When it comes to holiday cooking, I tend to spend a lot of time in the kitchen – whether I’m baking peppermint cupcakes for teachers and neighbors, or creating a lavish meal for a sit-down family dinner. So it’s important that I have the right tools and cookware on hand. But often, the specialty pieces I need are not included in a typical set of cookware. That’s why Calphalon created “Your Set by Calphalon,” the first cookware set that can be customized to fit your culinary style. You get to mix and match stainless steel and nonstick cookware, all while immersing yourself in a new online, interactive experience.

Calphalon is heating things up in the kitchen and changing the way we think about cooking and cookware. Some of our members were able to get a sneak peek and talk about their experiences:

• Aggie from Aggie’s Kitchen uses nonstick skillets in every day cooking and has stuck with Calphalon for years! “I think it’s safe to say that my family uses our nonstick skillets almost daily. My husband is always cooking up eggs for us for breakfast, and I like to use them for frittatas, fish and quick vegetable sautes. Since I’m usually trying to keep the amount of oil and butter I use to a minimum, a good nonstick skillet is something I really depend on in my cooking.”
• Marla from FamilyFreshCooking.com loves the way Calphalon helped her create a low-fat version of her favorite pumpkin macaroni and cheese recipe. “For this super quick mac ‘n cheese I didn’t want anything stuck to the bottom of the pan & I wanted to work really quickly. The nonstick pan was amazing for this. This meal came together with ease.”
• Lori with RecipeGirl.com tried out both lines from Calphalon for her cheddar stuffed chicken breasts. “I didn’t want the cheese to melt and burn on a stainless steel pan, so I opted to pan-fry my chicken breasts on their nonstick skillet. For the sauce, I was more interested in getting my shallots nice and browned, and I wanted to be able to scrape up bits from the bottom of the pan.  That’s where a stainless steel skillet comes in handy.”
• Katie over at Good Life Eats was thrilled to put a new spin on a recipe. “I love the challenge of tweaking old recipes into something new, or using a classic ingredient as inspiration for a new recipe. This is part of my creative process and occurs everyday that I am at work in my kitchen. Instead of cream and butter laden green beans, I opted to blanch my green beans and then sauté them in just enough butter and garlic using my new 3 quart AccuCore Stainless Steel Sauté Pan by Calphalon.”

Ready to learn more? “Your Set by Calphalon” is an immersive e-commerce website that invites home cooks to choose pieces from both of Calphalon’s best cookware collections, Unison Nonstick^TM and AccuCore^TM Stainless Steel.  True foodies know that to cook a full range of techniques, you really need both types of cookware in your kitchen. The Unison Nonstick line offers two distinct cooking surfaces – Slide Nonstick for effortless food release and Sear Nonstick to seal in flavor. And AccuCore Stainless Steel line is a great choice for searing meats and deglazing to create pan sauces.

After you’re done putting together Your Set, you can post about the inspiration behind your set, share via social media and connect with others, as well as explore inspirational videos that can help you master your cooking techniques.

In honor of the launch, Calphalon is going to host a VYou chat with Chef Michael Symon. SocialMoms members have submitted questions through the Calphalon VYou channelthat he’ll answer with video responses on November 30th. Chef Symon is a wealth of information and can help elevate traditional holiday dishes into something more festive and flavorful. Be sure to check out the Calphalon VYou channel on or after November 30th to learn Michael’s tips and tricks for the holidays. Feel free to submit your own questions through the Calphalon VYou channeltoo!

In the meantime, follow Calphalon on Twitter and Facebook and enter below for a chance to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card by leaving a comment! Just share a favorite holiday dish you like to cook for your family. Do you prefer to cook traditional dishes like turkey and cranberry sauce or do you mix it up and experiment with new dishes each year? All comments will be automatically entered for a chance to win. (See Official Rules)