topaz

I'm assuming now this was a serious question, so: no. The boxes either vanished from our truck while our friends were packing it in our rural driveway, from a locked storage unit packed full of other more valuable items, or from Tim's parents' basement (also off an isolated rural driveway) while we were all living there. Not bloody likely :)

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jayfurr.livejournal.com

Reason I ask: you seem to have concluded they're gone, and I'm a bit mystified as to where you think they might have gotten to. Just idle curiosity.

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maebeth.livejournal.com

I'm confident they are with OUR silverware, toaster, and underwear, all which are still, after a month, missing from OUR move.

I haven't decided which is worse, using a toaster that was packed in underwear, or wearing underwear packed with the toaster, but it'll be good to find, and give the pans to qwrty and keyne when we find them, and use the silverware to eat the meal we'll toast together.

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qwrrty.livejournal.com

We think that the moving gods were not sufficiently impressed with our sacrifice and decided to take what they considered rightfully theirs.

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ayse.livejournal.com

Just cooktop cookware? With the caveat that $250 would not get you All-Clad, I would replicate what is in this set (http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/sku6461925/index.cfm?pkey=ccookware-sets&ckey=cookware-sets).

- a large (10-12") frying pan, preferably not non-stick (so you can brown things)
- a medium (3-4 qt) saucepan, for making smaller batches of pasta sauce and soup; we have one this size that has an insert you can lift out after the pasta is boiled, instant collander (I save pasta water for the garden).
- a larger stock pot (>= 6 qt) for cooking potatoes for mashed potatoes, for cooking large batches of pasta, and for making stock
- a nice wide saucepan (3-4 qt) for making jam, jelly, and for mysterious soup things that need more width (I'm not a soup maker). We use ours all the time, though if I were going to bare minimum I would consider not getting this size.

Pots that can go in the oven as well as on the stove are preferable.

I also require a small saucepan (1/2 qt) for melting butter and scalding milk, and a wok (we have two sizes, but a larger one works just fine as a single wok). Depends on what you cook.

If we were talking baking as well, I'd add a 9x9 and a 9x13 roasting pan (roasts, gratins, casseroles, and brownies), both preferably of glass, a pair of 9" aluminum cake pans with straight sides, a glass pie plate, two flat cookie sheets (any material; use parchment or silicone liners), and a muffin pan (any material, use paper liners). As a minimum.

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Fortunately, most or all of the bakeware survived! (And the wok, though it's mediocre and we may want to replace it soonish anyway.)

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ayse.livejournal.com

Yay for surviving bakeware! I know this is opposite most people, but I have thousands and thousands of dollars of bakeware, much of it no longer easily replaceable. I could easily cope with losing all our cooktop cookware -- just go out and buy new stuff -- but losing my baking pans and so forth would be tragedy.

Frankly, I don't know how you're coping with not having all your kitchen stuff. Maybe it's the long time between having your own kitchen before and now that has mellowed you, but my inability to handle chaos in the kitchen means that I carefully pack and label the kitchen boxes and unpack those first of all.

By the by, I don't know how well most sets of cookware stack, unless you've specifically chosen a set to stack, in which case you're trading off other desirable features for that one. I do know that if you're able to hang cookware, getting stuff where the lids have loop-style handles that can thread through the handle of the pot makes it easier to store lids, and hanging the pots frees up a lot of cupboard space.

(I didn't read your post on your own LJ for obvious reasons.)

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opadit.livejournal.com

Wow, what a pain in the ass. When stuff gets lost in a move it's never the stuff you don't need.

May I gently suggest that a cookware set is not really the best way to go? You'll inevitably end up getting pieces you don't use that much, and their corresponding lids, and they'll take up space -- having cost money that you could have used getting a smaller number of better pieces.

I'll offer guidelines, first, based on what I had to do when Tom and I split and I had to re-build my kitchen almost from nothin'. (1) Get multi-taskers. (2) Anybody have a birthday coming up? Don't get stuff you use very infrequently now; ask for that for your birthday. Example: I got my All-Clad stockpot (for my home-canned goods) that way. (3) Scour thrift shops and yard sales. (4) Think about what you make all the time and get the best you can afford in the small number of pans you need.

