Loving my new cookware! I’m very excited to have stainless steel–it’s so much prettier than non-stick, (not only is the stainless steel nice and shiny, but I also love the copper band) plus I don’t have to worry about poisoning my family with teflon flaking off! I also like the glass lids, which seem to be hard to find in a stainless set. The weight on the pans is also really nice. It took some getting used to because they’re so much heavier than I had before, but they feel sturdier. I still haven’t made anything too terribly interesting with it, but knowing the options I have for cooking things–I’ve never had cookware that could go under the broiler before!–opens up a whole bunch of recipes for me.

I know it seems kind of corny to go with the Emerilware. If I had the money, I might have gone for the good All Clad stuff. The Emerilware, however, does have the All Clad name on it (yes, I know, the Emerilware is made in China, where the real All Clad is made in the US), and actually got really good reviews, some even better than the All Clad. And, given that I’m cheap by nature, even if I had the money, I might not have spent it on the All Clad anyway, so I’m glad that there was a reasonable substitute to satisfy both my frugal nature, and my desire for a good brand!

From what I’ve experienced so far, they cook really well; much more evenly than my old non-stick Farberware. The bottoms of the pans are also nice and flat, as opposed to the warped bottoms on the old stuff, which made cooking some things a bit of a challenge. Clean up is tons easier than I expected–I had a fear of stainless steel based on my mom’s old set, as it was impossible to get clean. Now, I haven’t tried to scramble eggs in my pans, and I guess I haven’t made anything super sticky, but so far, they’ve cleaned with very little effort. I don’t even mind that I’m trying to keep them out of the dishwasher (even though they’re technically dishwasher safe).

I’m no gourmet chef, but these pots and pans are really working out for me, and the price was excellent. I love that Linens and Things and Bed Bath and Beyond take each others’ coupons, making it easier for me to purchase the individual pieces that I needed, without having to buy a whole set of stuff I’d never use. Right now, I have a one quart saucier, a three quart saucepan, a three quart saute pan, and an eight quart stockpot. In the future, I may want to get a chef’s pan and/or a frying pan, but for now, I have all I need for the type of cooking I like to do.