High-Performance Cookware

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Over the past 10 or so years that I’ve been cooking, I’ve accumulated numerous pots and pans, in an “oh, I need a bigger sauté pan…oh this stock pot will do for now” sort of way. But I never went all out and purchased a full set of proper cookware, mostly because there’s too much to chose from and the decision-making process would be, for me, never ending. But luckily my husband decided to make the decision for me, and surprised me with my first grown-up set of matching cookware for Christmas. And considering he’s the good cook that taught me how to cook, his decision making was spot on!

I am so incredibly happy with my 10-piece set of Emerilware (made by All-Clad) which has a porcelain hard enamel exterior with a sleek black finish and wonderful ergonomic handles. The set includes 8- and 10-inch fry pans, 1- and 2-quart sauce pans, a 3-quart sauté pan and a 6-quart tall stockpot, plus lids for the sauce and sauté pans and the stockpot. The tempered-glass lids, by the way, are almost the best part, because they have two sets of straining holes, which eliminates the need for a precariously perched colander in the sink for draining pasta and the like. But the best feature of these excellent scratch-resistant, nonstick pots and pans are the pouring spouts on the sauce pans, which is awesome for, well, sauces! Not to mention having another option for draining veggies and the like! It’s one of those things where you think, “yeah, that’s alright…” until you need it, and then you think, “wow, that’s pretty handy!”
The nonstick surfaces are super easy to clean, almost effortless (completely effortless if you just stick them in the dishwasher, where they are indeed safe), and I love that everything is also oven safe…which means I officially no longer have an excuse for not making that beef bourguignon, as I’ve been promising to do! The set is well-priced and available all over the Web, and some open-stock pieces, like the 5-quart sauté pan and 3-quart sauce pan, as well as a griddle, are also available to round out the collection.