Thanks all for the replies. I hadn't really thought about the issue of flatness for the shower door. Our current door (and we're intending to reuse for the new shower) is a metal framed slider, but we've talked about the possibility of putting in a frameless door in the future, so maybe it does make sense to go with the solid stone piece. Now to find something that goes with the existing tile, and the new tile that we've picked out. It's always something!

Mary, I'm very happy with my 11" cuprinox style fry pan. But like you, I've spent time reading all the cookware articles. If there is one pan in your arsenal that you want to be thick and heavy, it would be the frying pan, (at least for some cooking). I think the Demeyere Atlantis skillet would be a great choice because it is lighter,(than copper or iron) but still thick and would never warp at high heat-thanks to the stainless. Good cookware will sometimes make up for a less than perfect heat source. I have a powerful gas range with nice big star shaped burners, so I don't really need the thickest pan. But if you were to sear a steak with a weak burner, you would like a nice thick pan to hold more heat - once you preheat it. Otherwise, the meat would 'suck' the heat out of the thiner pan, before the burner could catch up and supply enough heat to get it hot again. I remember you saying you weren't sure on what you were cooking with, but wanted a good fry pan that's not too heavy. I think the Demeyere would be a good choice, I don't own it but I've seen the fry pan and it looks good.- should be easy to clean and is induction capable. I like the inside silvernox finish as well. Price is tough to swallow, but I saw one on sale that was the floor sample at a Sur La Table store...- so if you look long enough? What do I think about the All Clad copper core stuff? It is bomb proof, and I'm really impressed with it. It's not induction capable, and it's not particularly light (because of the copper). Total thickness at the edge, even with all those plies is not very thick. My guess is that the Demeyere Atlantis would do better as a fry pan, even without the copper, because the aluminum is so thick, - while remaining fairly light. Sure copper heats a little faster.. but the race isn't always won by the fastest and fry pans are one item that thickness and therefore heat capacity is just as important.

I don't use metal. Mostly I use Pyrex clear glass. Sometimes, especially for quiche, I use white pyroceram (which has more to do with quantity being made and how many of which dish I have, though it's possible that clear browns better--that's a sense I have, but I haven't properly tested it). With so many variables, like deep or shallow, short crust or lean crust, cooked filling, soft filling, soaked filling, crisp filling, stiff filling, runny filling--just for fruit pies--that it's hard to discern what effect the dish has. For sure, how wet your filling is has an effect. Plus, each oven is so very different. I've been thinking about your question yesterday and today--I just bake them until they're done! In all my old pie notes of things my mother taught me there isn't anything about temperature or time. Just "bake". The recipe driven pies I make call for anything from 350-425ð, for 45-75 minutes. "Bake" seems an easier instruction to follow. :) I can't imagine that Corningware--BTW, that old Corning pattern seems to be very stylish right now, so congrats on the score!--I wouldn't think it would bake faster than metal, so why not just bake a pie, peek at the crust, and if it's not done enough, bake it some more?

Okay, I'll get the silicone crust shields and report back. I already have four glass pie pans, and I only use those for pies that have crumb crusts or other pre-baked pie crusts. For the regular pie crust, I prefer using the metal pan because I like the way the bottom crust comes out, compared to the Pyrex pans. I used to have both 8" and 9" pie pans, but the 8" appear to have been phased out when I wasn't looking. Now I see more 10" pans. As for silicone, I have a Madeleine pan that I use for making chocolate candy but rarely for Madeleines. Silicone is ideal for chocolate. Lars