Cook takes a shine to copper.

Byline: FOOD DUDE By Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

As regular readers of this column know, Food Dude doesn't do recipes. It isn't that I'm opposed to following directions, it's just that there are so many recipes in newspapers and magazines.

I figured you all could use a break.

One thing about recipes that Food Dude really doesn't like is the "estimated cooking time." I've been burned by that little italicized number more times than I can count. If it says 35 minutes, well, you can bet I'll be in the kitchen for more than an hour. I won't even finish chopping until my time is half up.

And any recipe that promises me anything in 15 minutes is not a recipe I want to spend time with. It can't be good, and it will still take me 25 minutes to make.

The whole thing reminds me of grade inflation, only in this case they're deflating the numbers and trying to make things look easier instead of harder. The worst offenders are those magazines and food columns aimed at busy working parents in search of fast weeknight meals. If you see the header "quick and easy" on any recipe, you're in trouble.

But maybe there really are people out there who can make lasagna in less than an hour and whip up a Caesar salad in less time than it takes me to open the anchovies. Maybe you're one of those people. If so, how do you do it? Have you been practicing the same recipe over and over? Are you drinking lots of Red Bulls while you cook? Food Dude wants to know your secret. I'd also like to hear your questions about food. Write to me at the address at the end of the column.

Dear Food Dude: Years ago, I was swept away by the beauty of two all-copper skillets at a garage sale, but I've never been sure of whether or not they are safe for cooking, so they've been sitting on a shelf turning green. Should I polish them up and cook some omelets? Or am I better off putting them out at my next garage sale?

Thanks for the help.

- P.M.

Dear P.M.: Your first step should be to determine what's lining the inside of your copper skillets and what the condition of that liner is, says Kathy Campbell, owner of Cook's Pots & Tabletops in Eugene.

Most likely you'll find tin or stainless steel on the inside, and if you're lucky, the copper won't be showing through. If those skillets are old, you might find silver on the inside of that dirty pan (and you thought only clouds had silver linings). If you can see copper through the interior coating (and if your skillets are lined with either silver or tin), you can take your cookware to Oregon Re-Tinners in Northeast Portland. They charge $3.50 a diagonal inch for a new tin lining.

Assuming you've decided to keep those copper skillets, your next step is to polish the copper exterior. Campbell, herself a copper convert, says you can use vinegar or tomato juice if you don't want to spring for a commercial product. It's up to you to decide how clean you want to keep that copper finish. Campbell, who says she's not a clean freak, polishes her copper cookware about three times a year.

As with anything else, there are variations in quality when it comes to copper cookware. Campbell recommends pots and pans that are 85 percent to 90 percent copper over those that are merely copper clad. Because copper heats up quickly, you will probably have to adjust your cooking style.

Some cooks don't want to spend the extra time polishing those copper pots and pans and choose other materials. If you're in this camp, it's fair to say your cooking probably won't suffer if you opt to keep using whatever you're using right now. But for Campbell, who still uses the first piece of copper cookware she picked up 35 years ago, it's worth the extra maintenance.

"I would die before I would give up my copper (pots and pans)," Campbell says. "They conduct heat better than any other type of cookware and they're gorgeous."

Talk to the Food Dude at www.registerguard.com/blogs/index.php/fooddude. Or, send mail to Food Dude, The Register Guard, P.O. Box 10188, Eugene, OR 97440-2168.