Christmas Present or Murder Weapon?

Often in life, we don't know how wonderful something is until we have it. Rachel got a Orbital Hand Sander for Christmas from me and I received two very nice All-Clad Fry Pans from her. Laugh all you want but she loves house projects and I love cooking. It's a great balance.

Rachel thought that I was on to her plan to get me the pans for Christmas. I actually had no idea. She even told me that as she was pulling out of the Trolley Square parking lot after leaving Williams Sonoma with the pans, I was driving west on 500 S. and passed her.

Her brother asked what fry pans I would recommend for a gift for his wife. I have only used all-clad pans once and they were wonderful. We cooked Indian food at our house with a fabulous home chef from Rachel's work. I wrote about the delicious creations here.

Eggplant and Tomato dish cooked in All-Clad Pans

Rachel and her brother colluded and both myself and Tim's wife got the All-Clad Fry Pans. They are heavy, tough, durable, and they heat up very fast; so here is where I ask: does she want me to use the pans for cooking or it's it for her comfort knowing that with one swing of the pan I am left for dead?

On Christmas morning I found out just how wonderful they really are. In my excitement to use my new toys, I made french toast for Rachel and Ruby. I burned the second batch of french toast and my hand. Painful but worth it. The "wonderful" part is how uniform everything cooks and how quickly. I am still giddy inside.

Happy Eating and Cooking.