Weddingbee boards

I registered for the Calphalon. I love the All-Clad, but they are just SOO expensive!

Personally I love the All-Clad, we were lucky enough to get an amazing set of everything we need as a housewarming present from my FI's parents.

If you feel that they're too expensive you could look into the Chalpalon, I also have some Henkels pots and pans and they have lasted me quite a while and are of good quality!

Okay, I cook a lot. I make fresh pasta about once a week with my Kitchenaid mixer. Here's what I think:

Le Creuset: dutch oven - get a large one. Their enamel cast iron dutch ovens are the best in terms of heat conductivity and durability (Embarrassing: we once left one on the stove for 11 hours, could have burned the house down, but the pot withstood it! The food was a 3 inch solid black carbon mess on the bottom, but it didn't ruin the pot at all!) Get a large one, use it for making stock, braising in the oven and stove top. I personally prefer the 7 3/4 qt oval shape. Oval fits better on your stovetop. Le Creuset also makes other pots but their real claim to fame is enameled cast iron. Stick with the dutch ovens and don't skimp on size, you'll regret it.

 All-Clad: for your other pot and pan needs. Get an 8 inch skillet for eggs - nonstick if you must. A 10 or 12 inch is useful for most other cooking (decide if you want sloping sides or straight sides. Sloping will evaporate liquid faster while straight sides will steam food more. Thus, sloping is better for browning meat). My recommendation is to register for a 14 inch skillet with a lid. When cooking batches of spinach or kale, browning a good amount of meat, 14 inches is invaluable. The extra two inches makes a *huge* difference. Also, the All-Clad pots can be used in the oven too and are thus good for stove-to-oven braising recipes. Only and only get skillets with lids or you will regret it when making a dish that needs to be covered for part of the recipe. As for which type - the copper cores are great, but expensive, it's true. Next best: the MC2 line which has a nice and thick multi-layer core. Avoid anything flimsy with only one layer. The cheap All-Clad line is okay, but really, upgrade to MC2 if you're looking to save costs. The durability is marvelous.

 All Clad pots: get a 2 quart for basic sauce needs: bechamel, ganache. Then get a 4 qt for making pasta, double batches of sauce, pasta sauces, etc. You can make a roux in the 4 qt, but it doesn't work as well because the evaporation is screwed up because of the very tall sides in relation to the diameter.  

 Don't forget to register for a *large* roasting pan - large but that fits in your oven. Anodized steel is a good option because it's naturally non-stick without the flakey teflon that causes cancer. I suggest registering for one that comes with a rack so you can roast meat on top of that with vegetables on the bottom and have a one dish meal. 

Bakeware: Pyrex is good for lasagna dishes, brownie dishes, etc.

You'll want two or three 9-10inch cake pans depending on how many layers you put in your cake.

Ramekins are great for vegetable casseroles, tians, timbales, etc. I use mine frequently, but it depends on what you like to cook.

Jelly roll pans: no need for fancy "air bubble" cookie sheets. Also known as "half-sheet" pans, get some that are heavy (so they don't buckle in oven heat) and have a lip around the side which will prevent juices from spilling. You can also make jelly rolls in them :-) (a flat pastry bread thing you then roll with filling inside.) I also use my jelly roll pans to make soufflé roulades. 

A large set of lightweight mixing bowls. I used to have heavy ceramic ones and they were a real pain to take out of the cabinet all the time. I have a set of seven aluminum ones now and they make cooking much faster and easier.  

Small tools that make life so much easier: a lemon squeezer:http://www.amazon.com/Amco-Enameled-Aluminum-Lemon-Squeezer/dp/B0002V23BG

a serrated vegetable peeler: no more slipping off the side of your carrot or potato. (Shh - I've even used mine on a tomato)

a *heavy* granite rolling pin: yes, it's $25 as opposed to $10, but you won't exhaust yourself pushing and pushing away at dough. Granite stays naturally cool, which is great for pie dough.

Wooden spoons of different shapes. Some round edges, some with square edges, some spatula shaped with slots. 

And everyone, don't neglect the knives! Go to a store and find one that's a good weight for your hand. A chef's knife, bread knife, vegetable knife, and parer should be more than sufficient if you keep them sharp.

I hope this is helpful! 

Cooking is a big part of my life, so I decided to stick with the All-Clad.  I also registered for individual pieces instead of the whole set...though even some individual pieces are pretty spendy.  So far we've gotten two of the skillets.  I figure, though, that we can use our completion discount to buy the rest if no one gets them.  We've got okay pots now, but I just didn't think it made sense to get something that isn't exactly what I'd want b/c it's cheaper. 

I will say, though, that cookware is important enough to me that I know I'll buy what I want over time.  If people don't buy what's on our registry, I'm okay with it.  They have plenty of cheaper options (I also registered for china piecemeal b/c I know I'm never going to use the tea cups...individual plates are not too expensive then).  

CinemaParadiso - you'll love cooking with All-Clad, promise! I'm a total kitchen store junkie. My FI laughs at me all the time because I am always lusting after the next little impractical tart dish to make individual desserts at a dinner party.

 I also forgot to mention - get some silpat/roulpat mats as well. They are so great for kneading bread and rolling out doughs without having them stick to your counter and become a big flour water paste mess. Also, you if you buy them in the half sheet size, you can just stick them onto your half sheet pans and back cookies on top of them. No buttering, no wax paper lining, no parchment paper. So easy! 

I also forgot to mention a food mill. They're rather old fashioned, but they purée food perfectly while removing seeds/fibers, etc. I use mine for asparagus soup, mashed potatoes, gnocchi, tomato soup, and a host of other things. I once bought a cheap one for $30 off ebay and it broke in a year, so I bit the bullet and paid $80 for a sturdy one from Sur la Table and it hasn't failed me. Food processors are great, but they won't remove tomato seeds or stringy fibers from your purée and they wont' give you as even a purée if you're making a smooth soup or sauce.  

Sheesh, get me talking about cooking and look where it leads... I just can't shut up!