Sheesh, it's late. Guess you can't read Mark Bittman last Thursday if his column appears on Wednesday :) Time to go to bed, awm03!

Ok, after 28 years of cooking with cheap, crappy equipment, I just bit the bullet and spent a hefty sum on Henckel's knives and cookware. It arrived yesterday, and being a tightwad who finds spending money to be a painful thing, I did NOT need to read this today!!! LOL

Can't say I agree with Bittman's choices, but I can attest to the fact that real chefs don't buy the expensive stuff. One guy who has a cooking show on our local TV channel and cooks and caters for a living uses plain old Revere cookware--battered and scared and still going strong. Check out the cookware the caterers use.

On the other hand, I see nothing wrong with getting expensive cookware if it makes you feel better about cooking. We all need a little bling-bling here and there.

That was fun to read but I think most people consider a microwave essential. Otherwise I thought his choices were fairly decent if on the cheap (dollarwise) side of things.
But then I don't have a restaurant supply store near by.

bumblebeez, would you believe I just got my first microwave 4 years ago? It was very easy to live without one all these years. Heating food on the stovetop is not difficult, and I still prefer making popcorn in a pot on the stove. I do love cooking vegetables in a microwave, though, and I microwave my daily oatmeal right in the bowl -- those two conveniences have made my diet healthier.

My mother, age 79, still won't use the microwave my sister bought her! She doesn't see a need to use it :)

As for Bittman's choice of cast aluminum pots, I had some for 20+ years. They were a little warped from high heat & hard use & had hot spots. I was forever adjusting the heat underneath them. I much prefer my heavy disc-bottomed stainless pots & pans and am enjoying some cast iron pans I bought recently. They have far more even, steady heat than the old cast aluminum things, and far less scorching too.

Bittman's article was on point. I felt particularly validated when he admitted to using plates as lids! Whenever a buddy gets married and/or sets up light housekeeping, I buy all the little kitchen tools from restaurant supply stores (measuring cups, spoons, tongs, a pot or two, etc.). The total is much cheaper than most discount stores.

Of course, I can't use the pots myself because the handles and I don't agree. But, for the basics, the store is great. The larger the city, the better.