooking For Engineers (through the forums) and post a comment to this article with what your favorite pot or pan is and why (what do you like about it or what do you like to cook with it). I need you to join so, if you win, I'll have an email address to contact you with to get your mailing info so Anolon / Meyer Corporation can send you the cookware. I won't have contact information for guest/anonymous posts so I can't include your entry unless you are logged in. (If you are an existing member, be sure to double check your email address on file to make sure it's accurate.)
- On December 24, 2012, I'll post a comment signifying the end of the contest. All entries (where I have contact info) above my comment will be eligible to win. (I don't know what time I'll be making the post, so it's best just to enter early.)
- I'll number the participants and generate a random number which will determine the winner and post the winner as well as contact them via email. If there is no response within 72 hours of my email, then I'll probably pick another number and winner (and so on).
- It takes a couple weeks for Anolon / Meyer to ship the cookware, so the winner should receive it sometime in January 2013.
Related Articles
My old cast iron skillet isn't elegant and it isn't fancy. But it has the history of prior generations dating back to the 1940's and my grandmother coming home from the mill to put it to use to feed her family. And now I use it to feed my family.
It's a great piece of cookware, and if I could have only a single piece of cookware in my kitchen, this would be it.
So that's my favorite. And that's why.
Thanks for the giveaway!
http://cookware.lecreuset.com/cookware/product_3-3%2F4-qt.-Deep-Covered-Skillet_10151_-1_20002_55062_10061
Out of this Anolon set, I'd probably like the large french skillet the best as it would allow me to move from sauteing large quantities of food in my stock pot to a more appropriate pan!
My vintage Calphalon cookware has flat handles, easily lifted with a cook spoon, that remain parallel to a countertop when placed upside-down.
Granted, the rounded handles look nicer, but for me function trumps form.
Also, I bought an after-market glass lid for my big sauté pan after using, and liking, the glass lid on my big cooking pot. I'm a big fan of glass lids now.
I love my cast iron pan. It's super well seasoned and I use it for almost everything. I tend to the savory so I don't use it to make sweets like toffee, it's not the best for making gravy (i've tried...) and lingering smell-imparting things like fish. I'd love a chance to play around with some new hardware!
If it doesn't count, then I gotta go with the stock pot. Home made vegetable stock makes everything I cook taste so much better.
Since I generally cook for two, I find that a single skillet may lead to infinite possibilities
However, I have two complaints:
1. being 5-ply (SS/alum/copper/alum/SS) construction throughout, they efficiently pull heat up the sides, which means I often find liquids like sauces cooking dry against the sides as they reduce.
2. they end in a straight edge instead of a lip. This is a big problem when you want to pour anything out of the pots, liquids always run down the side of the pot. I never knew how important lips were on the edges of pots + containers until I ended up without them!
Despite their expensive price tag I can't say I consider any of them my favourite! My favourite would likely be a 3-way tie:
1. Carbon Steel crepe pan, for crepes of course
2. Cast-Iron pan, as a workhorse. It never even sees the inside of a drawer, it's constantly in use.
3. Thin northern-style cast-iron wok, stir fries and various chinese dishes. It was a real eye-opener to discover how delicate cast iron can be!
All three helped teach me how important proper pre-heating is to the non-stick properties of the metal.
An addendum, I have two favourite tools to work with these. In the case of the pans, I have a spatula that I will be devastated if I ever break, it's an older style of Calphalon spatula which is both strong and flexible, and very thin so it fits under foods as it flexes unlike most spatulas I run across. I keep trying to find a place to buy backups but calphalon has changed models and doesn't have any of the old ones left.
The other tool, for the wok, would be a cheap pig-iron rounded spatula. It's a rough little tool but somehow I love it
That sounds interesting -- 'cept I imagine you need gas which I don't have. Sounds like a thinner version of the Indian 'karai'?
LOL, I've got a spatula like that and I'll be devastated if it ever breaks too!
My favorite bit of cookware, excluding my chef's knife, is an 8" stainless steel Farberware skillet. The old kind, with the heavy aluminium base. I scrub it after every use with an abrasive powder so it's as smooth as glass.
Not only do my cast iron skillets and chicken fryer fill many purposes, they have been doing so for decades (one, I believe, for over a century), and are better than new.
Sure, there are a few things that cast iron is not good for (tomato and other acidic sauces, and soups). For those things, I'd think that a nice stainless steel set, with some thick bottoms and little copper would just do the trick. My own non-cast iron choice is Farberware, from back when I got married 30 years ago (Newer stuff doesn't look quite as sturdy).
I'd like to win the lovely stainless for my daughter -- I already found her a cast iron skillet.
He was right.
The rondeau is the one because it's so versatile--on the stove or in the oven, for sauteeing, frying, simmering, braising, stewing, boiling, or pretty much anything a Dutch oven, casserole, large frying pan, or stock pot can do. Plus, with its size, cooking in batches is rarely required.
But mostly it makes me happy to cook with it.
greetings from germany
Again, although heavy, we have a Lodge Griddle. You can use one side to cook pancakes, the other for bacon or grilling sandwitches. The food seems to cook just right.
However, for my fav. I have a larger 13" lodge cast iron skillet that is pretty much indestructible. Totally non-stick now and handles everything.
I use it for everything from pork tenderloin to veggie sautes, works pretty well as a one quiver pot in almost any situation.
Pots rule!
I think my current favorite is a blue 8 or 9" Le Creuset skillet I picked up at a thrift store for three dollars.
It's perfect for any single serving one pot meal; reheating left-overs; grilled cheese; over medium eggs, omelets... okay, so maybe one might need a little skill too, cast iron and omelets being what they are.
I have mad skills.
and no, i am not a pot head pot head.
My second favorite pot is Bona Vita stove top kettle. I'm a bit of a coffee snob.
my favorite all-purpose pans, but I'd love to have a new set to test out
to find a new favorite !
All entries above this comment will be counted as submissions. Only the first entry for people who commented multiple times will be counted. I'll post the winner shortly.
I pulled all 117 comments, removed mine, duplicates, and those where I did not have email addresses (the few guest posts where the user provided identifying information were included but the couple guest/anonymous posts without any information were excluded). The final tally was 112 entrants. I used random.org to generate a random number and it gave me 109 which equated to fisherman83 (who was the 109th qualifying post [and the 112th comment overall]).