Welcome November what's cooking!

I saw a really nice cookware set at Costco. It was Calphalon Premier 11-piece Hard Anodized Space Saving Cookware. All of the pans and lids stacked together. A bargain price compared to other retailers: $299.

I'm not crazy about Calphalon, even though I knew the family who invented it....go figure, but it absolutely cannot go into the dishwasher or it discolors horribly.

And I needed 'induction' cookware ~ ended up with a set of 14 pcs....2 skillets, sm & large saucepan, 3 qt. sauce pan, huge 'chicken fryer' pan w/lid, 6 qt. Dutch oven and 8 qt. stock pot. I also have 2 - 8" non-stick skillets that we use for probably 50% of all the cooking that goes on in the house.

I had read good reviews on the Tramontina brand so when I found them for sale on the Costco site I gave them a try. If I end up hating them I know I can take them back and get my money back....



I went today and ordered my stove. I wanted to get it from Best Buy because I like their service but they didn't have the same models as Lowes and were hundreds of dollars more for similar stoves. So, we ended up going to Lowes today and ordering it. It's suppose to be delivered sometime next Wednesday.

Dane's sister is the most excited of any of us.....she's getting my flat glass top range and all my stainless steel pots & pans. Fortunately for all of us, their brother was planning to be here next week and he has a truck so he can deliver the stove to her and get it plugged in and working. It'll be like Christmas!

The first time I heard of Calaphon, I suppose it was when it first came out. I had just started our restaurant and got a small skillet to try out. I figured if I liked it, I'd get some for the restaurant.  I hated it.  Never got another one until a couple years ago. I don't hate that one but it's non-stick surface isn't terribly long lasting.  It's better than the teflon ones though.

The inventor, or founder of the company, Ron Kasparzak, was from our hometown, Perrysburg, OH. My oldest daughter knew his widow and was sponsored by her when she was in college and needed an internship at The Toledo Art Museum for college credit. So, I didn't really know him, but knew of him and his company..... To his credit, he produced it locally instead of moving to a larger city.

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Supper tonight was a pan roasted chicken breast. I had a little bit of broccoli and one each yellow & green zucchini and a small sweet potato to split. We made do and neither one of us is starving at this point.....I just wanted to be sure to use up all the little bits of this 'n that so it didn't end up getting tossed.

We had Chilies Rellenos tonight

I only own 3 nonstick pans: 8". 10" fry and a 2.5qt saucepan. They don't last. Some Calphalon can go in the dishwasher. I would not have a whole set either but they can't be beat for eggs. As for the saucepan, some foods are just impossible to remove from a pan without a lot of elbow grease like chicken, chicken livers and some candy like peanut brittle although I usually fill up a peanut brittle pan with water and set it to boil and the candy melts right off. You are right: they are not for induction.

I'm gonna place this post onto the new month of Dec. 2018 which I started.

Jimmy