chefisaac, what do you use mainly for your chef duties?

I use Trangias. I have done for years. I also tried a propane pocket rocket at one stage. I didn't like its instability and the inability to determine how much fuel I had left.

It's personal choice. I like the Trangias for their stability, performance in the wind, and their slow cooking (like indyfabz, I like cooking rather than just reheating or boiling water). The slow cook might be an advantage for chefisaac... thin pots and pans can be very difficult to use with high-intensity flames, in my experience.

An off-the-shelf system also is probably advisable for a newcomer, rather than trying to get catburners and others to work.

I would suggest that whatever system you choose, experiment with it at home to get to know its idiosyncracies. The aforementioned heat control is one, but also the amount of fuel that you might burn or any particular task. You can also experiment with things like pot-cozies to see how they work with stuff like rice and conserving fuel.

I should also mention that it is not unknown in the bicycle touring world for people to take small cast iron pots and pans with them... but that does tend to be overkill, in my opinion.