Ultimate Cookware?

Q: I used to wonder what kind of pots Pierre Franey used on his TV show. They looked to me to be anodized aluminum (like the Calphalon stuff I lusted for), with nice looong handles... and they appeared to be lined with stainless steel! It seemed that this was an excellent idea, since I'd heard some bad things about cooking on anodized aluminum (sometimes messy to clean up), but I'd never heard of such a thing. On a recent trip to Williams-Sonoma I discovered that these are All Clad pots and, not only are they well-made, they are very expensive. So, I'll call the manufacturer and see if they sell direct or through any discount channels. It turns out that All Clad pots and pans are made right here in Pittsburgh (talk about a small world)! They don't sell direct, but they do have a factory scratch-and-dent sale every December. Hmmm, what a nice Christmas present for myself, I think. So I scoot over to the factory and they have maybe a bazillion pots and pans all over their small warehouse, most without obvious flaws, and all marked between 35% and 60% off list price. I picked up a 6" and an 8" sauce pan, both with lids, and an 8" soup pot at about 40% off list. All of their stuff has the stainless interior. The LTD series have the anodized exterior, and these are the pots I prefered. They also have a Master Chef series, with a brushed aluminum exterior for less money and a Copper Chef series, with a copper exterior for more money. The pots are a dream to cook with. They heat evenly, clean up easily and look nice hanging in the kitchen (couldn't bear to stack them or hide them in a closet). The long, double riveted metal handles do stay cool out at the ends, so you don't need a potholder to pick them up. You DO, however, need to use something to lift the lids when cooking, since they get VERY HOT. One thing I don't like is that the anodizing looks pretty "thin," almost like a coat of paint, not the thick finish Calphalon seems to have. The finish doesn't appear to be prone to scratching, though, so I can't complain about what works. I do like the stainless interior -- almost like a mirror finish. These pots are the closest to "perfect" cookware I have found. I certainly don't think they are perfect for ALL kinds of cooking -- I still have my cast iron and non-stick pans -- but they are excellent for soups and sauces. Next year, I think I'll get the smaller saucepan and maybe a saute pan. For anyone looking for All Clad cookware, I have seen mail order catalogs with prices 20-25% off list (and sometimes better pricing on "overstocked" items). Best deal is the factory sale, though, if you can get here.

A: I have been trying to decide which cookware to start collecting (would like to get away from the yard sale style) and have not been able to do so. We even have gone so far as to but a piece of this or that to see what we think (don't care for visions or calphanon). During Christmas break we stoped by a Reverware outlet, as I have always leaned to the copper clad series, and saw their "proline" of killer looking stainless steel. The stuff is heavy duty (18/8) with aluminum/copper/stainless disk in the bottom and outrageously expensive (12" deep sided frypan runs ovber $100.00, (cheaper at the outlet..we snagged the "floor model" for $35.00). Anyhow.... I am in love with it...even baked chicken and rice with it! Though it will take years to get a set, I think this is what I want to collect. Has anyone seen it? Any warnings? If not, I will go and polish it again and go get a saucepan. I was at my sister's house this weekend and had some delicious lemon bars. She made them from a mix but has a scratch recipe for them, which she cannot find. Anyway, they are rather flat, with a sort of soft pie crust bottom layer, cakey middle layer, and sticky top layer. I have some lemons in my fridge which I would love to use to make these. I can also make my famous lemon muffins (I'll post the recipe as soon as I dig it out - they are wonderful), but I'd rather try my hand at these lemon bars. Any help is appreciated.

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