I have little faith in Teflon, so I decided to go for an 8″ and a 10″ Emeril non-stick pan. I’ve had them four years, and in that time, the 10″ has completely lost it’s non-stick-ness. I know what I did. I left it on a high-flame. Well, actually, I think my wife did it.

It made me rethink the non-stick thing. I only have two non stick pans, and the 8″ is for eggs. I break out the 10″ when I want more eggs. In my huff, I called about the “lifetime warranty.” Of course, no dice–I used it over high-heat.

Which makes me wonder why All-Clad makes a non-stick line. Considering how easy it is to overheat a pan on a decent gas stove, wouldn’t it make sense to use it as a component to a cookset? I’m not complaining about non-stick pans. But non-stick sets… aside from the fact you can’t get a good deglaze out of a non-stick. Wouldn’t you end up ruining those expensive pans? I mean, they make a non-stick wok. No high heat with a wok?

In any case, on my trip to Chef’s Catalog, the benefits and singular characteristics of the Scanpans were extoled. They are non-stick, not teflon, dishwasher safe and steel utensil safe (both teflon no-nos) and, even with the chintzy-looking handle, are oven safe to 500º.

They do have that heat plate on the bottom, and the handle sure is ugly, but it would be an indestruco-pan! It’s also a 9″ and change pan. It would go with the 8″ and the replacement 10″ Emeril I got at TJMaxx for $29.99.

I love TJMaxx, but make sure to look at those seconds on cookware. As long as they aren’t obviously messed up or won’t lay flat. That’s a doozie.