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Good food is nice, but something that hasn't been mentioned much is the need for good cookware. So I'm going to talk about cookware today.

Personally, I really like All-Clad's Stainless line. It's rather expensive because it's aluminum sandwiched between two layers of stainless steel. Aluminum heats quickly but doesn't retain heat. The Stainless layers are what causes the pan to retain the heat. All-Clad also makes other lines of cookware that are less expensive than Stainless.

Most of my collection has been bought from Cookware and More. They sell factory seconds at a discount. Basically all that''s wrong is that they've got cosmetic defects. One of the pots I have has a crease in the rivet. Another came with a scratch. Other than that, they are just as good as first quality. Plus, the company will take back anything the customer finds to be not acceptable.

I find the pieces I use the most are the two quart pots, the three quart pot, sometimes coupled with the steamer insert, and the three quart saute pan. I would some day like to add one or two one-quart pots to my collection for heating canned items or making garlic butter.

As for fry pans, I like ones with nonstick surfaces for frying things that will not have a sauce made in the pan. But because nonstick pans are notorious for wearing out, I buy the much cheaper ones at Wal-Mart. But not the cheapest ones, which are flimsy and will warp when heated. You want a nice weight to a fry pan. And if it comes with a lid, that's good too.

Many people swear by cast iron. Me... I can't get the stuff to develop a good coating. And without being seasoned well, cast iron cookware is a pain!

If you're going to boil pasta, make soup, etc... a larger pot is necessary. 6 or 8 quart. Some large pots come with the "pasta insert", but I find that the convenience of draining the pasta right away is offset by the fact that it can be messy. Water splashing, spaghetti getting stuck in the holes of the strainer, etc.

But the strainer does come in handy when making soup. It keeps the bones/miripoix (veggies simmered with the bones - classically onion, carrot and celery, usually in a 2x1x1 proportion) from scorching to the bottom of the pot and makes their removal much easier. (Scooping out chicken bones with a slotted spoon... not fun) Plus, you've probably got a somewhat lower volume of liquid if the pot's large and you''re making soup.

If you're going to be baking, or not... you're going to need at least TWO sheet pans. And some wire racks. I bake chicken pieces on the rack on top of a sheet pan to keep them from sitting in a big puddle of rendered chicken fat while cooking. The ones I have I got at a restaraunt supply store so they''ve got nice weight, and they weren't horribly expensive either.

Well, there's lots of other things needed to set up a kitchen, but I'll save that for another post! wink

My favorite pie is a concotion I made. I call it Red White and Blue Pie. What I do is I take the pie crust and fill it with rasberries, blackberries, blueberries, add cinamon, a little sugar, and a tiny bit of tapioka to thicken it. After that you add the top of the pie crust and cut stips into it in the form of the U.S. flag. Bake it and serve it with vanilla ice cream (or your favorite ice cream) with some cinamon sugar topping. I only make it for the Fourth of July for my family. domokun heart domokun heart Maybe when I go to the convention I could make a few pies and serve them. I am a good pie maker if I do say so myself and most of my family agrees as well as the few that have tried the pie outside my family kitchen.


Who thinks that the pie (Red White and Blue) is a good idea. Also who thinks I should make pies for the Convention?

Ah... pie... Lime pie...

Okay... it's Lime time!
This is a cold serve and no-bake pie.
You will be needing:
7 Limes
2 Eggs
1 can of Sweatened Condensed Milk
1 Graham Cracker crust (make it yourself, you weeney, the premade ones are offal)

Okay, easiest pie in the world, that Sara Lee didn't make. wink

Juice your Limes.
Seperate the yolkes from the whites of your eggs.
In a mixing bowl, mix your Lime Juice, Egg Yolkes, and SC Milk until of an even consistancy.
Pour into your crust.
Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

You can use the egg whites to make a Meringue topping, or just top with whipped creame.

This recipe works just fine with Lemon as well as Lime, altho, you will need fewer Lemons, as they are larger, and yield more juice per fruit.

Also, I assume you know how to make graham cracker crust? Does anyone need a recipe?

I'll try doubling the eggs next time, and see what it changes.
Also... baking may be a good idea...no one wants to get sick. sweatdrop
I like to leave a single seed in the pie... sort of a good luck charm.


So long as the final volume of Lemon juice is the same as the Lime juices volume, it should be fine.

Humourously enough, I first learned this recipe with Lemon, I didn't discover it was the same as Lime pie until about 3 years ago. sweatdrop

Ooh, that lime pie sounds good. Maybe I'll try it next week sometime.