My household is smaller than yours, but I get by with 2 saucepots with lids, 3 cast-iron skillets (2 small, 1 large), a cast-iron griddle, the stockpot and its lid, and a cast-iron Dutch oven. Oh, and a crêpe pan, the exception to my must-be-a-multitasker rule. The saucepots are flimsy K-Mart type pans, and in my dream kitchen I'd replace them with something swankier that comes in a box with a picture of a celebrity chef on it, but they've survived almost daily use for about 15 years.

In short, if I had an empty kitchen and $250, I would do the following: I'd buy gnarly second-hand cast-iron, which is really cheap if it's been misused and can easily be brought back. Then I'd look for upscale cookware the same way (suburban yard sales can be good for that, though if I'd been successful in finding my jam-making stockpot second-hand I wouldn't have had to ask for it as a birthday present). Then I'd use the surplus to get a good French-made steel crêpe pan and whatever else I really couldn't find used.

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We have a cast-iron skillet and Dutch oven already (they weren't in the missing boxes). Almost everything else we owned did come from yard sales and thrift shops originally, but since they came from a bazillion different product lines they never stacked. :-( Shelf space here is at a hefty premium.

And honestly, I don't have the patience to wait through tag-sale season, since we've been eating out of the microwave and the broiler for three weeks and I've about hit my limit. I want to cook again.

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opadit.livejournal.com

I hear you about stacking. My kitchen hasn't been renovated since our building was built in the early 1980s, and I have little more than a galley kitchen here. My 2 saucepans nest in a colander and mixing bowl in the cabinet to the left of the oven; the cast-iron skillets and griddle nest on their sides to the right of the oven; and my Dutch oven and jam-making stockpot are stored in the oven itself.

If I were to try to hang them, between the relatively low ceiling and complete lack of maneuvering space, even someone as short as I am would be constantly bonking her head.

Good luck getting what you need! How frustrating to lose essentials when you move.

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browngirl.livejournal.com

I haven't used this cookware. But, a friend just bought it and really likes it, and I would love to look it over.

http://www.amazon.com/American-Kitchen-10-Piece-Stainless-Cookware/dp/B001E0
1DQU/ref=xs_gb_A3S5PXWGL0PGCI?_encoding=UTF8&pfRdReplace=1

This plus a couple of silicone spatulas and a big strainer might help fill the cookware gap?

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I've built a real distaste for nonstick cookware over the years, I'm afraid. :/ I did go out and buy silicone spatulas last week, and we have some colanders that survived....

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Cook's Illustrated just tested "cookware sets", and their second place selection (behind a $700 All-Clad set, surprise surprise) was a brand called "Tramontina" It's apparently only available at Wal-Mart, and this set -- called "Tramontina 18/10 Stainless Steel TriPly-Clad Cookware Set, 8-piece" -- includes "8- and 10-inch fry pans, 1-qt. and 2-qt. saucepans with lids, 5-qt. Dutch Oven with lid", and costs $150, which seems like a steal.

Failing that... go to the Wrentham outlets. Get a few Revere Ware saucepans (at the Revere Ware outlet) and one All-Clad 12" fry pan (at the Williams-Sonoma outlet).

Either way, I'd also hunt up a Forschner Victorinox Fibrox Chef's Knife, which CI rates very highly and which costs a whopping $22, a couple of Pyrex or Corningware cake pans or casseroles (or whatever you think you're most likely to use), and a few cheap utensils -- a Chinese-style bamboo paddle, a strainer, a slotted spoon, spatula, etc.

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fj's Ikea solution is worth exploring, too.

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ayse.livejournal.com

We've got quite a lot of IKEA cookware, and it is very good stuff. They do tend to lean a bit more heavily towards non-stick cookware than I prefer, but that's avoidable.

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nitouche.livejournal.com

I've used Tramontina for years, and recommend it -- I didn't get it at Wal-Mart though, but at a kitchenware store on 53rd in Chicago.

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The article said it was Wal-Mart only, but they might have been referring to this specific set, maybe not the brand.

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The casserole and cake pans survived. I need to make a list of essential utensils to replace, because I'm really getting tired of saying "have you seen the X...?"

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Write down the X every time you ask, and add a hash mark for every re-ask. In two weeks you'll have a good idea of what you (want to) use daily. I'd be happy to share my list, if you think that will help.

What a pain!

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jostajam.livejournal.com

Yard sale season is coming up. I've gotten some good cookware at yard sales. Cast iron especially because people get the stuff and never season it correctly, so they think it doesn't work.

