Calling all chefs

[Fellowship]

So I just got my first enamelled cast iron piece of cookware from Le Creuset made in the northern French town of Fresnoy-Le-Grand. It is their signature "flame" color and I love it. A 4.5 qt round "french oven" or dutch oven as others call them.

So here is the deal, I need your recipes that pertain to braised meals cooked in "french ovens".

I have already braised a 2.5 lb cut of brisket in it with cabernet sauvighon, beef broth, yellow onions sliced thinly after cooking the onions for 10 mins in olive oil left from searing the beef before cooking it for 3 hours at 325 degrees f the first hour 300 degrees f the last two hours and adding carrots, celery and potatoes in the last hour of cooking. The results were perfect.


http://www.cooking.com.edgesuite.net/images/products/shprodde/146432.jpg

Some of the things one can cook in this french oven:

http://bostonchef.blogspot.com/2007/01/braised-beef-brisket-with-root.html

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000307pot_roast.php

http://www.elise.com/recipes/photos/pot_roast.jpg

And a great book for those who love to braise:

http://www.amazon.com/All-About-Braising-Uncomplicated-Cooking/dp/0393052303

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/61NHF5X8KDL._SS500_.jpg

Please add your recipes and share your cooking ideas.

Fellows

[southside grabowski]

Oh My! You are a Texan. You are not French. We smoke meet on slow burning fires. We don't braise it in French ovens.

[mydo]

I don't have a recipe but my wife makes cassoulet in hers from time to time.

[Fellowship]

Oh My! You are a Texan. You are not French. We smoke meet on slow burning fires. We don't braise it in French ovens.

One can only eat so much cancer causing smoked foods. One group of carcinogenic substances in smoked and burnt foods, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are produced when organic materials such as food or wood are strongly heated. When wood is burnt, the resulting smoke may contain varying amounts of PAHs. If the smoke is used to preserve or flavour food, some of the PAHs can be absorbed by the food.

PAHs can also be formed when meat is charred during grilling or barbecuing.

Not only that but I am more French than Texan at heart.

Fellows

[Splinemodel]

I don't know many French, so I can't comment on that last bit, but I will comment on the concept of buying an $180 pot: American.

I also know that the French get their carcinogens through cigarettes, although I'm told that the French government has been taxing them hard lately to try to ween off the populace.

[dmz]

I don't know many French, so I can't comment on that last bit, but I will comment on the concept of buying an $180 pot: American.
I'm going to have to side with Splinemodel, Fellowship -- sometimes the lure isn't meant to catch the fish, but the fisherman. You could have cooked the same meal in a $30 cast iron dutch oven.

Also, you could have saved a TON of energy by using a pressure cooker to produce essentially the same results. (Pépin covers that in his Fast Food My Way series.)

A pressure cooker will also help to keep the kitchen temperature below 90º. ;)

[BRussell]

I thought Dutch Oven was something else.

[segovius]

Buy a tajine: far better taste of food, looks better (less middle class) and is only about 25 bucks - ok, it's Moroccan but it's probably ok because the French ruled there for a bit didn't they?

[hardeeharhar]

Oh yes. As did every other major European imperialist power...

[Fellowship]

You guys are something... You moan about that I could have had a $30 version of what I have. I suppose I could use a cheap PC to browse the net also but I love apple better for many reasons. You moan about that I could use less energy with a pressure cooker...

I know I can save energy with a pressure cooker. I have a great pressure cooker that I use for many meals. BUT I have never had the same result with brisket out of a pressure cooker. I use this pot for more of a weekend meal and what is more is that it provides for wonderful leftovers which taste better than the first day in some cases.

You guys are miserable little people.. To mention that the "French" smoke what does that have to do with anything this thread is about. I simply said that Texas style smoked foods are a little less than healthy and I stand by that. I do eat them from time to time but I also eat much healthier foods most of the time.

Here is a group of people that know how to reply to this subject at hand...

They are more mature and less of a miserable lot of cry babies.

http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?showtopic=1720&st=0

The right wingers here at AI are too damn "American centric" and hate others.

