In case you didn’t notice, my cookware is from the last century. The blue T-Fal set I purchased in 1990 from Wal-Mart has been with me through college, moves from Beaufort to Morehead City to Greenville to New Bern and,finally, to Raleigh. Survived a thousand and one crazy roommates. It’s lived a good, long life.
Recently the fry pan has lost its nonstick properties. I think someone cleaned it improperly. No one will admit guilt or responsibility but I am pretty sure that is what must have happened after 21 years of service.
Instead of taking this as a defeat of my ability to properly caring for my things I decided to take it as an opportunity to upgrade!
But then all my fears of decision-making about what brand and what style to purchase sets in. Calphalon? Cusinart? Gee, have you seen the price? That would be giving up a house payment!
I already have two enameled cast iron Bella casserole pots (We call them Dutch Ovens on this side of the pond.) I purchased them from Macy’s during their after Christmas clearance sale last year for a very good price. I love them.
Then there are the accessories that some sets include. This could seal the deal or at least help me narrow down the choices? Or so I thought. Still too many choices! Should I get the new ceramic cookware that will replace Teflon when it is banned later this year? More choices! Aarrgg!
As is normal, my final decision was made by a good sale. I settled on T-Fal Balanced Living 10- piece set. It includes an egg poacher and a steamer. Two items I think I will use to create healthy meals in the coming year! They also have silicone coated handles and clear lids with a vent.
I love poached eggs so I broke in the egg poacher this morning! Starting with just one egg.
Simply place about an inch of water in the pan. Bring to a boil then turn it down to a simmer. Place the poacher in the pan and place the egg in the cup. Cover with the lid.
Wow! That was easy. About five minutes later I had a poached egg with the slightly runny center I love.
I was so excited I ate it before taking a picture! More to come as I practice with the steamer, too!
Yeah! Something new to play with when it is too cold to be out in the garden!
Danny Bloom has a good series on YouTube for the line as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-F_Dy2tVAE
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Arthur in the Garden! 
We used to have an egg poacher! After so many moves…I wonder just where it ended up. I’ve watched a few TV chefs poach eggs without a form. I’m just not up to that task.
I’ve got a mish-mash of pots. Some over 30 years old. The ones I haven’t directly mangled. A few replacements that can’t go in the dishwasher – hubby isn’t happy about those. But since his main cooking duty is using the waffle maker…I’m not too worried.
I’ll have to keep this T- fal set in mind. I’ve got a glass Dutch Oven and an oval crock pot too. All good things for a simple cook. Thanks for the review.
I’ve got your site bookmarked! Cheers.
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Thanks Jules!
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I know all those places because I attended Duke in 1996 for undergrad!
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The area has grown so much since I moved in 1998!
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I dated a woman who was a cook in the late ’80’s and she got me into T-Fal then. Great stuff! Your post brought back pleasant memories.
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I really like my Calphalon pots and pans 🙂
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I love your egg poacher! I used to have a single one years ago, but lost it our move to Portugal! HAve you tried the new flexible rubbery cake trays? they are brilliant!
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I had T-Fal before I got married, the I moved across the country and decided to use whatever my husband had in the house – mistake! I then got one T-Fal pan, but noticed it wasn’t made as well and it actually warped. I’ll be writing about my long distance love of wanting a “real” dutch oven and the two that I now have, well three but you’ll have to read about it later. lol. Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks for this post and the link to T-Fal. After many years my cookware is also starting to move into this century. As a Christmas gift, I “gave” myself two All Clad pans (still need to post about it). Found them for almost half price online. Finally ordered a knife block too, since my poor knives were suffering together in a drawer getting nicked and dinged, and a cast iron skillet. Anyhow, just wanted to thank you for visiting my blog and know that I appreciated this post. The T-Fal Dutch boiler is next on my list of items to be acquired.
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