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I've never used a thermometer, and I've never had a badly cooked roasted chicken or anything along that nature. I tend to follow recommended cooking times per pound and my gut.

However, I did buy my first candy thermometer today. I've made candy in the past, i.e. fudge & caramel without one and have never had a problem there either. But I wanted to try making marshmallows and the temperature of the syrup plays an important role and I didn't want to chance it with the dropping a small ball in a cup of cold water to see if it makes a round ball method.

@ PerkyMac:

As far as I know, there isn't an All-Clad outlet store in Canonsburg, PA.

Though, you will be happy to know that the All-Clad manufacturing folks put on a fantastic "seconds sale" twice a year, usually in December and June, at the Washington County Fairgrounds. Here's the address:

2151 North Main Street
Washington PA USA 15301
(724) 225-3151

People come from far and wide (e.g. Canada) and I hear it's all madness and long lines. All-Clad doesn't appear to advertise the sale, so I plan to try calling the Fairgrounds' office closer to June to get the scoop on the 2008 sale date.

I haven't gone before, but I am certainly going this June.

I say most definately yes. These pans will last you and your childrens and your childrens childrens lifetime. As a former professional chef I think you can't get any better.

Wow! People love their All-Clad. I have a few All-Clad pieces (including an Emrilware I got on sale) and I do love them. Bourdain says go to a restaurant supply store and pick up cheap pans and toss them out after a few years, in the end they will cost you less. I have done that, too. What do I think? Get the All-Clad Stainless and the supply store non-stick. Non-stick pans just don't last - the coating (it is a coating) comes off after a while - All Clad or not. So, a good, cheaper, non-stick pan, like the one's in the supply store are the one's to get - sure, they're going to fail in half the time, but that's something like 2 years instead of four. Or three instead of six. But, no more than that.

Between All-Clad and Le Creuset, you can't go wrong. Nine years ago I bought an All-Clad 7 piece stainless steel set and I haven't looked back since. I felt so haughty plunking down my credit card at Williams-Sonoma and having the set brought to my car! (It's the small thrills in life ain't it?) The sets are so much more expensive now and you get smaller pots so I definitely think you should buy the separate pieces as you determine your need unless money and space are not an issue.

I wanted stainless steel for the option of putting it in the dishwasher, which is key because I use the 2 quart and 4 quart saucepans daily. I believe none of the other All-Clad lines is dishwasher safe. The 8 quart stockpot is perfect for stews, marinara, braises, chilis, and a big ol' pot of greens. I probably use the 10 inch skillet least of all. As time passed I added the LTD grill pan (which can get crusted and hard to clean), the Master Chef 3 quart saucier, and the Master Chef 12 inch nonstick skillet, which often ends up in the oven to finish frittatas, chicken, and fish. The only Calphalon pan I own is the 13 x 16 stainless steel roasting pan, which I'm VERY pleased with, not the least reason of which is that it was half the price of the All Clad version. For what it's worth I also have a Cuisinart 5 quart saute pan which is good but does not heat up as quickly as my All-Clad.

So I've got plenty of pots and pans; I just needed a bigger, six burner cooktop!

If you are looking for good quality at a cheaper cost, I myself own All-Clad and know the expense, my friends swear by Vollrath. Still pricey, but a little more affordable than ALL-Clad.

I bought a set of All-Clad's about 20 years ago as a birthday present to myself.

I remember boiling water a 6 qt. stockpot for pasta.

The difference was very noticeable from the start. The water simply boiled much faster than my old Farberware set.

Clean up in the saucepans is very quick and easy.

I've added a couple of pans to my collection and I have to recommend the grill pan as one that is used very often and cleans up like a dream.

As mentioned earlier, you don't need a copper-core set. I have the unfinished brushed aluminum MC2 set and wouldn't trade my All-Clads for anything.

My thoughts is that it is an investment that is well-worth it for anyone who loves to cook and appreciates that professional quality that is used almost every single day.

Just check out many of the cooking shows on PBS or elsewhere. Many of the professional chefs (especially those without an endorsement deal) use All-Clads.

I did look at Calphalon, but the difference in weight, and all around quality was obvious.

Love my All Clad pans, I only have three at the moment but plan to add to my collection as finances allow. I found that the Metro Kitchen website often has some good deals.

I took the plunge and bought my all clad 7 piece set 11 years ago and I still have them. They are gaurenteed for life so I have replaced some non stick ones along the way. The conduct heat fantastically, I love em!

oooh, that reminds me... i have a pan of christmas stuffing in the freezer! chestnuts, sausage, and pecans!

the complete meat cookbook (kelly/aidells) the timing/temperatures for various cuts are so accurate. i love it.

This question is hard because what I'd call my favorite cookbooks, or what I'd argue are the best cookbooks ever, are cookbooks that have taught me. So in a fire, I might not need to grab those books, since many of their lessons and quite a few of their recipes have been internalized.

I'll recast the question: there's a fire and all knowledge gained from the books will be lost: which would I want a back-up copy of?

In that genre, I'd say that Cooking One on One by John Ash is a great cookbook. It doesn't have the romance or other emotional tug of Zuni or works by Marcella or Julia or any other number of famous books and their authors. But he's such a great teacher, and this book is so efficiently comprehensive (its barely 200 pages, if that), that I think anyone who works through it would emerge quite a capable cook with a deep understanding of highly adaptable techniques across several cuisines. You wouldn't need the books so much after that.

But he's lacking in desserts, and no baking.

For sheer breadth of recipes: Gourmet. It's a boring answer, but if I could pack only one book (and this may be happening soon in real life, sigh), it's probably Gourmet.

I have an oven thermometer which I use to ensure my oven is at the temperature recommended in recipes (I have to add 50 degrees when setting my oven to get the desired temp) and a digital thermometer with a probe that I use mostly for cooking roasts and poultry. When I travel and know that I'll be doing some cooking or grilling I take both with me as I don't trust anyone's oven to get the true temperature. And even after my own oven beeps that it's come to temperature it's still about 30 degrees off and needs more time to really reach the temperature. The digital probe thermometer is essential also. I rarely cook by time anymore, though I am learning to tell when steak or chicken breasts are done by pressing. But I rely on the thermometer to let me know when something in the oven has reached the desired temperature and is ready to come out of the oven to rest.