Ideal set of Cookware, Ala Carte?

Question

If you were setting up a set of cookware from scratch and budget was not a constraint, what pieces would you stock your kitchen with a gas cook top and an electric oven?

Pans
•	General Fry pans (What sizes, materials & makes?)
•	Sauté Pans (What sizes, materials & makes?)
•	Sauce Pans (What sizes, materials & makes?)
•	Paella Pan (What sizes, materials & makes?)
•	Grill Pan (What sizes, materials & makes?)
•	Omelet pan (What sizes, materials & makes?)
Pots
•	Stock Pots (What sizes, materials & makes?)
•	Braising Pots (What sizes, materials & makes?)

What pieces would be cast iron, high carbon steel, stainless clad, aluminum, copper clad, non-stick etc.? Which pieces would you have lids for? Different materials offer difference benefits, so I am curious to see folk's opinions. 

How many pieces would you need?

Answer

This has been discussed many times:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/705418
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/652878

And if you search by "copper", "carbon steel", and "cast iron", you will get many more.

What piece of your cookware do you find does not do the job as well as you like? What kinds of food are giving you trouble?

Answer

Well...sometimes life works things out for you. I am at the front end of a kitchen remodel and my older brother is getting divorced and is in need of cookware so I will give him some of mine. I happen to have a bunch of Macy's gift certificates awarded from my work that I can use to replace what I give him. This means mostly all-clad stainless.

Here is what I ended up with (omitting my roasting pans and bakeware).

Carbon Steel:
Matfer Bourgeat Black Steel Round Fry Pan (8.6”)
La Tienda Pata Negra Paella Pan (14”)

Cast Iron:
Lodge Cast Iron Skillet (13.5”)
Le Creuset Rectangular Skinny Grill 8-1/2” x 13”
Le Creuset Panini Press (9”)
Le Creuset Braiser (3-1/2 qt.)
Le Creuset French Oven (7-1/4 qt.)

Stainless:
All-Clad Windsor LTD (1-1/2 qt.)
All-Clad Sauce Pan (2 qt.)
All Clad Soup Pot (4-1/2 qt.)
All-Clad Pasta Pentola (7 qt.)
All-Clad Stock Pot (12 qt.)
All-Clad Frying Pan (12”)
All Clad Frying Pan Copper-Core (12”)
All-Clad Sauté Pan (6 qt.)

Non-Stick:
Swiss Diamond Frying Pan (12”)

Answer

Ooooohhh.... Your question sounds like that one from years ago: What components would you get if you wanted the ultimate audio system?

Seriously? If money is no object, buy yourself 1st Class tickets on Air France and get thee to Dehillerin in Paris or Rameria Mazzetti in Montepulciano in Tuscany, and have them pick you out everything in heavy, tinned copper and premium cast iron. Don't forget the wood utensils.

Answer

Just found this thread now, but I'm commenting because this sounds fun.

General Frying Pans: 
8, 10 and 12 inches. I would buy plain hard anodized aluminum, stainless steel, nonstick and maybe stainless lined copper. For hard anodized aluminum, there wouldn't be a specific brand because plain hard anodized cookware without a nonstick coating is hard to find. Cat Cora's line is so far the only cookware line that I know of that makes plain hard anodized since Calphalon discontinued its commercial line years ago. But if ebay has them in good condition, I would buy it there. Stainless steel, I currently own a 7.5" All-Clad frying pan, a 9.5" disc-based and tri-ply frying pan made by Tupperware, and an 8 and 10 inch Technique frying pan sold by QVC and bought on ebay. For the remaining 12 inch, I would go for either Zwilling J.A. Henckel's Sensation or Aurora. Nonstick, I wouldn't limit myself to one brand and would choose whichever is the most durable at a good buy. Stainless clad copper, I would go for De Buyer Prima Matera because it's thinner without it being 1.5mm copper(thus lighter than 2.5mm copper) and has stainless steel handles instead of bronze or cast iron.

Saute Pans: 
12"/5 quart in stainless clad. Cuisinart French Classic.

Sauce pans:
1, 2, and 3 quarts in stainless clad. Zwilling J.A. Henckels Sensation.

Paella pan: No use for one. I also don't like frying pans with double loop handles.

Grill pan: No use for one. I don't grill much.

Omelette pan: 
8 inch frying pan in all metals except for cast iron or tin lined copper. Neither is optimal cookware for me, especially tin lined copper.

Stock pots: 
Eight quart stock pot, stainless steel. Brand doesn't really matter.

Braising pots:
4-6 quart pots. I currently have a GreenPan Thermalon 5 quart Duch oven.

Answer

I'll play along. I am a vegetarian so this is my ideal set:

Fry pan:
12 inch Lodge cast iron, 10 inch cast iron, 24cm copper/tin fry pan for eggs, carbon steel crepe.

Sauce pan/saucier/dutch oven: 
1.5 & 3qt copper/tin because it looks awesome and of course a 5.5qt Le Creuset. I also can't live without my 3qt enameled dutch oven from Lodge. A lodge combo cooker is my go to for bread, I've scratched up enough enameled doing this I could cry.

Stock pot - anything will do, but maybe carbon steel from Le Creuset.

I would add a 12 or 14 inch carbon steel wok to this. I hate storing lids, so a baking sheet will have to do, and 1 universal lid. I could probably do 90% of everything in 6 pieces, but I would like 10.

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