The left wingers here at AI seem to want to tell you how to use your energy and how to cook and with what cheap piece of cookware.

I fit neither of the two lame "boxes"

We need in the worst of ways many more moderates here who are level headed.

You all could benefit from not being such negative miserable souls.

Fellows

[segovius]

You guys are something... You moan about that I could have had a $30 version of what I have. I suppose I could use a cheap PC to browse the net also but I love apple better for many reasons. You moan about that I could use less energy with a pressure cooker...

I know I can save energy with a pressure cooker. I have a great pressure cooker that I use for many meals. BUT I have never had the same result with brisket out of a pressure cooker. I use this pot for more of a weekend meal and what is more is that it provides for wonderful leftovers which taste better than the first day in some cases.

You guys are miserable little people.. To mention that the "French" smoke what does that have to do with anything this thread is about. I simply said that Texas style smoked foods are a little less than healthy and I stand by that. I do eat them from time to time but I also eat much healthier foods most of the time.

Here is a group of people that know how to reply to this subject at hand...

They are more mature and less of a miserable lot of cry babies.

http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?showtopic=1720&st=0

The right wingers here at AI are too damn "American centric" and hate others.

The left wingers here at AI seem to want to tell you how to use your energy and how to cook and with what cheap piece of cookware.

I fit neither of the two lame "boxes"

We need in the worst of ways many more moderates here who are level headed.

You all could benefit from not being such negative miserable souls.

Fellows

:lol: You should still get a tajine though.

There are many amazing dishes you can't cook in anything else....

Btw, I have some great soup recipes if you like soup - would work well in your Creuset ;)

[Fellowship]

:lol: You should still get a tajine though.

There are many amazing dishes you can't cook in anything else....

Btw, I have some great soup recipes if you like soup - would work well in your Creuset ;)

Sorry for my little rant but sometimes I wonder what has happened to people at AI.

I think the tajines would be an interesting way to cook with. But if you have any dishes you can share for either method I would be thankful. That was the purpose of this thread which has gone all over the place.

Thanks segovius,

Fellows

[Fellowship]

I don't know many French, so I can't comment on that last bit, but I will comment on the concept of buying an $180 pot: American.


What I mean is that I appreciate classic traditional French foods and the French do from my experience have a high set of standards in how they prepare a meal and with what ingredients they use. Now I like many types of food including indian, chinese, japanese, italian, french, New England foods, southern comfort foods, mexican, southwestern foods, and the list goes on.

Being that I don't just eat peanut butter sandwhiches I sometimes purchase a new item for the kitchen from time to time and when I do I usually get a quality piece and do it right the first time. You have to realize I am a trader and invester and I look at things through investment eyes. I bought this item as I knew it would be used by me and my family for decades and I appreciate the piece more than some $30 alternative or I would not have bought it thank you very much. I have other nice tools in the kitchen like for example a KitchenAid stand mixer and it is used often by me and my family to make homemade items as opossed to store bought junk with additives and cottenseed oils etc. So I really don't see the need for you to take on the role of being my nanny and telling me what I should and should not do with my earnings.

Retail price was around $180 as you love to make note of. But I never pay retail for anything and that included this purchase. Thank you for your concern....

Fellows

[segovius]

Sorry for my little rant but sometimes I wonder what has happened to people at AI.

I think the tajines would be an interesting way to cook with. But if you have any dishes you can share for either method I would be thankful. That was the purpose of this thread which has gone all over the place.

Thanks segovius,

Fellows

Cheers :D

The great thing about a tajine is the conical dome and the terracotta - it absorbs the steam (and the spices) which gather at the top of the dome until they drop back down over the dish. Over a few hours on a very low flame this can impart an amazing flavour.

Once I had a lemon chicken in the Middle East that was cooked in a tajine that was buried in the desert sand for 24 hours! Was amazing! i have a recipe for this for normal cooking...not as good but still mindblowing...

Maybe you do need terracotta for this though - perhaps your Crueset is more suitable for slow dishes like coq au vin etc.

