Don't worry about the brand name... use what works best! Whether you buy All-Clad piece by piece, or over time, it's easy to end up spending $800-$1500 on what amount to, let's be honest, FRYING PANS! They are just one small step in the making of your finished recipe. Both the All-Clad and Kirkland stuff are more than capable of handling serious daily use. (Obviously you're going to need to use nylon utensils with nonstick cookware if you want it to last more than a month! I actually use a rubber "spatula" instead of a nylon spatula; it works great in a nonstick pan.) I've used, on a daily basis, All-Clad Stainless, All-Clad LTD, and currently, the Kirkland nonstick cookware (Costco #783634) for sauteing, frying, roasting, etc. I consider all three to be excellent cookware, and I've noticed no difference in performance between them. Obviously the nonstick makes life MUCH easier. I prefer the Kirkland pans' handles. They are hollow stainless, and are easier to grab. The All-Clad ones are thin and V-shaped, and aren't as easy to work with. Which is a pain when you're doing 2 crepes simultaneously, each in their own pan, and Time Is Of The Essence. :-) I've got the Kirkland pans set up on a wall rack in my home kitchen, and it looks very sharp, so don't let the low price fool you... it's very high quality manufacturing, and if you're going for that "cool kitchen" look it's just as slick as the All-Clad stuff, in my opinion. I believe that good cookware (and a hot fire) can turn cooking from a chore into a fun, memorable experience. If you've got a junkyard of pots and pans, struggle to turn out consistently cooked food, and find it generally miserable, I recommend giving the Costco stuff a try. You get an entire set for the price of 1 to 1.5 All-Clad pans, you take it all home that day, and can immediately use it all. To sum up: buy the Kirkland stuff, and use the $1000 you saved on not buying an expensive frying pan... to buy higher-quality ingredients... French wine... organic produce... which will REALLY make for good cooking!

Thanks for all your replies. Sorry it took me so long to get back to the forum. My children and their children ended up spending most of the day with us yesterday, and two granddaughters spent the night. Anyhow, I'd like to try making smokey hot smoked salmon -- not lox. Cheryl thanks for the sauce recipe. Sounds good! My smoker doesn't really go lower than 200 degrees, but I think I'll just start some experimenting. I've purchased professionally smoked fish that was dry as sawdust, so I'm sure I can do as good as that. The smokey flavor of meat coupled with a tasty but salt-free sauce adds amazing possibilities to our menus. I figure I could do the same thing with fish. By the way, I have one really important question: Does smoking fish in an smoker make everything else smoked afterwards taste like fish? I regularly clean my smoker after each use, but it's hard to perfectly remove every bit of grease. The smoker is cleaned but not out-of-the-package pristine any longer. Do fish odors linger? Would it be OK to smoke the fish in a baking pan to contain the fatty drippings? What do you think? Thanks again!

Thanks Dawn. I'm loving the tortillas because while I can't stomach straight eggs anymore, I can handle a breakfast burrito just fine. I will have to try those rolls. I ordered some bagels online that I am curious about. I also found some cauliflower pizza crust at Whole Foods that was pretty good once loaded with toppings. I should probably stop trying to replace everything bad that I used to like with low-carb alternatives and instead focus on whole foods, but it's such a drastic change for me that I'm doing what I can to stick with it, even if it's not ideal. Like you said, maybe once I get used to it i'll simplify my eating. It's funny - I would have thought that it was my sweet tooth that was my downfall but it's clear that it's the bread that I'm missing. I haven't wanted anything sweet, probably because I hate the taste of artificial sweeteners and stevia. My original goal was under 20 net carbs but i've adjusted it to 30, which helps because my meat replacements all have a few carbs, and I'm able to eat a lot of vegetables (my brussels sprouts were taking up half of my daily carbs). Seems to still be working.

Dairy Free Marshmallow Creme Fudge 3/4 cup dairy free margarine (Fleishmann's No Salt) 3 cups sugar 2/3 cup Silk Vanilla Soy Milk 1 package (12oz) dairy free chocolate chip (10 oz package Enjoy Life chocolate chips + 2 oz (over full 1/4 cup) one 7 ounce jar Kraft Marshmallow Creme 1 teaspoon valilla 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional) (I don't use) Melt margarine in large saucepan. Add sugar and soy milk. Bring to a full boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Lower heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly to soft boil (candy thermometer 234*) Takes about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Add chocolate. Stir until chocolate melts. Add marshmallow creme and vanilla. Add nuts if wanted. Pour into greased 9" x 13" parchment lined pan and let cool. Lift out of pan and cut into squares with sharp knife. Will keep on counter, but I usually store covered in refrigerator for longer storage. It stays creamier and fresher longer. This is the recipe on the back of the Kraft Marshmallow creme. You use a small (5oz) can of evaporated milk for the regular version. It only takes 5 minutes to cook instead of 15 for the dairy free. I haven't tried it, but have been told, that you can find vegan marshmallows. So could probably be adapted to be vegan.