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I couldn't live without cast iron. I LOVE my cast iron pans.

I agree that stainless steel pans are the best. Get one 10-inch nonstick fry pan for eggs or other delicate/sticky foods. And I have to say, I love my all-clad stainless, which are expensive but cook so beautifully. I have a question, though, since Grant brought up the idea of cleaning all-clad. I have browned many things in my stainless fry pan, and over time it's collected a speckled tint of brown around the edges that doesn't come off. I've used steel wool (which I'm probably not even supposed to do) and it gets cleaner, but the rim seems forever stained (and it has that annoying tacky feel). Is this normal? I don't expect it to look like it did when it came out of the box, but I don't expect residue every time I cook with it, either.

From the MetroKitchen Web site:

Cleaning the Stainless Interior of Your Stainless:
Immerse your cookware in warm water. Use a fine powder cleanser such as "Bar Keepers Friend" "Wenol", "Twinkle", "Cameo" or "Bon Ami" and form into a paste. Apply the paste using a soft cloth. Rub the paste in a circular motion spiraling from the center outward. Wash again in hot soapy water, and dry immediately. DO NOT USE OVEN CLEANERS OR CLEANSERS WITH CHLORINE BLEACH. DO NOT USE STEEL WOOL. Nylon scrubbing pads are safe to use. Bar Keepers Friend or Bon Ami cleansers work well on both the interior and exterior of All-Clad Stainless Cookware.
http://www.metrokitchen.com/all-clad/stainlesscare.html

Bar Keepers Friend: http://www.barkeepersfriend.com/
Bon Ami:
http://www.bonami.com/

I like using a Scotch-Brite™ cleaning pad:
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Food_Industry/Home/Prod_Info/Products/Cleaning_Supplies/Pads/

I'm a firm believer in a carbon-steel wok, but that's my Asian background talking.

I would put my well-seasonsed cast iron pan against any non-stick pan, any time.

Elizabeth, my parents have some all-clad and they just throw it all into the dishwasher. They have stainless steel, works like a charm to get anything off, I have to say when I was home last time I was amazed that it worked as well as it did. But if you don't have a dishwasher then Bar Keepers Friend I think works best, I use it on all my pans when they need a thorough scrubbing (no dishwasher).

If a teflon pan is scratched, will the teflon coating come off during cooking and mix in with the food? (trying to decide if I should stop using my expensive but now scratched up teflon pan. It was accidentally scratched shortly I bought it, so I was reluctant to throw it away or stop using it.

gekko--from what I've read, it's damaged Teflon that really causes the problems because it's more likely to get into your food. An absolutely unscathed Teflon surface is apparently much safer. That said, I'd be hard up to throw away pans too.

Elizabeth,
Bon Ami all the way. It keeps stainless shiney and pretty and amazingly can remove those pesky brown spots.

I have an all-clad that was totally off color - had that speckled brown all over. I got some Bar Keepers Friend, and in 5 minutes with just minimal scrubing it was brand new looking again. Really - like it just came out of the box. This is after soaking, scrubbing, etc, many many times over months to no affect. It is a MIRACLE product.

I too use non-stick pans a lot, for obvious reasons. But my favorite pan for when I want to sear something--steaks, chicken, chops--is a Calphalon One pan. They have two lines, one non-stick and one that is, well, non-non-stick. I'm talking about the latter. Like stainless, it will brown meats beautifully and give a steak a fabulous crusty char. And it apparently falls somewhere between non-stick and stainless in terms of ease of release. Meat surfaces have to caramelize before they release. With the Calphalon One pan, you gently slide a metal spatula (yes, metal!) under the edge of the steak or whatever. If it's ready, it will release easily; if not, wait a minute and try again.

It also gives you those "browned bits" to scrape up as you deglaze the pan with wine or broth that you always read about but never seem to get with non-stick pans.

Calphalon One pans aren't cheap, but they are worth it. And you can sometimes find them used on Amazon. I got mine [12" and 10" skillets] at an outlet mall for very cheap. They were "if perfect"--the rims of the pans were scuffed a little, but who cooks on the rims?

Like stainless, they clean up beautifully with Bon Ami.

And to those who swear by cast iron, I can't get past the reactive issue. I cook with wine and/or tomatoes a lot, and cast iron doesn't play nicely with acidic foods and liquids.

I recently purchased the Kitchen Essentials line from Calphalon in the stainless steel. I accidentally burned some ground beef and unfortunately I think some platic wrap touched the pan and may be stuck on it. I'm not sure, but there is a black speck/scratch and I think that is what it could be. I tried the Bar Keepers Friend and it got rid of most of the burnt marks but the speck/scratch is still there and the bottom of the pan now remains golden brown. I have I ruined the pan altogether? I have to admit...I'm glad I started out with a less expensive line to learn how to cook with stainless.

I would have taken this advice, but he misspelled "definitely"

Dear Grant,

d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y

I've been using Henckel Twin Cast non-stick for a few years (since discontinued) and am very happy with them. I've tried most/all of the others and the closest i've found are properly seasoned cast iron, but, higher maintenance/wait time for the seasoning.