Hi Friends! Happy Friday. Anyone have any good plans for the weekend? Summer's pretty much here which means a smoke out at our favorite Southern friend's house and the first concert in the park of the season.
The last couple of weeks I have really been focusing on getting those real life friendships back in shape after sadly neglecting a lot of them for numerous reasons. While I've been taking some time each day to still blog, I've been off of the computer a lot less since returning from Yosemite, and have really taken a break from Twitter. I did the math, and after being on Twitter for a little over a year now, I have racked up over 4000 tweets. If you calculate how long it takes to read a stream of tweets, and then type up 4000 140 character messages on a phone, it adds up to over 30 minutes of my time each day. Sad :( While I often tweet when I'm alone and having down time, it's still time that I could spend reading a book, saying a prayer or even just thinking. To be alone and lost in your own thoughts is an important and necessary thing sometimes isn't it? Anyhow, just something I'm working on for me and my sanity :)
Have you heard that registration closes for Blog Sugar next Tuesday? Yup, it sure does! Rachel and I are meeting this morning to walk through the venue and we're getting really excited. I'm looking forward to meeting many of you in September, so if you haven't bought your ticket, GO NOW!!
On a completely different topic, we are in need of new cookware badly. We have non stick that is 12 years old now and we literally can see some of the Teflon flecking off and floating in the pan. Not good. I want to go with something like All Clad but am so overwhelmed with all the choices. Do we go with the brand name and if so, where do we buy it? Who has the best prices? Or do we go with an off brand and save our money? Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated :)
Lastly, like I said I've been spending a lot of time with girlfriends lately and the other night we were joking about our husbands and the ups and downs that we go through in a marriage. It was all very nice I promise, no husband bashing. We are all pretty blessed to be married to some great guys. I told them that sometimes when I start to get angry with Art over the petty crap like his annoying habit of leaving drawers and cabinets open or coming home late from work, I try to remember this clip from Bridget Jones Diary, Edge of Reason. You can forward to the actual scene at 6:50 in the clip, or you can go ahead and watch it from the beginning and marvel at Mark Darcy ;)
It's the scene where she's in jail and complaining how Mark Darcy didn't stick up for her. Turns out she didn't have it so bad in comparison to the boyfriends that make their girls take drugs and work on the street. Obviously a very silly and trivial comparison, but it makes me chuckle anyhow and sometimes help me get out of my bitch funk. See, there are lessons to be learned everywhere, even from a cheesy chick flick! Have a great weekend everyone!
Hey, I bought some copper Calphalon a while back and yes I love them but they are very high maintenance and look like crap if you dont polish them. I like the look of All Clad, I would just be mindful of any Calphalon and it's sometimes ridiculous advise like dont put stuff in the pan if it's cold or it might stick, I mean WTH! I know they will last me a long time though. Look in the major dept stores, Crate and Barrel and online but again I couldn't really find any deals for Calphalon as they seem to be sold at a set price wherever you go,
ReplyDeleteGood Luck!
Oh and my husband is pretty cool...
Second the comment about copper; it's beautiful if you have the time to polish it. Also, a warning about anodized aluminum (like Calphalon) - you cannot put it in the dishwasher (it discolors). Of course, that doesn't matter if you are getting non-stick, since you shouldn't put that in the d/w anyways. I use All-Clad (stainless steel). I like it, but am not a huge fan of the handles. When shopping, put another pan or something inside the pan to simulate the weight of food to see if the handles are comfortable.
ReplyDeleteAs far as brand names, I would consider some of the less popular names like viking and cuisinart, but not sure about the no-names.
Oh, and I am a big fan of all-metal construction; I don't care how sturdy they claim their NASA-plastic handles are, they are still plastic bolted to metal.
We recently (1 year?) bought some new stainless cookware, and went with a Calphalon set that is no longer offered. I would suggest reading reviews on amazon, and be sure to consider the weight of the pans. Our set is heavy enough to feel like quality, without requiring 2 hands to lift it at all times.
ReplyDeletelove your varied thoughts today :) marriage is rough, indeed. and a sense of humor always helps. i think i've mastered my pots/pans by now. we have an entire set of Cuisinart stainless with copper core bases that I've liked and used for 13 yrs. But I also have two sizes of non-stick fry pans that I replace once every couple years at Home Goods since the Teflon gets yucky. These are crucial for certain things. And we have two sizes of cast iron which I've come to looove for certain things as well. So I'd say get a couple great stainless ones, and a couple inexpensive coated ones.
ReplyDeleteLeslie, good point about the inexpensive non-stick. I do not see the sense in spending huge $$ on high end pans if the coating might fail in 5 years.
ReplyDeleteFor inexpensive (yet tough) non-stick, you might want to go to Smart and Final and check out the commercial grade pans they have (I think they are Wearever, which is what I used to use in the restaurant)
I bought my cookware from Pampered Chef and love it!!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to Blog Sugar..but will enjoy every second of summer first: )
I have no advice about the pans. I always seem to go the wrong route on that one. Thanks for the husband humor. It saved me from my bitch fest over a forgotten request to unload the dishwasher. Yeah, I get annoyed with the small stuff. Working on that one. : ) Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteTj maxx, homegoods and marshals often have fabulous all clad stainless steel pans on the cheap. What you want to look for is a heavy bottom! Non-stick aka as Teflon is some dangerous stuff but like additives and dyes and HFCs it is one of the things that still is in the market despite the proven facts. It emits some pretty nasty stuff and the warning on them, in fine print, is that if you have birds do not use Teflon- the toxins given off and that leach into food also can kill birds because of their delicate structure. Pretty scary stuff. Now on the cheap- the Martha Stewart line seems pretty decent to me. Target carries an excellent line of Dutch ovens a la Le crueset. Those are a must in a well stocked kitchen! I can't remember the name right now. Avoid anything thin, aluminum. The oxo and ugh, can't remember the name but the cheaper brands are just a waste- considering you like to cook. Anyway, the home goods on seal beach blvd carries Le crueset and all clad and occasionally the copper ones although I am not a fan. Hth! Before my son I have been a cook in many restaurants so this is a topic I lurve!!!!
ReplyDeleteI bought a set of stainless steel All-Clad from Williams-Sonoma and recommend spending the money on good quality. It makes a difference and will last forever! I also love Le Crueset and you can get good deals at Marshalls/Home Goods. Oh and sometimes BB&B has sales on All-Clad
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the recommendations ladies and gentlemen! So here's my question about buying from Home Goods...do the manufacturer's warranties void out since usually these are discontinued or damaged goods?
ReplyDeleteAnd Leslie and someone else recommended an inexpensive non stick and I'm totally on board with that...I've taken a few cooking classes with the same chef and she has given that bit of advice many times. Very, very smart :) Oh and I do have a Le Creuset dutch oven and I LOVE it! Any other key Le Creuset pieces I should own?
I say All Clad hands down. I love mine and have had it since we got married 7 years ago. You can find some deals online, but mine were a gift so I got lucky. Another brand that is actually really good is Emerile's line of cookware. My MIL bought it and I've used it a few times and LOVE it! Great stuff.
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