Official Member of the All-Clad Club

[livius drusus]

After 15 years or so of perfectly serviceable but problematic in various ways Calphalon non-stick, I am now the proud owner of a set of All-Clad D5 stainless steel cookware, plus a gift All-Clad lasagna pan, plus a $110 coupon that I can use to get anything I want at Williams-Sonoma between 12/26 and 2/2. What I want is another piece of All-Clad, of course. Maybe two, if I go for the splatter screen and a domed lid.

I haven't opened the box yet because I am waiting until Christmas, but bragging about it will tide me over. How jelly are you guys? Like on a scale of one to ten. If you had $110 to spend at WS, what would you pick?

[BrotherMan]

First.

Second. :santafrysees:

Firdly, a story. Maybe a year or two ago, my roommate came home with some stainless cookware. I was a little bothered at the time because I had dropped a pretty penny on the cookware we had been using, I don't remember the name of it - but it was some mid-nice nonstick stove top to oven cookwares. I was bugged because it can't go from top to oven (which is moot-ish because we've never done any kind of cooking that required it) and also OMG ARE YOU CRAZY WE'LL NEVER KEEP IT CLEAN.

Well, guess what!

show spoiler

And also, I'm shocked and amazed at how easy breezy beautiful this stuff is to clean. Fucking marketing had me fooled for the majority of my life how regular cookware was a fucking nightmare to keep proper and right! A LIE! FROM THE PITS OF TARTARSAUCERUS!

And also also, I'm p jealous because you got a nice set instead of some Wal-Marty boughten stuff. But it's only, like, a level five jeli. It definitely be higher if I didn't have any of mine own to cook with.

[livius drusus]

My parents say the same thing, that it's easy to clean using regular soap and water and Bar Keepers Friend to keep it in shiny perfection.

[Janet]

I'm not jelli, I'm afraid, because I prefer my Berndes Tradition. That said, since your set isn't non-stick, I'd spend that $110 on the matching omelette pan and still have a bit left over. You simply have to have non-stick for eggs and in my world an omelette pan is a must.

(If someone could explain to me why Firefox doesn't know how to spell omelette, I'd appreciate it.)

[livius drusus]

That is an excellent candidate. I was planning on keeping one of my old non-sticks for that very purpose, but the lure to have everything match is strong.

[SR71]

I'm mostly jelly cuz they named it D5, which reminds me of bulldozers, like ya know, yer in there in da kicken tearin' shit up, by brute force, ya know, gettin' the job done!

[BrotherMan]

Yeah, but, like, can a bulldozer go from stove top to oven? CAN IT? I DIDN'T THINK SO.

[SR71]

Originally Posted by BrotherMan

Yeah, but, like, can a bulldozer go from stove top to oven? CAN IT? I DIDN'T THINK SO.

I will INVENT one!

[Dingfod]

[Dingfod]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

After 15 years or so of perfectly serviceable but problematic in various ways Calphalon non-stick, I am now the proud owner of a set of All-Clad D5 stainless steel cookware, plus a gift All-Clad lasagna pan, plus a $110 coupon that I can use to get anything I want at Williams-Sonoma between 12/26 and 2/2. What I want is another piece of All-Clad, of course. Maybe two, if I go for the splatter screen and a domed lid.

I haven't opened the box yet because I am waiting until Christmas, but bragging about it will tide me over. How jelly are you guys? Like on a scale of one to ten. If you had $110 to spend at WS, what would you pick?

We have a 9-piece set of Lifetime™ SS "liquid core" cookware we purchased in 1977. Other than replacing a few handles that succumbed to years and years of heat and being abused in dishwashers, it has performed perfectly and are p. much good as new. Even though it is not non-stick, they do clean up p. easily. The 11" electric skillet we got as a bonus for buying right then is still functioning perfectly as well.

[livius drusus]

What are the handles made out of? Can they go in the oven?

[Dingfod]

I do not know, some kind of black plastoid substance. Bakelite?

[SharonDee]

Stainless steel, eh? Saladmaster, I have. My mom bought some back in the 70s and I bought some 10 years or so ago. Good stuff.

And here's a tip: You don't have to use those fancy-shmancy cleansers to shine 'em up. Just throw a little baking soda and vinegar to them after washing, rub with a paper towel and rinse. Beautiful!

[Crumb]

Liquid core...

[LadyShea]

I am jelly 7

I would buy new knives

[Dingfod]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

Can they go in the oven?

I missed that part. Yes, they can go in the oven, but we did not often do that. The heat exposure I mentioned was mainly what flowed out from under the cookware while cooking. But, I think the dishwasher was harder on the handles than that was. Dishwashers are horrible for pots and pans and knives.

[S.Vashti]

er. Not jelly, but glad you really like what you have. I've got Saladmaster. My complete set is about 55 years old and still going strong, so you should look forward to having your cookware outlast you.

Yes, my mom bought it from a door to door saleswoman, not too long after she got out of high school.

All I want someday is an induction cooktop to play with them on.

[Dingfod]

I still like cooking with gas.

[livius drusus]

Today I am using the saucepan for the first time to make something worthy of it. Two words: porcini bechamel.

[BrotherMan]

[Megatron]

Meh, honestly I may be Jelly 1 and that's only because I want the huge skillet. Actually, no I really don't, I just re-seasoned my cast iron and shit slides right off it again.

I dunno, you got some super cool pots and pans there but, in some weird way I actually prefer my hodgepodge of shit I've thrown together over the years. I'm just not very interested in having a big matching set.

[livius drusus]

Thass cool. Of course the point to me is not the matching aspect (although my anality appreciates it), but the quality of the material, a quality that more than proved itself in the making of the bechamel and the lasagna in which it starred. The bechamel thickened soooo much faster and, unlike with my former pans, it thickened evenly. Before I always had to move it around the burner or the middle would thicken while the edges were still liquid.

Incidentally, I have my grandfather's cast iron set from the 20s and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but they're limited. There are no pots, for one thing, just skillets, and they are wrist-breakingly heavy.

Result report: Best lasagna I've ever made. Bar none.

[BrotherMan]

The only problem I have now is when I use the big front burner. See, it's not level so any liquid portion of what I'm cooking is canted back and to the left. Back. And to the left.

[livius drusus]

Yay JFK! I thought I was the only one who said "back. and to the left." at all possible opportunities.

[Kyuss Apollo]

Bort, if you reverse the polarity of the neutron flow you can cant it front, and to the right. Flattens that omelette right out.