If you like chicken I have a recipe we eat a lot here in Barcelona: Pollo al Ajillo (Chicken with garlic). It's not quite slow cooking but tastes amazing.

Ingredients

1 Organic chicken - jointed into 8 pieces, leave skin on.
Arbequina olive oil
2 garlic BULBS
6 fresh bay leaves
200ml dry white wine or Fino sherry
100ml water
sea salt

Method

The secret of this dish is to get the chicken juices to emulsify with the garlic/oil.

Season chicken with sea salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in the pan and when hot throw in all the garlic cloves in their skins - fry until golden.
Remove with spoon and add chicken pieces in batches...fry for 3 mins either side until golden brown.
Put the garlic back in and add bay leaves and wine. Here you should shake the pan so the juices emulsify with the oil.
Simmer (lid off) for 2 mins to evaporate some alcohol and turn chicken as you do so.
Then stir in water and cover with lid - 4 mins.
Take out breast meat and set aside ...leave the rest in.
Simmer for 10 mins more with lid on.
Add breast meet back for a min or so and add water if too dry..season if you like...

Serve immediately!

[segovius]

One other thing: I think that a brilliant (and cheap) French wine for cooking chicken in is Corbieres.....

Just bung a chicken in the pot with garlic, shallots and bay and pour in a whole bottle. Can't go wrong!

[dmz]

Cheers :D

The great thing about a tajine is the conical dome and the terracotta - it absorbs the steam (and the spices) which gather at the top of the dome until they drop back down over the dish. Over a few hours on a very low flame this can impart an amazing flavour.

Once I had a lemon chicken in the Middle East that was cooked in a tajine that was buried in the desert sand for 24 hours! Was amazing! i have a recipe for this for normal cooking...not as good but still mindblowing...

Maybe you do need terracotta for this though - perhaps your Crueset is more suitable for slow dishes like coq au vin etc.

If you like chicken I have a recipe we eat a lot here in Barcelona: Pollo al Ajillo (Chicken with garlic). It's not quite slow cooking but tastes amazing.

Ingredients

1 Organic chicken - jointed into 8 pieces, leave skin on.
Arbequina olive oil
2 garlic BULBS
6 fresh bay leaves
200ml dry white wine or Fino sherry
100ml water
sea salt

Method

The secret of this dish is to get the chicken juices to emulsify with the garlic/oil.

Season chicken with sea salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in the pan and when hot throw in all the garlic cloves in their skins - fry until golden.
Remove with spoon and add chicken pieces in batches...fry for 3 mins either side until golden brown.
Put the garlic back in and add bay leaves and wine. Here you should shake the pan so the juices emulsify with the oil.
Simmer (lid off) for 2 mins to evaporate some alcohol and turn chicken as you do so.
Then stir in water and cover with lid - 4 mins.
Take out breast meat and set aside ...leave the rest in.
Simmer for 10 mins more with lid on.
Add breast meet back for a min or so and add water if too dry..season if you like...

Serve immediately!
That problem with that, segovius, is if Fellowship gets caught with a canoun (or couscous for that matter) in Texas, he's looking at doing hard time. :p

[Fellowship]

Thanks segovious, Sounds great.

Fellows

[segovius]

Okay, sorry, I'm on a roll. here's a great soup for when it gets colder.

Chestnut and Chorizo Soup

Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 large Spanish onion, diced

1 medium carrot, diced

1 celery stick, thinly sliced

120g mild cooking chorizo, cut into 1cm cubes

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 small dried red chillies, crushed

2 tomatoes, fresh or tinned, roughly chopped

500g cooked peeled chestnuts (fresh or vacuum packed), roughly chopped

20 saffron threads, infused in 3-4 tablespoons boiling water

1 litre water

sea salt and black pepper

Method

In the saucepan heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, chorizo and a pinch of salt and fry for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until everything caramelises and turns quite brown. This gives the soup a wonderfully rich colour and taste. Now add the garlic, cumin, thyme and chilli and cook for 1 more minute, followed by the tomato and, after about 2 minutes, the chestnuts. Give everything a good stir, then add the saffron – infused liquid, and the water, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and mash by hand (with a potato masher) until almost sooth but sill with a little bit of texture. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with hot bread - preferably sourdough and pref homemade!