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Our cast iron did survive. As I said to someone else, though, I haunt yard sales all summer, but I really don't want to wait for my cookware that way :}

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It might be worth making up a list and seeing what you can get at the local SA and Goodwill before you buy new.

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I think I'll be the voice of disagreement here. The idea here is that you have $250 and you need stuff, not what some random set of magazine editors or restaurant chefs want you to have. What were the things you used the most? If a cookware set fits your needs, buy it. It all depends on what your household needs the most.

When was the last time you actually needed to start something in the stovetop and finish in the oven without putting everything in a roasting pan? Restaurant/professional workflows are very different from household workflows -- most recipes I make either start and finish in the oven or the stovetop, the few that start in the stovetop and have to be finished in the oven in the same pot (as opposed to a roasting pan) require only 350F which is perfectly safe for most pots and a lot of pots can take 400F. It's rare that something needs 450-500F and buying all-metal pots and lids just for the rare cases is insane -- I'd hate to *have* to use a potholder for all my cooking including dealing with the lids all the time like I see chefs doing on TV and in restaurants. Even if you have recipes like that, they usually need no more than one cast iron Dutch oven and one metal frying pan (usually cast iron or All-Clad) to make. Unless you have an induction stovetop, you don't need the expensive All-Clad everything.

Make sure the stuff you buy can go in the dishwasher -- it takes just a fraction of the energy it takes to hand wash them (the majority of the energy is to heat the water).

Same thing for conventional vs. non-stick: in our household, most recipes don't need to create a fond, so we only have two items (one All-Clad frying pan and one 5 Qt Le Creuset Dutch oven) that stick and everything else is non-stick. Even then, I only got those as a splurge, one can certainly find equivalent items for way less money.

Find out if a cookware set fits your usage patterns, if it's close, buy it. It's cheaper to buy the extra couple of things you are missing than individual items. In our case, we tend to use a lot: non-stick covered pots (3 Qt, 2 Qt and 1 Qt), non-stick 5Qt Dutch oven, 8" and 10.25" non-stick frying pans. We paid less than 100 bucks for a set like that at either Kmart or WalMart (http://www.t-falusa.com/All+Products/Cookware/Non+stick+cookware/Products/PROFESSIONAL/PROFESSIONAL.htm). We also bought a 12 Qt covered dutch oven from the same company (http://www.t-falusa.com/All+Products/Cookware/Non+stick+cookware/Products/Non+Stick+Stock+Pots/Specialty.htm, about 30 bucks), but we make an awful lot of soup.

We also use a lot of Pyrex pans (loaf pans, 13x9 in, 8x8 in etc), but those are inexpensive, as are the metal equivalent pans, but metal pans tend to not last long (and I find that the only thing that tends to demand metal pan are things that need broiling and a couple of cake recipes, most cake recipes will do just fine on Pyrex and bread tends to do better on Pyrex). When you're looking at Pyrex, see if any of the available sets also fit your use patterns, they are cheaper that way -- the sets don't much fit our pattern, so we got them as separate items. Pyrex tends to be about 5-10 bucks each on average, so it's not that much of a splurge.

What else? Cookie sheets... Measuring cups (dry and wet), measuring spoons... an electronic scale, they tend to go for less than 50 bucks... get yourself an instant read thermometer that you can stick in the food and keep the console out of the oven (10-20 bucks). Use the rest of the money to buy stuff you really like.

Good luck.

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I don't think anyone posting here is either a restaurant chef or a magazine editor.

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In our extended crowd we have people who are professional chefs and one of the people who works for Cook's Illustrated is the landlady of someone in this extended crowd too. I recognize their opinions among some of the opinions stated here, and, in my experience, those opinions are perfect for the workflow in a professional setting but may fail more often than not in a home setting. Not everything that is done by professionals is the best, tastiest, fastest, cheapest or safest for a home setting.

For example, I do like All*Clad(tm) and Le Creuset(tm), but I'd be leery of using them if we had children -- the absence of insulating knobs and handles is an additional risk and will require more constant and closer supervision than a standard cookware set. Not impossible to do, generations of people grew up with them, but they also had less haired/busy parents than our home can be.

As for Tramontina, I was born and raised in the country they come from. That company in particular sells everything from top-of-the line stuff to absolutely cheapest possible. I've seen their stuff at Wal*Mart and it looks decent, but I know Wal*Mart well enough to know that they got the stuff for as little money as possible from Tramontina as they can -- my conclusion is that it's probably worth the money and, while I wouldn't be surprised at all if it lasted many years, I would also not be surprised if it lasted just a few -- say, less than 3 to 5.

