I hate you!!.....you will be surprised at how useful that small one is.....think of things like a Dutch baby for one....
I need to remember garage sales.....like I need more pans either!

Score!! Lucky you :-)

I pulled my tiny one out of storage last year. Turns out it is perfect for toasting seeds and nuts. So many of my spice blends call for nuts and sesame seeds that are so much better toasted fresh rather than sitting on a shelf in the mix. Dukkah has both sesame and pistachio. Za'atar is almost 1/3rd sesame seed.

I've started using my Vollrath carbon steel omelette pan for eggs again after being in storage a few years.

I find, as we cycle through the seasons, some pans find top billing depending on what new recipes/ingredients I run across. I like the weight of your larger ones for a quick saute and you probably have a lid from something else that will fit perfectly for a steam. (or a half dozen lids like me, haha)

LIndaC, I knew you'd like it! (grin) I was thinking of you while I was trying to decide how much those 3 pans were really worth to me...

Colleen, I gotta stay off the auction site, there's always something "good". When I find something, I try to decide whether it's better than the item I'm already using. If it is, I buy the good one and stick the older/cheaper one into a box. When the box is full I sell it at the auction and give myself a little shopping money for next week's auction. Bad habit.

Sleevendog, that's a good idea, I didn't think of toasting seeds and spices. You are right, as my favorite recipes change or my ways of cooking change, my pans change. Some stay though everything, like the Griswold cast iron and the All Clad skillets, but some just make their way onto the back shelf where I can still access them but they aren't taking up valuble kitchen space.

I probably have enough canning jars too...

Annie

Good score, Annie! I'm getting rid of some dinky stuff now and keeping the good. I still have more than I need. A couple of days ago, the elderly man down the road told me to bring some boxes down and I could have all his late wife's canning jars. I'm so thankful. I never have enough canning jars.

Madonna

I use my small one for Egg Foo Yung. Makes the perfect sized patties.

Great bargain! I have one I think about the same size as your middle one -- it is my Frittata pan -- perfect for the two of us!

Jealous

Annie, don't want to be a Debbie Downer but my advice is to hold onto your old cast iron for a while. I found an almost new leCreuset skillet at a garage sale for really cheap. The version that has the light gray enameled interior. Long story shot/ I hate that thing. Everything stuck to it and was next to impossible to clean. Didn't help that I'm anal and wanted the light gray enamel stay looking like new... Come to think of it, I don't think it's in the skillet drawer anymore/ haven't seen it lately. I probably put in a box for a garage sale or took it to Goodwill.

Not sure about yours, though. Looks like the two larger skillets may not have an enameled interior. Least ways, I hope not!

Annie. You mentioned scrubbing pans which made me remember I have a question. I read somewhere that if you cover the inside of baking pans than pour per oxide over it let it soak a few hours they will look new. Have you or any of you tried this?

ci-lantro, they are enameled, they are the older pans and the enamel is black. Elery had a small one that he used for eggs and it worked pretty well, not quite as well as my old Griswold, but pretty well. I do have a Le Crueset grill pan that I do not like, as it's hard to get the thing clean between those ridges. I'm hopeful for these two, we'll see. Elery did say I could clean them up, put some canned goods in them and give them to the kids for Christmas presents if I don't like them. They both like teflon, though...

mama, I did see that technique, but I haven't tried it. I keep my sheet pans pretty well scrubbed, I'm a bit obsessive about it.

Madonna, I was also thinking about you, I've bought boxes and boxes of canning jars at that auction. I just picked up 2 big boxes full of jars for $1.00. They were so dirty and not all were canning jars, there were the old Miracle Whip jars, spaghetti sauce jars, etc. So I kept the 11 canning jars, scrubbed them well and ran them through the dishwasher. Twice. I washed the usable commercial jars and I'll sell them back, the last time I sold a dozen for $6, so that pays for the ones I kept! I do hope I have enough now, although some were very old and I'll add them to my "collection". Old Atlas, Drey, Samco, Longlife, and a bunch of 2 quart blue jars that I don't can with, but I use to keep beans, lentils, dehydrated leeks, herbs, rice, etc. My girls laugh at me and tell me that it's my "collection", old canning jars from companies that are now out of business. (grin) Some really are cool, though...

Angela, thanks for that. Egg Foo Yung, I didn't even think of it.

Martha, I thought it was a great bargain too. Not as good as my $50 Detroit Jewel stove, but still pretty good!

Bossyvossy, I wish everyone had an on-line auction like ours, it's like a treasure hunt!

Annie

Mamapinky, I have used the peroxide trick several times. Works miraculously for burnt on sugar and worked good taking the built up grease off the built in griddle on my rangetop. Needed two or three dose on the griddle as it's flat and couldn't puddle.

For a burnt sugar mess in a saucepan, pour the peroxide in the pan (about 1/4" deep) apply heat and stand back and watch the carbon just lift off! (Stainless steel pan.) Works so good that you almost want to make the mess again just so you can watch the miracle all over again!

Annie, I hope you end up liking those pans. Great score on the canning jars, too. BTW, I like those old style Classico spaghetti jars for canning tomatoes--they're 24 oz, I think and come in handy when you don't have quite enough toms for another quart. Lots of times, I don't want a full qt. of tomatoes anyway.

Annie, Wow! I'm so thrilled for you - what an amazing find and what a bargain! I'm totally envious! And a Jadeite bowl!!! Wowzer! You really cleaned up! Speaking of, I love finding used items for bargains and cleaning them makes me feel so good, as if that's a huge part of it all : )

Annie Thank You.

