Reddit reviews Lodge 10 Inch Cast Iron Chef Skillet. Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Pan with Sloped Edges for Sautes and Stir Fry.

You must be pretty bad at Googling, $25 on Amazon and it was recently on sale for like $17 shipped:

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-LCS3-Pre-Seasoned-Cast-Iron-Skillet/dp/B00008GKDJ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1427497733&sr=8-4&keywords=iron+skillet

Here's something pretty solid

How good of friends are they, or how good of friends do you want them to be? Buy them both one and a couple of handles and you've got two 10" Lodges for ~$40 shipped!

Everyone needs a cast iron skillet

I think is the closest you can get at low cost and weight.

Edit: You can later use it for cooking.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0096K1ZDG/ $60

No idea what kind of knifes you need. I like this set. I avoid serrated knives as they tear the meat.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008GKDJ/ $15
Lodge is pretty much the go to cast iron pan. It's relatively cheap, but it is a pretty simple design after all.

You have 75 bucks left in your budget, I would get this:

https://www.amazon.com/Lavatools-Javelin-Limited-Ambidextrous-Thermometer/dp/B01F59K0KA/

Resist the urge to go cheap on instant read thermometer, it was the single best thing I purchased that drastically improved nearly all the food I cooked - especially steaks.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008GKDJ/ref=twister_B007YYNG3S?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I had this from Amazon, for $15 you can't go wrong.

I have a 10" Calphalon Cast Iron skillet that I got for like $20 at Target. I have another cast iron skillet 12" that I got from World Market. It's enameled on the outside and bare on the inside and unless I'm cooking eggs just about anything skillet/pan related happens in one of those pans.

I have some calphalon non stick skillets that I use for eggs/fish/etc. But they might get used once for every 20 uses of the cast iron. Aside from that I have some le Crueset enameled cast iron stuff. I have their Wok, and a Dutch Oven, and a big cast iron fish pan like 14" oval shaped thing. It's great for whole fish, but I don't use it for much else.

But if I were starting from scratch it'd probably be something like the following:

Dutch Oven

Stainless 12"

Cast Iron 12"

Cast Iron 10"

Saucier

Multi Pot

Pot 2 qt


I'd possibly get two of the Multi Pots. I know the additional steamer/pasta baskets are redundant but it's nice to have another pot for things like chili or pasta sauce (Although you could use the dutch oven) But with two stainless pots like that you can do sauce in one and pasta in the other. Also looking up another 6-8 qt stock pot it looks like the same Calphalon pot is $75 while the multipot set is $80, and you could always use the additional baskets as colanders.

You'll probably want some decent glassware, casserole dishes, and a few cookie sheets, loaf, and/or lasagna pans to really round out the kitchen. But the pots/pans listed above would be a great place to start. I should get back to work. :)

http://smile.amazon.com/Lodge-LCS3-Pre-Seasoned-Cast-Iron-Skillet/dp/B00008GKDJ

They're $15 on prime. Stop procrastinating and make awesome steaks. Also home fries. My home fries game stepped up dramatically once I started using this bad boy.

I second Lodge. I do 80% of all my cooking with these two:

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-EC6D43-Enameled-Island-6-Quart/dp/B000N501BK

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-LCS3-Pre-Seasoned-Cast-Iron-Skillet/dp/B00008GKDJ

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008GKDJ/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=WILOBRGT6J2V&coliid=I14JH8NMKXA3YY&psc=1

Lodge makes them in the Tennessee. The are awesome, and cheap too. They come in all shapes and sizes. A good starter is a 10in. Here it is on Amazon for $20. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008GKDJ

Nah. You can get a new Lodge 10" for $15.

Lodge cast iron pan.

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-LCS3-Pre-Seasoned-Cast-Iron-Skillet/dp/B00008GKDJ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1406190835&sr=8-3&keywords=lodge+cast+iron+pan