California has a million micro-climates. SF Peninsula where i live can vary 15-20 degrees based on if you are in the path of the incoming fog. My particular city (our motto is Climate Best by Government Test) is pretty much optimal - not as much fog as up north but not too hot in the summer, we haven't seen frost in 3 years but still get enough chill hours for peaches and plums. My neighbor to the right grows bananas and has a mango tree (no fruit yet) and the other neighbor grows cherries. Zone 9b, Sunset 16 - its gardening paradise. It will cost you big bucks to live here, though, especially with enough land for fruit trees.

I really don't understand all of this back and forth about how the exterior of cookware looks after you use it. Isn't what matters in cookware how well it functions, how well it lasts, and how easily the cooking surface cleans up? The exterior is exposed to searing flame or red-hot steel coils and is dragged across ceramic and granite counters. It will show these signs. The easiest way to keep your cookware "beautiful" is to leave it in the cupboard or on your display rack. If one wants to use it, the best thing to do is to make sure the cooking surface (stove top burner) and the exterior of the pan are completely clean each time you use them. If not, the organics (carbonaceous material from food, oil, sauce, etc) will char and discolor the surface. If there is nothing to char, there will be no browning or blackening of the surface. I prefer to let any dribble, splash and spatter just char on the exterior. Years of cooking produce a deep brown patina that reminds me of how much good food and happiness my pans have brought me. If one wants to use the dishwasher, then one has to also come to terms with the possible lightening or discoloration of a surface from the somewhat caustic nature of the detergent. This will not affect the longevity nor the performance to any perceptible degree. Concerning performance, all of the All-Clad pans with stainless steel interiors perform the same with respect to stainability and durability in the pan. The real difference between the lines is in heat transfer performance (how fast they heat, cool, and distribute). Assuming the interior stainless is the same thickness across the different lines, the MC2 will be the fastest in heating, and thus arguably the best, because it has an exterior raw aluminum wich has a thermal conductivity that is about 16 times greater than stainless steel (250 vs 16 W/mK). Next in line would be the LTD that has a thin anodized aluminum exterior coating, which is largely alumina (aluminum oxide) having a thermal conductivity of about 20 W/mk, thus inhibiting heat transfer to some degree versus pure aluminum. The All-Clad Stainless is a tri-ply stainless/aluminum/stainless and thus has much less aluminum than the others and thus lower thermal conductivity. The Stainless is a little better for searing of meats or other large masses because it has a higher heat capacity, but I won't elaborate on that right now. Suffice it to say, cast iron is better in this venue. To make your metallic cookware easy to clean after use, follow these simple steps: 1) with a dry, clean pan, heat on high until a drop of water will ball up and "dance" on the surface (careful not to heat too much, or you could wreck the pan or "flash" subsequent oil). 2) when the pan is hot, coat the interior surface with a high smoke point oil such as sunflower, safflower, canola, corn, or peanut oil. Note, if you want to cook with another oil or butter, drain off or use a paper towel to carefully remove excess oil. The oil addition to the hot pan forms a molecular bond between the oil and the steel and renders it much more non-stick. 3) let the pan cool to the temperature at which you desire to begin your cooking and add the appropriate oil or butter or liquid for your desired meal. 4) drag your spatula as little as possible across the bottom of the pan, especially if it's metal, so you don't disturb the thin layer of oil that is bonded to the stainless surface 5) when done cooking, immediately empty your pan and cool with tap water and a little soap. The high temperature of the pan in combination with the water will do wonders to loosen any stuck foodstuffs.

This is a follow-up to my post of April 23. I received my 9-3/4" Falk saucier today, almost a month from the time I ordered it on eBay. Just about the time I was getting antsy about not having received it, I got an email message from the vendor, telling me that the manufacturer had had trouble getting handles, and that was the reason for the delay. A few days later there was another message saying that the pan had been shipped, and I received it ten days after that message. It was well packed, and looks and feels like it would survive being run over by a tank. It's quite heavy, which is what I expected---no single-handed tossing of ingredients! I'm on the short side (5'4"), and find the angle of the pan's handle a bit high; however, this isn't the first time I've had that problem, and can cope with it. On the whole, I'm happy with my purchase (obviously, I haven't cooked anything with it yet, but don't anticipate any surprises there). Given the price of copper cookware, I think this was a reasonable transaction for a new pan. I didn't get the copper lid, which I think is a frivolous expense; a glass lid from another pan fits this one just fine. ---Margaret

I would consider whether your kitchen is open to other rooms in your decision. Is this a new build, major remodel? You'll want these elements to blend. I must say that my island happened by accident. It was originally marble. That's a long story on another thread. Several problems came up during my remodel starting with the floor. My large sample did not have the light and dark variations, so I was quite dismayed when it was delivered. I could not take looking for another product and waiting for delivery and acclimation so I decided to keep it. It made finding countertops difficult. In my case, walnut was a low cost choice to pull in the colors in my wood floor and my brown/black island cabinets. It ends up that the floor gets the most attention, until their eyes move to the island. I think you are wise to think this out now. I would choose the White Macabaus on all surfaces if you go with the charcoal. If you decide on the walnut, I would do a rustic finish so the dents and scratches blend. We grew up up with many fine wood pieces in my parents home, all of which had the surfaces ruined by a household of kids. We did homework on our large dining table, but it had protector pads. You might do a shout out to those that have a Waterlox Satin finish to see how the finish is holding up, especially for scratches. A furniture finish like mine will require lots of maintenance to deal with scratches. I plan to experiment with the recent scratches that happened when family was visiting last week. My nephew dragged a serving platter to get it closer to his plate. The finish does seem to level out over time. I had deep scratches from bathing my puppy last summer that are hardly noticeable now. Another thing to note is that Waterlox has a long cure time.