Ci-lantro Thank You. Lol. Burnt sugar sounds like something great was baked. Haha

I also keep my pans cleaned but someone i wont name names (hubs) used cooking oil spray on my favorite cookie sheet....need I say more.

Congratulations, what a score! I have the small skillet with the white interior. I like it and use it occasionally for small saute's and also as a lid for other pots. I don't find it to be difficult to clean. Great tip about the hydrogen peroxide, I'll buy a couple of bottles to have in reserve.

The glasses pictured are identical to ones that my mother in law bought for herself and for me in the '70's. They were durable as heck and did look nice as drinking or as parfait glasses. I don't recall what I did with mine, but they're long gone. Enjoy your booty, you did very well!

"Bossyvossy, I wish everyone had an on-line auction like ours, it's like a treasure hunt!"

I wish we did, too! Sorry your Jadeite bowl wasn't what you were looking for and I'm sure you'll find a use for it (the candy bowl idea is great); I love old things like that! I think Jadeite has such a lovely light-quality to it. I adore those Wexford's of yours, but the milkglass has my heart... DH says I have 'too much stuff'. Well.. he has too many tools, but I don't mind : )

I've got some tall pastel frosted octagon glasses which DH loves to drink mint tea juleps from (kinda our tradition now). I found them at a flea market and love those kinds of finds! The older glassware always seems so much sturdier and less inclined to break.

Great deal, Annie.

I've been trying to figure out how a local auction can have such an endless supply of stuff. And really good stuff!

Lucky you! I have a little cast iron pan that size and use it for all kinds of things!

cc, the same people used to run 4 auctions: One in Muskegon, one in Lansing, one in Big Rapids and one in Fremont. Now they have all been consolidated into one, but the owners are looking for someone interested in starting one in another area.

This weeks auction has over 2,000 items. Many are junk, or boxes of junk, but there are some good items. A couple of weeks ago they sold a 2015 Audi that was seized by local police. If businesses close, they put the remainder of the inventory on the auction. That's where we got the commercial meat slicer, it was a small grocery store that went out of business and sold all the equipment. Estates, abandoned storage stalls, used furniture, even guns and coins, they all go through the auction. Now, some people are crazy and will pay more for something than I'd pay for it new, but sometimes they don't know what something is. That's how I got the VitaMix, stuck in a box of junk, and I bought Ashley a used KitchenAid mixer for $60 a couple of years ago. We can go for weeks and just see junk, then suddenly, something pops up. And, of course, since a lot of people just don't cook, the good stuff can go pretty cheaply. Check it out!

http://www.jnjonlineauction.com/catalog.asp?catid=2268&n=APRIL-12---D-SALE

Annie

Enjoyed looking at the link! Many of those prices are insanely low! Annie, we have 'estate' sales around our area, but they aren't the same as what you have there in the link. The prices are high, and typically it's rather shady... when all the 'overpriced' items don't sell, the company holding the auctions sell in bulk to their established dealers at low prices - the owners trying to sell lose, the people attending the Estate Sales lose, and only the dealers win. I've attended enough to not even bother anymore.

We've a lot of garage/yard sales in our area, and that's more in line - but I've not time, and DH would kill me (unless I brought home only CI, because that translates to 'fried potatoes' to him, LOL!

Annie, I inherited one of those little LE C fry pans. I have found it just the right size for slow-cooking a few wild mushrooms (cook cleaned wild shrooms in bit of good butter, then serve on a half English muffin or slice of rustic bread (toasted). Heavenly.

I also (used to) saute the chicken liver from a roasting chicken, with a bit of butter, EVOO, salt, pepper, thyme and sage. Served on toasted bread or on Eng Muff.

I don't eat much of the above any longer -- but that little pan is a sweet gem. Great find! I swear if you keep these postings coming, I'm going to be moving in.

Annie you scored!!

I think I ruined my old cast iron fry pan. Honey mustard sauce on salmon and the sauce carbonized. I have not been able to get it completely off even under my infrared broiler. Do you think the heated peroxide would work? DH keeps saying throw it out & get a new one. I looked at Lodge but didn't like the texture.

eandhl2, did you see the post and photos a few months ago (by dcarch, IIRC) showing how he used a type of sanding device or wire brush (with motor) to scour and smooth a pan? It was impressive.

Have you tried warming the pan with hot water, the, with good ventilation, using oven cleaner and letting it stay a while?

I'm confident that a few of us here can get that burned on mess off your CI pan. Don't toss it! Can you post some photos?

Oh Annie...I would be such a pushover for an auction like that in our local (there might be and I just don’t know about....which is good). We do have a newly opened Church operated “Goodwill” which I like. I don’t need that stuff.....which is dishes I usually look at first then books. I check out every four weeks after a hair cut....never come home empty handed. I do like the older pretty dishes (my Mother showing up). But to have an internet auction close by ..oh my!

It’ the hunt!

I tried the water on the range first alone, then with DW detergent, nothing. Brush with salt, nothing. After I put it under the broiler I used a butter knife & was able to scrape a lot off but not all. Don't know how to do pictures but I will look up dCarch. Thanks for responding.

l

I couldn't find the link by dcarch, but found a numbers of others. So right now I spayed it good with easyoff and it is in a plastic bag for a day or two. We do have good ventilation but I have asthma so holding off putting it on the range. My pan is not labeled except a number but it was a shower gift 50 years ago. I had it like glass

End results, After trying the some of above suggestions -- 2 days in plastic bag sprayed with oven cleaner I was able to scrape a lot of the carbonized mess. Then I tried the peroxide it did the best job. So far after 3 tries I haven't got a satisfactory seasoning. I just wanted to say thank you for the suggestions.