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I was born and raised in the country that Apple comes from. Does this automatically make me a Mac expert?

More to the point, the fact that you know somebody who knows somebody who works for CI does not mean that my opinion (or anyone else's here) is merely an expression of Christopher Kimball's biases. Nor does it refute what I said above.

FWIW, since crendentials seem suddenly important here, my own opinion is informed by several decades' worth of cooking for my own preferences -- the last 9+ years of that in a house with children. I've never cooked in a professional setting. My situation is a lot like

qwrrty's. In fact, even without knowing you, I can say confidently that it's quite a lot more so than yours is.

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OK, I thought I had been careful qualifying everything I said and, in particular, I thought my two responses had hinged on "don't take what experts say without thinking if it's appropriate for your home"... certainly I did not mean to offend anyone and I apologize if I did and I apologize in advance for this response.

I would think a priori that we may have met several times in the same circumstances that I've met a lot of people in this crowd (parties and large gatherings). In any case yes, we don't have kids -- I grew up in a home with plenty of kids and busy parents, though, if that counts. I believe you when you say your home is more like

qwrrty's than mine, but that doesn't mean that you both will need exactly the same stuff, although I agree it's way more likely given the circumstances.

Credentials are not that important to me, I thought I was saying that just because an expert says something (and they'll probably be right for that particular circumstance), doesn't mean that situation is the same as yours and you should do what they said.

I mentioned that this crowd has several professional chefs and even minor celebrities in response to "I don't think anyone posting here is either a restaurant chef or a magazine editor." -- because even if they had not said anything up to the point we posted, they might post given that they belong in this extended crowd and I don't know everyone that has posted either.

You ask if being American makes you a Mac expert -- not really, it makes it more likely than if you were born in countries where importing a Mac is more of a pain though -- however, it gives you a big leg up over other people, even people whose country has English as a native language, in that you were immersed in this culture and you're more likely to know what Apple's (or IBM's, Dell's, HP's, or any other company's for that matter) intentions are when they announce something -- you lived thru the patterns of advertisement and business practices that make up your culture. So did I when it comes to Tramontina -- I can tell you that either they sent their best cookware at an artificially deflated price (or, to be more rude, "dumping") to get Wal*Mart to be business partners, or, more likely, they've made the thing to exact specifications (looks nice, but is "cheap" as opposed to "inexpensive"), because their top-of-the line stuff rivals All*Clad and is priced accordingly... barring dumping, there's very little chance they'd be selling stuff as good as All*Clad for a fraction of the price, the price of labor and materials there is not as low as in Asia. And if they are dumping, the quality will not be there across the line or as time goes by, it's an "introductory offer" only.

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It's not the fact that I know somebody who knows somebody who is a professional cook or works for CI that implies anything any of us will say. It just implies they can be posting here. I'm also referring to the fact that in America it seems to be a common belief that if someone is a professional or an expert, their opinions trumps ours. Not necessarily so. The best computer is not necessarily the thing to use at home when we're talking servers, or in a company if we're talking laptops -- each setting has different needs. The best stove for a restaurant may suck big time at home and, in many jurisdictions, they are not even legal to own (the insulation, or lack thereof, makes them dangerous for home kitchens where they maybe too close to flammable materials). Most people don't *need* everything in All*Clad unless they have an induction stovetop (most other brands that are similar to All*Clad are not as efficient in the magnetic coupling to use induction at is best, but that will probably change soon now that induction cooking is becoming popular in US). While all metal pots are effective for cooking, they are not necessarily the most practical when one needs to use pot holders all the time. And for the handful of dishes that *do* need an all metal pot to be in the oven, one can buy just the couple of pots one needs instead of an entire kitchen set. The fact that magazines and chefs in general even suggest that pots should be all metal, instead of having insulating handles, is enough to convince me that their workflow is very different from a home workflow (and they are often the first ones to admit it). Cook's Illustrated, in particular, has their quirks -- for years they've been carping on the fact that regular sets are not "oven safe to 500F" -- well, how many recipes need a _pot_ at 500F? Roasting pans, sure, but pots? Two, three recipes maybe? What if you don't make artisanal bread, does that fall to one or zero? Most recipes call for less than 500F. Worse, they love Le Creuset but fail to mention that Le Creuset has a plastic knob on the lid, that makes it safe to only 400F (recent models) or 450F (earlier models). They whined for years that cookware sets are not good because they have all the wrong size pots, in particular, they often complain that the 1 Qt pots are not good for anything and the 2 Qt pots are barely worth having and they only take up space. Well, what a surprise, the Tramontina set has pots in 5, 2 and 1 Qt sizes. And they don't seem to be implying that one is buying an entire set for the 5 Qt pot and the skillets, they seem to think it's a steal.