[dmz]

One other thing: I think that a brilliant (and cheap) French wine for cooking chicken in is Corbieres.....

Just bung a chicken in the pot with garlic, shallots and bay and pour in a whole bottle. Can't go wrong!
Let's not forget the yams and mushrooms.

Also, where are you finding halal Chorizo?

[Fellowship]

Okay, sorry, I'm on a roll. here's a great soup for when it gets colder.



Don't be sorry,

The more you post the more notes I am taking.

Fellows

[segovius]

Don't be sorry,

The more you post the more notes I am taking.

Fellows

Cheers, let me know if you attempt any!

I guess you need to love garlic for that chicken one....

[segovius]

Let's not forget the yams and mushrooms.

Also, where are you finding halal Chorizo?

Sssshhh.......

Ears are everywhere...

;)

[Fellowship]

Cheers, let me know if you attempt any!

I guess you need to love garlic for that chicken one....

You can count on me trying them and I do like garlic quite well.

Fellows

[segovius]

You can count on me trying them and I do like garlic quite well.

Fellows

Well, someone once told me to never peel garlic ever - always fry in the skin. It really enfuses the oil and prevents burning...the garlic tastes sweeter too that way.

You need the right garlic though...many in the markets here are quite mild now. I think they have done something to them.

[Fellowship]

Well, someone once told me to never peel garlic ever - always fry in the skin. It really enfuses the oil and prevents burning...the garlic tastes sweeter too that way.

You need the right garlic though...many in the markets here are quite mild now. I think they have done something to them.

Take a look at this seg,

http://www.chef2chef.net/news/club/vol12/v12-014-foodservice-daily.htm

Fellows

[segovius]

Take a look at this seg,

http://www.chef2chef.net/news/club/vol12/v12-014-foodservice-daily.htm

Fellows

Ah, ok! I never knew that! They are milder if you leave them whole....

It's amazing the subtleties that we just gloss over in cooking these days isn't it?

I was speaking to a brilliant Indian chef once about the dish called Do-Piazza (ie 2 onions) and why it is called that....he said that you fry half the onions in the oil and cook all the other ingredients but you add the other half of the onions 40 minutes into the cooking.

The point is that people in India have a palette that can discern the tastes of the two differently cooked onions!

Sometimes I think it is very sad the way we regard food and tastes in the West - often we do not even know what we have lost in terms of these skills and tastes.....

[Fellowship]

Ah, ok! I never knew that! They are milder if you leave them whole....

It's amazing the subtleties that we just gloss over in cooking these days isn't it?

I was speaking to a brilliant Indian chef once about the dish called Do-Piazza (ie 2 onions) and why it is called that....he said that you fry half the onions in the oil and cook all the other ingredients but you add the other half of the onions 40 minutes into the cooking.

The point is that people in India have a palette that can discern the tastes of the two differently cooked onions!

Sometimes I think it is very sad the way we regard food and tastes in the West - often we do not even know what we have lost in terms of these skills and tastes.....

Indeed, It is harder to be a food connessiur in an ocean of uninterested masses who settle for what ever instead of having a passion like us foodies.

Fellows

[Fellowship]

Ratatouille

http://www.elise.com/recipes/photos/ratatouille.jpg

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000101dads_ratatouille.php

Fellows

[southside grabowski]

You guys are something... You moan about that I could have had a $30 version of what I have. I suppose I could use a cheap PC to browse the net also but I love apple better for many reasons. You moan about that I could use less energy with a pressure cooker...

I know I can save energy with a pressure cooker. I have a great pressure cooker that I use for many meals. BUT I have never had the same result with brisket out of a pressure cooker. I use this pot for more of a weekend meal and what is more is that it provides for wonderful leftovers which taste better than the first day in some cases.

