all-clad is the s**t

so i've been wanting some new cookware for a while now. it hasn’t been necessary to replace everything, but it’s well past the “upgrade-your-gear-homey” period.

for the past five years i have had an awesome 12-inch fry pan by all-clad that has been with me through thick and thin; i have a sturdy 12-inch non-stick fry pan (absolutely necessary for frittatas) that i purchased from broadway panhandler back in 2005; and then there's my little buddy—my 4-quart stainless steel saucepan by all-clad (i love you man). until this summer, i also had a bad-ass stockpot that i was sad to "lose," since i got it for next-to-nothing.

it was winter of 2004, and i was visiting my parents in huntsville, alabama. i went to tj max to pick up some underwear or something. while i was browsing around the store i walked through the cookware section and saw a beautiful 12-quart stockpot.* i assumed that it was some cheap brand that just looked good, but would perform horribly; upon closer inspection, however, i discovered that it was an all-clad ltd. and it was only 65 bucks. what? now mind you, this stock pot is constructed of three layers of bonded metal: a stainless steel cooking surface, a heat-responsive aluminum core and a durable anodized-aluminum exterior; the tight-fitting lid helps to intensify flavors and retain moisture; and the stainless steel handles are riveted for durability; plus it retails for $380.00.

obviously, i cut and pasted most of that from the all-clad website, but the point is this is an awesome stockpot. and the fact that i got it for dirt cheap made it that much sweeter.

i'm still trying to figure this one out, but this summer my stockpot "disappeared." needles to say i was bummed.

after i found out that i got the food and society fellowship, my girlfriend said that she wanted to buy me a new stockpot as a congratulatory gift (read: she was sick of me complaining about loosing "my baby"). i love you sweetie. of course i wanted another 12-quart all-clad ltd stockpot. settling for anything less would be like downgrading from an audi to a toyota.

so i started researching to see if i could get a good deal.

when i was on the williams-sonoma website i saw that they had a special going for an all-clad 7-piece cookware set (shown above). for $539.00 you get a 10" fry pan, 4-qt. saucepan with lid, 3-qt. sauté pan with lid and 7-qt. stockpot with lid. given that this set is normally $875.00 i was sold. but when i discovered that with any purchase of all-clad cookware over $500.00 one also gets a free all-clad ltd panini pan with press, an all-clad red apron, and an all-clad essentials set, which includes an all-clad recipe file, all-clad stainless tongs, all-clad stainless turner and 2 signature all-clad towels, i started high-fiving myself. all of these goodies have a retail value of $200.00. so i could get $1,075.00 worth of gear for $539.00 – plus my 10% chef’s discount. . .

i convinced my girlfriend to split the cost of the set with me instead of getting me the stockpot.

upgrade.

first of all, i wanna give a shout out to God’ ‘cause without him i wouldn’t be here (in my best rapper-receiving-an-award voice). i wanna thank all-clad for hooking up the fresh cooking gear and let them know that i would be happy to discuss a “black and green” signature line. lastly i wanna thank williams-sonoma for hooking up the chef’s discount. i love you mom and dad (yeah i want that stockpot for my birthday).

*the lid had a dent in it. as if i cared.