Anyway, my whole point is that it's OK to disagree with the experts, and that I've been perceiving people responding here basically repeating the opinions I've seen in magazines and cooking shows. Which, if I am to believe the professionals when they tell me that it's because their workflow is different than home workflow, may mean that while they may love what they use at work, it might very well not be the most appropriate for us home cooks.

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queenmomcat.livejournal.com

1) borrow, borrow, borrow!
2) track over a week what you (the cooks of the household) say repeatedly "Where's the X? I need the Y? didn't you wash the Z yet?"
3) one good knife, one cutting board, one strainer/colander, two glass measuring cups (one large, one small), two pots and a baking dish.

everything else is (temporarily) icing. Oh, and start a wish list at Target or Amazon.

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queenmomcat.livejournal.com

Oh, and are there venues available to you other than Amazon? as in stores which are convenient and which have the selection you want at a price you can afford. The fact that I like my Target's selection isn't going to help you if your Target doesn't have what you want. (That said, I do prefer Target for small utensils, such as silicon spatulas, whisks and measuring devices.)

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ceo

I see someone else mentioned the Cook's Illustrated review. I am not a big fan of nonstick, as in my experience the coating tends to wear off, and I don't fully trust that it isn't leaching flourine compounds into the food.

Absolutely get cookwear that's of a proper sandwich construction (generally steel with a Cu or Al core); the kind that just have a thick Al disk at the bottom suck irredeemably.

The best cookie sheets are professional half-sheet pans (also known as jelly roll pans), and they're also remarkably inexpensive; you can get them at restaurant supply stores.

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Agreed on nonstick pans; I hates the stuff.

Absolutely get cookwear that's of a proper sandwich construction (generally steel with a Cu or Al core); the kind that just have a thick Al disk at the bottom suck irredeemably.

Which of the sets I linked to have the disk at the bottom? I can't tell!

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ceo

They all say something like "encapsulated aluminum disk base", so I think they all do. :-(

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They don't suck irredeemably -- they're fine for, like, heating soup, and way better than the old "copper-bottom" department store stuff.

(deleted comment)

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qwrrty.livejournal.com

Hey, who are you to talk about MY MOM?

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innerdoggie.livejournal.com

Let's see: you still have your wok, so the most important pot or pan is still there.

At my house, I like having a cast-iron skillet, a non-stick skillet, a great big stainless pot with a lid, a smaller stainless pot with a lid, and another small pot.

We also have a pressure cooker which doubles as a medium-sized pot with a lid. The rice cooker is also nice to have and frees up a burner on the stove.

You'll need wooden spoons, a spatula and a wok tool. A colander is necessary, too.

If you get All-clad, that will run you more than your $250 budget, but there's a Brazilian brand that is cheaper.

Good luck!

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dbang.livejournal.com

We have a spare extra cast iron skillet if you'd like it

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fengshui.livejournal.com

Ooh. I was going to suggest a cast-iron skillet. Take this, then go to a good Boston Restaurant Supply house and buy nameless cheap stuff. Whatever you destroy in less than 3 years, buy a nicer version of. What I think you'll find is that 99% of the stuff you get for $20 each at a restaurant supply house will last more cooktop-hours than you'll ever put them through.

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bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com

The kind of rice cooker with an open top also makes a good steamer for veg and you can use it for all kinds of stuff like couscous, pilaf and biryani. Even boils pasta or reheats soup, in a pinch.

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blauzahl.livejournal.com

Three saucepans. I guess one being a stockpot.
A colander maybe.
A spatula/"fish turner" (ask enf for story).
beaters
paring knife, chef knife
measuring cups (does that fall under "baking stuff that still exists"?)
square/rectangular pyrex thing
a pizza wheel
wooden mixing spoons
cutting board
the toaster!!!!
mitts/potholders
a hotplate

I bet you can go reasonably far on that if you have baking stuff too.

