This entry is sort of a dedication to my sister, Christina. Anyways, we are moving next week, and I am slowly starting to pack up our things. While packing up my kitchen gear, I am reminded of how totally amazing le creuset products are, and how awesome my round dutch oven pot is that my sister bought me. No, I don’t work for or get sponsored by them, but I sure wish I did. Then maybe a girl could get their products for free around here…shoot. Anyhoos, if you already have a le creuset dutch oven from your wedding registry, lucky you. You can just join me in singing its praises, and vouch that it is a great, although expensive buy.
I’ll be straight with you. I was fortunate enough to receive all my le creuset items as gifts of some sort. I guess those are the perks of working in food. People tend to buy you all kinds of expensive kitchen gadgets when they don’t know what to get you. That makes me easy to shop for. Anyone want to buy me a Keurig machine?? Eh… worth a shot.
I received this square skillet grill from my friend, Yong Mi, off of my wedding registry.
And I got this 2 1/4 quart saucier pan as a gift from a production company after working on a cooking show, when I was in New York.
But the piece I admittedly use the most would be this 5.5 quart round dutch oven I received from my sister. Looking at it, while carefully packing it into a box, reminds me of her, and it really is my favorite piece of cook ware.
And by the way, can you tell I love the color “kiwi” that these pots come in? But all the colors are absolutely delicious. Now let me get back to the nitty gritty of why I recommend this particular pot:
1. The 5 1/2 quart size is big without being unreasonably big. It sure holds a lot of stew!
2. The pretty enameled cast iron coating is easy on the eyes, and it makes me smile.
3. Everything can go from stove top to oven, which makes cooking stews, braises, roasts and steaks a breeze. Start something out on direct high heat, and then move it into the oven for surrounded constant heat. The thickness of the pot and the heavy tight lid almost makes it like an oven within an oven.
4. It provides even heat throughout, and traps it in, so your food stays warmer longer.
5. It’s dishwasher safe and easy to clean! Even if you burn some crud on the bottom. The trick is to put some water and vinegar or baking soda in the pot, put it back on the heat and let the liquid come to a simmer. Then scrape it off, as the crust softens, with a wooden spoon. I remember burning tomato sauce on the bottom of my sister’s dutch oven (hers is a purplish-gray color), and she was so mad at me. I gave her this tip, which she followed, and the burnt crud came right off. All was forgiven.
And I dunno. I just find it convenient to use, even though it’s heavy like a mother. You will get some serious biceps cooking with it. And because it’s cast iron, under all that cute colored enamel, it’s tougher and more resilient than it appears. You can kind of bang it around, and it will be just fine. I tend to make anything from risotto, to chili, to braised chicken dishes in this one go-to pot. I remember my sister telling me that she made arroz con pollo (chicken and rice) in hers and took it to a pot luck. People thought she was a rock star. So if you’ve been on the fence about whether it’s worth all the money and hype, in my opinion, it really is, especially if you like to cook a lot, particularly low and slow type of dishes. So get off that fence and let me know how much you like it when you finally get yours. And a special thanks to my sister, Christina, who bought me my much appreciated and useful gift.
