I have 2 SS frying pans. One has the encapsulated bottom and is 12 inches across. The other has a very thin aluminum coating on the bottom and is 8 inches across. It's taken me a while to learn how to use them correctly. for fried foods, I use the mercury method (though I didn't know what it was called). I found it through trial and error. But I get the pan hot while it is clean and dry. I then add about a tsp. of cooking oil to the pan. Sometimes I spread it around, while sometimes I spread it with a paper towel, just leaving an oil sheen. It depends what I'm cooking. The point is, when I place the food in the pan, be it potatoes, meat, green veggies, whatever, it just slides across the pan as if it were teflon. If I'm frying meat, and want a fond from which to make a sauce, or gravy, I add the oil to the cold pan, bring it up to temperature over medium heat, and then add the meat. I then brown it on both sides, cooking for the desired degree of pink, and use a thin metal spatula to turn the meat. It sticks just a little, enough to give me fond.
The first method works so well, that even bacon releases without sticking. I cook pancakes using the first method, with no sticking problems. If I want crispy edges on the pancakes, I leave add a bit of butter to melt in the pan just before putting in the batter.
Sauces are another method. First, I bring the pan up to temperature, but not as hot as for frying meat. I place butter into the pan and let it melt as the pan is heating. When it begins to bubble, I watch it closely. When it quits bubbling, I add the same amount of flour as I did butter. I stir it and let it cook until the flour reaches the color I want. I then add milk, or stalk to make the kind of sauce I want. After adding the liquid, heat must be reduced to keep the sauce from sticking, and scorching.
Stainless isn't too hard to master. It simply takes a bit of practice, and paying attention to what happens when you do different things with it. That, in my humble opinion, it the only sure way to learn the cooking skills. I can give you advise, just as the others who have weighed in have. And all of it will help you learn what you want to know. But you have to try what has been given you. See what works, and what doesn't. That's how you learn the cooking skills you desire.
Skittle, you ask the right questions. You are going to be a masterful cook, not just competent. Your desire to learn is strong, young grashopper. That will serve you well.
Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
