They fry a squid that's missing two tentacles.

Oh, I've been meaning to ask:

Hivemind on cookware? My frying/saucepans are all shot to hell, and I desperately need new ones. I was thinking I might just buy a whole set of things, so they all match pretty, but that's just a thought. What should I be looking for? I remember hearing vague things about nonstick being evil chemicals that will wear off and rot my brain. True? What other options are there besides like, cast iron? If I don't get nonstick, won't my pans be hella hard to clean? What are the secret codewords I should be looking for?

Oh, yeah, like it's finals week and he hasn't been sleeping much and he just can't get that damn pickle jar to open! That would really fry his tentacles.

Meara, We have these, and they've worked well for over a decade: [link]

meara, I think that Teflon rotting your brain is nonsense BUT anodized nonstick cookware is supposed to last longer than coated and is dishwasher safe and stuff. That's mostly what I have for non stick stuff and it's pretty nice. If you can wait until December Meyer has their annual warehouse sale with 30% off everything in stock, could make for significant savings on a whole set. Potsandpans.com has the sale, too, I think, but the warehouse is near me so I just go in person.

So, what's the benefit of stainless steel, Scrappy? Vs. anodized nonstick, I guess.

I was planning to get a whole set, but looking at what I've got, I may just keep the pots, and get new pans. Though they're all hanging in the middle of the kitchen from a suspended thing in the ceiling, so it's nice if they all match.

I've also heard bad things about teflon, plus it inevitably gets scratched. I love my cast iron skillet but it's at least 60 years old, probably more, and has a patina that can never be ruined. It cooks like a dream, browns food beautifully, easy to wash, I love it.

I'd like cast iron if I could have one of my grandma's old pans. But I've never successfully had one from new that I was happy with the results.

If you can wait until December Meyer has their annual warehouse sale with 30% off everything in stock, could make for significant savings on a whole set.

I'm on my second set of Analon from them and only replaced the whole set because I found a ridiculously good sale last December and my skillets were at the end. I don't use metal utensils and wash by hand (and, lo, I am lazy but they wash so easy every time) and have been really happy.

My only complaint is that my new set has metal handles on the pots and lids that look better than the ones with plastic-y something but they do get hot. Silicone pot holders are my friend. And double as a silly hand puppet. You can make dinosaur noises if you get the green one.

This is a good conversation because I also need new pots and pans. So helpful to wander is at 3 am.

Yet, 3:00 AM = no good.

I've always wondered about anolon. We have calphalon which I've liked. But we need new pans now.