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Paula Deen???? I don't get it!!! Her incessant cackling, sticking her tongue into chocolate fountains, and please, stop with the y'alling.
The worst thing?... her recipes. Soooo bad.
She's Food Network's performing monkey and... they love her. Apparentley, so does the audience. Yeesh.
You can fool some of the people some of the time...but Paula Deen fools all of the people all of the time.

Paul Deen, please, just go away....and take Guy Fieri with you.

Keeping chickens....dirty, unbelievably smelly and, what do you do with all that chicken waste?
And then there's the slaughtering....blood, guts, feathers...yeesh!

Hey Avryan,
You just did a "Major" kitchen remodel and you want to ruin it by getting cheap stuff just to fill the shelves????
Doesn't make sense man!
On a recent visit to Ikea I marveled at how the quality of their already poor quality stuff plunged.
As for Home Goods type of stores, be really discriminating about what you purchase. Make sure to inspect pots, pans, baking sheets for solid weight and, no cracks in their Le Creuset or wannabe knockoffs.
As for the restaurant supply houses in the Bowery, go into anyone! It's lots of fun and there's a lot to choose from as well as in Chinatown.
I agree that estate sales are a great source for the basics and maybe you will find an older model Kitchenaid stand mixer (which I prefer to the newer cheaply made Kitchenaids). BTW, Electrolux (not just for vacuums) makes a great work horse stand mixer and, amazing kitchen appliances.
As far as Cuisinart pots and pans are concerned, IMHO, they're now very cheaply made too.
Invest in good quality pots and pans. Al Clad will last you a long time.
Good luck outfitting your kitchen makeover. It will be lots of fun.

I make a paste of Valrhona cocoa powder, approximately 2 Tablespoons combined with 1/4 cup of whole milk. I add more sugar to taste, about 2 Tablespoons to start with, in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir continuously.
I add another cup or so of milk and about 2 ounces of Valrhona 70% chocolate chunked small, stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. I then add more milk, about 1/2 cup, if mixture is too thick and more sugar to taste, usually another 2 Tablespoons.
I then bring it just to the boil then pour into a mug.
Sip it slowly as you would a fine cognac and, with no distractions.
It's only you and your thoughts.
Hot cocoa well made is one of lifes utterly sensuous experiences.

There is the clear and the dark Shaoxing wine...use the dark.

Spicy eggplant is a great dish. I cook it often.
When I make it, I first brown about 1/3 cup of ground pork with garlic, soy sauce,1 T.hoisin, 1 T oyster sauce and a bit of salt. Pour off the excess oil and add it into the the steamed eggplant mixture. Serve over steamed rice.
It's excellent.

No wonder she's a tubber! Dean, and many people who eat her fat-laden recipes, is at risk wind up having a massive coronary. The Fred Sanford variety, chest-clutching et al, "Elizabeth, I comin' to meet you darlin'. I ate a deep fried butter ball and deep fried mac and cheese!"

I used to be ashamed to admit that I love iceberg lettuce, but now I don't care what people think. It's cool and crunchy--I frequently add it to my leafy salads, and it's always so refreshing to get a bite of it with the soft stuff. And it's a nice foil for bitter greens. One of my favorite snacks used to be a slice of cheddar with some iceberg wrapped around it. The nice crunch with the texture of the cheese is great!

How do you even eat this? Can you cut it with a knife on your salad plate without shooting chunks of Roquefort across the table at your dinner partner?

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Chocolate covered strawberries for me.