To you gourmets!

I bought my Calphalon set from Bed Bath and Beyond when they were having a sale and I had a 20% off coupon. It was close to $150 after taxes and everything, but I got the 12 piece set I believe. Let me just say it has been worth every penny. You have to hand wash them (the dishwasher warps them and they don't sit on the stove evenly) but they're the easiest thing to clean ever. This past Christmas I was making marshmallow wreaths and the marshmallow goo that usually takes hours of scrubbing just wiped right out of the pan. Calphalon gets my vote (and no, I'm not a saleswoman )

It's just me, but I say replace one piece at a time with something REALLY worth having. Over time, you will have an amazing collection!

You have to look it at in the long term. Buy one All Clad pot/pan for a higher price and have an amazing piece of equipment that comes with a lifetime warranty. Or buy a cheaper pan now that then ends up needing replacement in a few years, then another replacement a few years after that, etc. You'll end up spending more on the cheap pan.

I love, love, LOVE, LOVE my All Clad stuff. I have two fry pans and one sauce pan. I want to get a big pan for doing stir fry. I want to get their measuring cups, too. They are pricey, but my cheap-*kitten* plastic ones - the handles keep breaking off.

I have some caphlon and some cuisinart. I like the caphlon I have better... The cuisinart (which I usually love their stuff) I have a stainless steel pot, where some of the metal has chipped off.

I also have ONE Royal Prestige pot. But you have to buy that through a distributor and when I tried to get someone to contact me via their website, I never heard anything. The one little pot I have was also worth the money.

How do I buy some quality cookware without going broke? I want to get more into cooking, but all the reviews and recommendations for things like a hard-anodizing aluminum sautee pan isn't cheap.

I love to cook. I cook every day of the week and I have two words for you: CAST IRON. Nothing beats it. Anything teflon or non stick will eventually start sticking - even the expensive stuff. Stainless steel slightly better. Haven't tried hard anodized anything. A well seasoned cast iron pan cooks the best in my opinion. They get extremely hot and stay hot. They clean up easily again, if they are well seasoned and you don't remove the seasoning, just look up how to care for them. One of the reasons people dislike it is that it's heavy. I have a glass top electric stove and I still use them, but they are better on a gas stove. Oh, and they are a LOT cheaper than anything else out there, and they last forever. My mom still uses pans that were her grandmothers!

Costco stores in the Seattle area currently have a red 6.5 qt. enameled cast iron "French oven" made in France (not LeCreuset, but just as nice) for $70. Also, it's available from their online store for $80. Comparable LeCreuset is $200+.

I also love my LeCreuset tri-ply (stainless-clad aluminum).

Watch for vintage Descoware enameled cast-iron at thrift stores and garage sales. Julia Child endorsed that brand back in the 60's.

Sams club has some great commercial-grade skillets and non-stick frying pans for relatively cheap.

old cast-iron is good, but it takes some effort to maintain. new cast iron takes a fair bit of work to get it to the point of being non-stick, and even then you have to use some oil.

I think Le Cruset / All Clad / Calaphon are way overpriced for what you get, and I do all the cooking in my house. you can go a lot farther with spending $30 on a crock pot or $70 on a pressure cooker (pork roast in 45 minutes anyone?) than you can spending $200 on a Le Cruset dutch oven.