Cookware open stock - which pieces to buy to make a set?

[patrcarl]

My wife and I are newlyweds, new house, new puppy, life's shaping up well! We are trying to outfit our home for the future, and are working on our kitchen. We just bought Wusthof knives, and cookware is next! We have decided on All-Clad Stainless Steel, and plan to purchase 4 pieces from the outlet so that we get the additional 20% off. But, which 4 pieces is the question !

We already have a set of 5-year old Emerilware (made by All-Clad) that is non-stick, so we have that covered for the time being. We would really appreciate recommendations for which four stainless steel pieces we should add to the set.

From reading around, it seems like some of the 7 or 10 piece sets that you see sold together often have pieces that people just don't use. If we make this investment, we want to be sure that we will use all of the pieces! Here are the items that we are leaning towards:
- 10" fry pan
- 4 qt deep saute pan
- 4 qt sauce pan
- 7 qt stockpot
- pasta strainer to fit in 7 qt stockpot (to be used for pasta and steaming veggies)

At Cookwarenmore.com, the above items come to a total of $535 with 20% discount and shipping.

But, Williams Sonoma has a 7-piece set for $600 that has:
- 10" fry pan
- 3 qt saute pan
- 4 qt sauce pan
- 7 qt stockpot
- Free All-Clad cast aluminum 5.5 Qt. round dutch-oven
- Free All-Clad oven mits


Any suggestions that you can provide are much appreciated!

 

[theunknowncook]

PatrCarl:
Congratulations on getting married! I have never bought any cookware sets. I usually buy open-stock from restaurant supply stores. Most of my cookware is commercial-grade. I like Vollrath, but you might want to buy something more affordable.

Cookware: Ratings of Sources

Check out:
Cookware [All-Clad, is available at CookWare, under $399.]

Wasserstrom

Central

Good luck. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/chef.gif

 

[missyjean]

Best wishes to both of you!

I think you might need some smaller saucepans, since it is just you two, which you can probably add. Otherwise, it looks like you've got it covered. I think a 1.5 qt size is important to have