Maybe your stuff went to the same place all of my plates went to. I unpacked eight boxes of kitchenware and found one plate. I did find all of my cake baking things though. :)

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blauzahl.livejournal.com

Er, "hotplate" here equals the thing you put to protect counters from hot dishes. The more distinct name escapes me for the moment....

That's a totally random list. With the exception of the pizza wheel, (and the addition of more saucepans) it's drawn from my kitchen pre-8-boxes. Ask people to give you a cake server and a european cheese slicer. :D

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Trivit.

I have pretty Le Creuset ones that match my pots. I've also used bricks and 1" thick scrap wood. Many, many options.

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awfief.livejournal.com

We got a pot-rack:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regProduct.asp?order_num=-1&WRN=-1019192559&sku=11221734

And it's been invaluable. We've hung our pots and pans there for 2 years, freeing up vastly more space in our tiny kitchen. Everything is hung there except our 2 stockpots and our 2 cast-iron skillets, and the lids (which don't necessarily stack, but are easy to put in a small space). see the pic in action at the listing here:

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/fee/1184261943.html

(we're moving to a bigger place...with a bigger kitchen!!)

We have this set and LOVE it and use all the pieces:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regProduct.asp?order_num=-1&WRN=-1019192559&sku=13015414

That's more than you wanted to spend, though when we got it it was on sale for $300, not $400.

I'd say 2 2-quart saucepans and 2 10" omelet pans should hold you over nicely. But then again i don't know how elaborate you are at cooking with your family....

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(I'm in a rush so I haven't read other comments)

Do NOT buy a set!

Do NOT buy a set!

Do NOT buy a set!

(Probably.)

Sets usually have too many of what you don't want and not enough of what you do. Better use of money is to get individual pans.

The minimal set you need (unless your cooking patterns are way different than most):
- a 10" or 12" nonstick (eggs are such good, fast meals)
(doesn't matter what brand, $15)
- a 10" or 12" flat pan (aka skillet) (or one in each size)
(cast iron and/or Revereware, $25)
- a 2 qt pot with lid
(Revereware, $35)
- a 4 qt pot with lid
(Revereware, $45)
- an 8 or 10 qt stockpot with lid
(doesn't matter what brand, $25)
- a 4 or 6 qt Dutch Oven with lid
(no brand recommendation, $35-50)
- maybe a wok with lid
(whatever they sell in Chinatown, $25?)

For the nonstick, I don't have any brand recommendations. They all last a long time. I got a 10" at Target for about $10. I used to avoid nonstick, but the "new" nonstick (been around for 15+ years) is much better than the stuff when I was a kid. It lasts a lo-o-ong time and doesn't exude fumes unless you heat it empty for more than a few minutes.

You can get cast iron for the flat pans, they're good for lots of uses and very inexpensive. They also can be heavy and not so good for things to cook gently, like pancakes. Maybe one cast iron and one not.

For the pots and not-cast-iron pans, you want something that can go from stovetop to oven and that has copper at least on the bottom. Some pots have a disk of copper, these usually look as if they have an extra layer on the bottom. Better ones have the copper go up the side a bit. In my opinion, the best inexpensive pots and pans is Revereware. The handles are (were?) ovensafe to 400F, which covers most needs.

The stockpot is for whatever needs a lot of water: making stock, pasta, corn, etc. The brand doesn't matter, just get one of 18/10 steel.

The brand does matter for the Dutch Oven, but I don't know the brands in your price range. Cast iron would be great but it'd weigh a ton, not so good for keyne.

The best woks usually come from Chinatown shops, and have no brand at all. Scrub and season like a cast iron pan.

Now, with the leftover money, buy a half dozen silicon(e?) spatuale and two wire-mesh colanders.

Don't forget Freecycle. It may not have what you want but the response cycle is fast.

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When I wrote "probably," what I meant to add was, once you decide what pans you want, see if a set or individual items are cheaper. Given that your space is at a premium, I think a set is even less likely to meet your needs.

The prices I listed are estimates, based on a quick skim of Target.com.

The pots & brands I recommended are inexpensive but not cheap. They'll last you a long time. My family's Revereware lasted 30 years for my parents (who didn't cook a lot) and 10+ for me (who does).

If you'd like, I can list cooking essentials for many categories: pots, bakeware, small utensils, and so on. Tell me what you're missing and I'll tell you what you (might) need.

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