surfisup1000:timmmay: Nothing really geeky at all, just quality tools.
I also have some nice knives, nothing too high end. I sharpen with a standard steel, which is annoying and not super effective. Any better suggestions?
We have all Circulon non-stick cookware - three pans, three pots, baking trays, etc. It works very well. The only thing that seems to stick to it is rice noodles when I cook Pad Thai, I may have to buy a wok, but they don't work so well on standard stove elements. I suggested getting a standalone gas cooker (with a small bottle of gas) that can sit on the bench, but my wife doesn't like that idea.
Love my Bosch dishwasher.
knives are interesting -- we bought a $400 set of knives from a good brand.
But, the $10 knife bought from walmart in the US (for a camping trip) seems to do just as good a job if not better as it seems to stay sharper for longer.
And, non-stick frypans - no matter the price , they always wear out even if you look after them. We bought the woll titanium non-stick pan from the food show for $300 or so. It lasted longer than the normal teflon but it is nearly 3 years old and has lost much of the non-stick surface . This has never seen a dishwasher and only cleaned using a water, detergent, and dish cloth according to the instructions.
It has a lifetime warranty but they will no doubt invoke the 'you did not take care' clause and it would end up in an argument which I don't care to take with them. We did use this on fairly high heats but there were no warnings against doing this due to the high quality construction.
Agree on the non-stick frypans. We have given up on them and now have 3 Copper frypans (2 of which need retinning - any ideas anyone?) and a couple of stailess steel chefs pans from a commercial kitchen. They are well seasoned, and very easy to clean.