So I finally went hog-wild online yesterday, and ordered...

[TygrBright]

...a bunch of bakeware/cookware I've been wanting for a long time. One of my frustrations with cooking/baking is that almost all recipes make quantities that are just too much for the DH and I. We really DON'T want to eat a whole 9" x 5" loaf of banana bread all in a few days. I've learned to cut it in half and freeze one half for later consumption, but it would still be easier to make two small loaves rather than one huge one. Same is true for any number of other things, including entree recipes, etc. I almost always halve them, and even so end up with leftovers, and not all leftovers are created equal, if you know what I mean. Some things I'll happily chow down for lunch the next day, and some... well...

I really hate having to clean out the fridge on Mondays and throw away uneaten food that I know we're never going to get around to.

So yesterday I went online and ordered:

A set of four 6" x 4" x 2.5" loaf pans (they only came in sets of four, though I only wanted two)
A nine-inch springform pan with flat and tube bottoms
A nine-inch angelfood cake pan (they don't seem to make smaller ones, alas...)
A one-dozen madeleine pan (I couldn't resist, since I found out I have a knack for making 'em!-- and they're EASY!)
A 3-qt All-Clad sauteuse (I make a LOT of stovetop-to-oven stuff, and my current Calphalon one is a 5-qt, way too big!)

I had been looking for sensible-size small loaf pans (not those dinky "mini-loaf" things) and a small springform and a small sauteuse for months, in all kinds of places from Target to swanky cookware stores, and become increasingly frustrated.

Now I'm counting the days until the UPS guy comes, woo-hoo!

anticipatorially,
Bright

[NMDemDist2]

1. can you give us a link where you found such treasures?

I need a break from shoveling out the guest room :rofl:

[TygrBright]

2. I was surprised that it wasn't really easy...

...to find the cookware/bakeware sellers online. I finally dug up this site:

http://www.cooking.com/products/bakeware.asp

They had me drooling quickly. It was very difficult to exercise any budgetary self-restraint. However, the All-Clad thing was a special promotion, worked out to be about 60% of what I'd expect to pay in a swanky cookware store, so I can tell myself that I "saved" money rather than spent it, ho-ho. :rofl:

innocently,
Bright

[NMDemDist2]

3. O NO! see what you've done?? I must have one!

Sassafras French Bread Baker:
Turn your home oven into a commercial brick oven and create crusty, light French bread just like your favorite bakery. This French Bread Baker is made by one of the oldest potteries operating in the United States. Constructed from natural clay, it measures 14.5" x 5.5" x 3.25" high. It evenly distributes the oven heat and absorbs moisture released from the dough when baking. The results are some of the best traditional loaves of French bread you’ll ever taste.

[TygrBright]

4. LOL.... I'm sorry!! Really!!! I apologize deeply...

...for exposing you to the temptation to make crusty, light French bread!

heeheehee

penitently,
Bright

[NMDemDist2]

5. sssssuuuuurrrreee you do

:spank:

[Gormy Cuss]

6. I love the mini-loaf pans.

I've made white bread loaves in them and freeze'em.