New kitchen stuffs

[radiantquest]

My husband don''t give gifts to each other for Christmas we buy bigger things for the house. This year we have decided a new TV. We still have the old style tube TV. We are looking for about 42-46". From what I hear Samsung is a pretty good one to go for, but we aren''t really into hi-def and all that so I don''t want to spend alot of money on a TV that has the best picture and all the bells and whistles that we really won''t utilize or appreciate. How about the visios. Are they crap?

Also this year we are revamping our kitchen. New pots and pans, utensils, plates, glasses, mixing bowls-all of it. This is my first time living on my own so I am not sure what is best to buy and I am sure that he doesn''t know either. He is really into cooking so the pots and pans have to be really good quality. Not chef quality, but something that will hold up and last.

Help me shop!

 

[oobiecoo]

As far as pots and pans go it seems like Calphalon is always popular but their nicer sets are more than we wanted to pay or ask for. For our wedding, we just selected some individual Belgique pieces from Macys. We were tired of "nonstick" and these are just stainless with a copper bottom that is supposed to be good for heat distribution I think. We purchased individual Henckels knives that have been really great. For glasses, I will recommend what NOT to get... we have the Pottery Barn caterer''s stemware that we use for water, tea, wine, everything and 2 glasses have broken in the year that we''ve used them. One had an almost perfectly round hole blow out the side when I put ice in and the other just crumbled in my husbands hand! It was so weird. We really like our simple stainless mixing bowls from target but I''d also like to get some thick glass ones... I think Pyrex makes them? That way I could put them in the microwave. For baking, Le Creuset is supposed to be really good. I''ve tried all kinds of expensive and cheap cooking utensils and my advice is to not spend a fortune on them. Maybe its just me, but even the ones that are supposed to withstand super high heat will STILL melt a bit on the edge when I use them to fry an egg or whatever. Honestly, the best spatula I''ve had was from Ikea and has held up fairly well.

I wish I could help with the TV... I know how you feel though, I honestly can''t even tell the difference with HD so I refuse to pay alot extra for something like that.

 

[radiantquest]

I believe that he wants the teflon coated ones. It is so hard because you can''t tell looking at the box if they are good. You don''t know until it is too late that they are terrible.

I don''t have a lot of high end stores where I live. Can I get decent quality pots and pans from Macys? I refuse to go to one of those kitchen specialty stores.

 

[cellentani]

Hi radiantquest, sometimes my DH and I do the same thing for Cmas or anniversary! We have a Samsung flat panel TV and love it - we did a lot of comparison shopping, and even though they''re not as expensive as some of the other brands, their optical quality can''t be beat. There are a lot of tech geeks in my family, and that TV brand wins hands down.

Kitchenware is MY department, and I''m a bit fanatical about my stuff (I guess I''m the kitchen geek). This may not be what you had in mind, but after going through several sets of pretty dishes that either broke or had a pattern that I tired of after awhile, I went with Corelle. They might seem utilitarian, but they are nearly indestructible, and after 4 kids, I''d make that choice again. I also appreciate that a stack of 10 plates will not take up much vertical space in the cabinet, and I can use one of those wire shelves to add plates of a different size on top.

For pots and pans, I collected All Clad from TJ Maxx - it was about 1/2 the retail price. I also think you don''t need as many pots as most people think - those mega sets that have pans in every size will just take up valuable space. I think you need a 10" skillet/saute pan, and 2 or 3 pot sizes (with one being large enough to boil pasta). I do have a saute pan in both the stainless and nonstick finish, and I find that I use them both. Things don''t carmelize as well in a nonstick, and it''s harder to judge sauce color in the dark finish. My pots are all stainless (All Clad Ltd). Even at half price they''re not cheap, but I collected them over the course of about a year, so that helped with the sticker shock. Have fun outfitting your new kitchen!

 

[Haven]

What you need really depends on what you cook, of course, but I''ll share what I use most:

- Fry pan: Large (12") All Clad stainless . I use this to make most of my stovetop meals. (Stir fry, ground beef, chicken, etc.)
- Stock pots: One 12 qt non-stick stock pot for large batches of sauces and soups, one 5 qt for pasta and smaller meals.
- Sauce pans: I use three different sizes regularly.
- Dutch oven: We have an awesome Dutch oven that I use for a lot of one-pot meals. It''s wonderful.
- Casseroles: I have three large casseroles and one smaller round one that I use a lot, especially when we''re entertaining. One would do if you don''t entertain much.
- Roasting pan: For roasting turkeys and large chickens, I use this less frequently but it''s definitely a must if you host Thanksgiving.
- Mixing bowls: I actually only have two large mixing bowls, one medium, and one small. My set is stainless and I love it, DH really wants a set of glass mixing bowls but I don''t think we need them right now.
- Popcorn bowl: We did not have a big plastic popcorn bowl when we first moved in together, so we were eating popcorn out of a gorgeous serving bowl which was just ridiculous!
- Measuring spoons and cups: A home cook can *never* have enough good sets of measuring spoons and cups. I''m constantly running out of clean ones while I''m cooking!

If your DH is into cooking I''d spend some time at Williams Sonoma to get some good ideas, and then bargain shop for good deals.

Is there anything special that he really likes to make? My husband loves pizza, so I bought him a lot of great pizza baking tools for a while, he loved them.

Have fun! I love shopping for kitchen things!

 

[radiantquest]

I don''t want you guys to think that we have nothing. We have lived together for a couple years now and most stuff was given to us. None of our plates match. Correl is the best. My grandmother and my mother both had them while I was growing up. They really are tough. And thin. I never understood how a plate so thin could not break when I dropped it on the floor or in the sink. We have one awesome frying pan. Reminds me of a wok. We have other pots that were given to us in a store bought box, but they were crap. Didn''t last.

He makes most things in our wok wanna be frying pan. We have a dutch oven. Mmmm chicken and dumplings. We don''t have a roaster, but I can''t imagine us using it. We go elsewhere for holiday meals and cooking a whole bird for just us would be a huge waste. We have a matching set of casserole dishes in various sizes. We probably don''t need flatware. Pfaltzgraff is what we have. (sp?) Really we don''t need glasses either. I have bought those. 2 sets of 4. He still has those that you got for free or $0.99 from McDonalds and stuff. I may suggest new glasses so that we no longer have room for the ones that I don''t like.

My mother had a set of glass mixing bowls that were great. The glass was super thick. I want to find them. They came in a set with like 6 sizes.

We need spatulas. For some reason we always need another one. We have two, but need more. Then serving spoons and the like.

I did buy one of those ice cream scoops that heat themselves up from your body temp. It works well.

 

[Haven]

It sounds like you know what you need, so are you looking for advice about brands, then?
Sorry I misunderstood your first post, it sounded like you were looking for advice about what kitchen things you might need.

If you''re talking brands, All Clad stainless steel is really fabulous.

 

[radiantquest]

Yes, I do know what I need and am asking about brands. He wants the nonstick. Everyone says they love their stainless steel, but I know that he will not want that.