You guys are miserable little people.. To mention that the "French" smoke what does that have to do with anything this thread is about. I simply said that Texas style smoked foods are a little less than healthy and I stand by that. I do eat them from time to time but I also eat much healthier foods most of the time.

Here is a group of people that know how to reply to this subject at hand...

They are more mature and less of a miserable lot of cry babies.

http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?showtopic=1720&st=0

The right wingers here at AI are too damn "American centric" and hate others.

The left wingers here at AI seem to want to tell you how to use your energy and how to cook and with what cheap piece of cookware.

I fit neither of the two lame "boxes"

We need in the worst of ways many more moderates here who are level headed.

You all could benefit from not being such negative miserable souls.

Fellows





Don't take it so seriously Fellows, we dont. ;)

[Fellowship]

Don't take it so seriously Fellows, we dont. ;)

LOL You are a hoot !

I do enjoy a good post!

I owe you actually for the little bits of laughter I get out of your posts from time to time. I am still trying to grasp more knowledge around the methods of your complex humor.

But what do I know ;)

Fellows

[trumptman]

It all looks good to me. Fellowship instead of criticizing your cooking techniques or enegry use, I just want to know when dinner is being served and if I am invited.

Nick

[SpamSandwich]

I'm going to have to side with Splinemodel, Fellowship -- sometimes the lure isn't meant to catch the fish, but the fisherman.

Never eat fishermen. Too fatty.

[SpamSandwich]

You guys are something... You moan about that I could have had a $30 version of what I have. I suppose I could use a cheap PC to browse the net also but I love apple better for many reasons. You moan about that I could use less energy with a pressure cooker...

I know I can save energy with a pressure cooker. I have a great pressure cooker that I use for many meals. BUT I have never had the same result with brisket out of a pressure cooker. I use this pot for more of a weekend meal and what is more is that it provides for wonderful leftovers which taste better than the first day in some cases.

You guys are miserable little people.. To mention that the "French" smoke what does that have to do with anything this thread is about. I simply said that Texas style smoked foods are a little less than healthy and I stand by that. I do eat them from time to time but I also eat much healthier foods most of the time.

Here is a group of people that know how to reply to this subject at hand...

They are more mature and less of a miserable lot of cry babies.

http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?showtopic=1720&st=0

The right wingers here at AI are too damn "American centric" and hate others.

The left wingers here at AI seem to want to tell you how to use your energy and how to cook and with what cheap piece of cookware.

I fit neither of the two lame "boxes"

We need in the worst of ways many more moderates here who are level headed.

You all could benefit from not being such negative miserable souls.

Fellows

They're just crabby about the iPhone price drop... move along. :lol:

[Fellowship]

It all looks good to me. Fellowship instead of criticizing your cooking techniques or enegry use, I just want to know when dinner is being served and if I am invited.

Nick

Nick you should have been here a few nights ago... You missed out and you are always welcome ay my home.

Fellows

[dmz]

I don't mean to rag on you Fellowship -- I picked up a couple of Viking pans a couple of months back, and yep -- they are regular hot rods when it comes to performance. But in the end I probably could have gotten 99% of their performance from much more reasonably priced units. A Cusinart would have probably been just fine -- but I "just had to have" those Vikings.

We all from time to time fall into that American trap -- something along the lines of trying to buying our way to sophistication.

[Fellowship]

I don't mean to rag on you Fellowship -- I picked up a couple of Viking pans a couple of months back, and yep -- they are regular hot rods when it comes to performance. But in the end I probably could have gotten 99% of their performance from much more reasonably priced units. A Cusinart would have probably been just fine -- but I "just had to have" those Vikings.

We all from time to time fall into that American trap -- something along the lines of trying to buying our way to sophistication.

I was sold on Le Creuset when I had a pork tenderloin cooked from one at my grandmothers sisters home last Christmas. I asked her about hers and she has had it for years. She is 80 going on 60. One of the most well traveled cool women I have met at age 80. She is not what you think of when you think 80. She seems more like 60 and she is one of the most positive people I know. But the food sold me. I asked her how she did it and she made it sound so simple... Ohh hon you just put it in there and .....

