If you leave a scratched aluminum Teflon coated pan in soapy water, the Teflon will flake off bit by bit. Soap reacts with aluminum to form atomic hydrogen. Atomic hydrogen is a very small atom that actually moves into the aluminum pan's metallic structure where it eventually meets up with another atom of atomic hydrogen. The resultant molecule that forms when the two atoms meet is what we know as molecular hydrogen (or H2 gas). The hydrogen gas thus formed by the combination of the two atoms greatly increases the size of the molecule such that it can no longer move into the metallic structure. It is the accumulation of this hydrogen gas between the Teflon layer and the aluminum layer that actually lifts the Teflon off of the aluminum pan. This phenomenon is known as "hydrogen blistering". This is a corrosion mechanism that large petroleum refineries must deal with in certain operating equipment. Bottom line........If you want your Teflon lined aluminum pans to last longer, do not let them soak is soapy water. The teflon coating will flake off if you do. Iwonder why the pan manufactures don't tell us consumers about this???? Dan

I purchased the Tramontina from Walmart and was not happy with them at all. While they worked fine on the induction cooktop, the handles - even though they were silicone grip - got too hot to handle without a potholder. It was ridiculous that I couldn't even lift a lid off without hunting down something to protect my hand. They also were quite lightweight and seem cheaply made. Needless to say, I returned them, and picked up a wonderful set from Target - Kitchen essentials by Calphalon. The handles on these stay perfectly cool. They are solid, well made and quite a bit more substantial than the Tramontina. So glad I switched.

Jjam, that is exactly right! I ued to futz around with mini christmas trees on the sideboard and stuff on the table that all had to be removed when we ate. One year i did a display of nutcrackers on the dining table at different heights.....it was an engineering feat and many had to be taken down before a meal....what WAS i thinking, lol?? I do have a lovely centerpiece planned of red roses and white hydrangea for Christmas Day after the game of thrones thing is over. Wanted to share fun thing i got for the table this yesr, scrabble trays and tons of tiles, so people can make their own words / names etc.. Last year we filled our water goblets with varying heights to make notes and "played" a few simple songs by making the rims of those crystal glasses hum. and our Christmas crackers each contained one zylophone piece so we played music with those, too. And in our 70 degree temps I actually thought about making the Christmas message on our bulletin board say Winter Is Not Coming as a political message, lol!

Foodonastump -- wow. I hope we don't have issues with the Misen pans we have. Have not been using them long, but they have been great. When I cook eggs, no sticking and they slide even when you flip one over. They were very responsive when I had a question about the knives, so I feel confident they will address the issues, but I would prefer not to have them in the first place. We have the 8 and 10 inch -- DH ordered the 10" without telling me and I bought the 8 after using the 10 because it is the size I use most often for eggs. So far, they have both been great and I do hope I can stop buying no-stick pans so often (ceramic finish, All-Clad, Scanpan and others -- DH kills them all). I'll try to remember to come back and update in the spring. Won't help for Christmas, but might still be helpful.