Sure I could have bought something cheaper but something cheaper is not what I was in the market for nor should it be any of your concern what I spend more on and spend less on in my day to day. I am one of the cheapest people you can find but when it comes to certain things I spend more.

It is NONE of your business.

Can we let this die now? or will I forever be a wreckless snooty spender in your unforgiving projection of me?

Fellows

[dmz]

I was sold on Le Creuset when I had a pork tenderloin cooked from one at my grandmothers sisters home last Christmas. I asked her about hers and she has had it for years. She is 80 going on 60. One of the most well traveled cool women I have met at age 80. She is not what you think of when you think 80. She seems more like 60 and she is one of the most positive people I know. But the food sold me. I asked her how she did it and she made it sound so simple... Ohh hon you just put it in there and .....

Sure I could have bought something cheaper but something cheaper is not what I was in the market for nor should it be any of your concern what I spend more on and spend less on in my day to day. I am one of the cheapest people you can find but when it comes to certain things I spend more.

It is NONE of your business.

Can we let this die now? or will I forever be a wreckless snooty spender in your unforgiving projection of me?

Fellows
mmmmm.... that's not my point, though. There are people dying of starvation in this world and somehow I needed a $285 saucepan?

Seemed a little phony in retrospect.

[segovius]

mmmmm.... that's not my point, though. There are people dying of starvation in this world and somehow I needed a $285 saucepan?

Seemed a little phony in retrospect.

Fellowships's Crueset would cost have only a third of that though - at least here in Europe it would.

[Fellowship]

mmmmm.... that's not my point, though. There are people dying of starvation in this world and somehow I needed a $285 saucepan?

Seemed a little phony in retrospect.

I don't know about you but I don't have anything near a $285 saucepan. Not only that but since you bring it up I quite enjoy giving to organizations which support people who live with really hard living conditions. I give to Life Today for the purpose of bringing clean drinking water to those who have filthy water or none near by. I make microloans through Kiva to people who have little access to credit otherwise in poorer areas. I am not going to list things I do as I don't believe I do anything rather God who is due all glory is the one who blesses.

http://www.lifetoday.org/site/PageServer?pagename=dnt_home

http://www.kiva.org/

I think we have to make decisions as how to manage our resources and we each have differing formulations as to what is a good investment and what is a poor choice in resource management. In my history personally I have learned the hard way when I try to do something the "cheap way" in some cases. For example It cost me about $10,000 when I put in a cheaper septic tank system on a home I built. I had to warranty that poor choice and it cost me for taking the "cheaper path" in the end it cost me more.

I have learned from buying cheap vacuum cleaners that they do not hold up. I have had troulble with a cheap $80 Bissell that is worthless now. I think I got 6 months out of it filters clog in a bad way. I have had the same problem with two other vacuum cleaners one a cheap Eureka and one a cheap Dirt Devil.

Had I had it all over to do I would have bypassed all the cheap vacuums and gone straight with an Oreck which actually does cost at least 3x as much but I have found through other people I know that they hold up very well over the long haul and they do what they are designed to do.

So you can try to make me feel guilty with my choices all day long heck you could spend years on such a venture if you like but I make my choices and you make yours.

We each live with our choices.

What have you done for poor people?

Fellows

[dmz]

I don't know about you but I don't have anything near a $285 saucepan. Not only that but since you bring it up I quite enjoy giving to organizations which support people who live with really hard living conditions. I give to Life Today for the purpose of bringing clean drinking water to those who have filthy water or none near by. I make microloans through Kiva to people who have little access to credit otherwise in poorer areas. I am not going to list things I do as I don't believe I do anything rather God who is due all glory is the one who blesses.

http://www.lifetoday.org/site/PageServer?pagename=dnt_home

http://www.kiva.org/

I think we have to make decisions as how to manage our resources and we each have differing formulations as to what is a good investment and what is a poor choice in resource management. In my history personally I have learned the hard way when I try to do something the "cheap way" in some cases. For example It cost me about $10,000 when I put in a cheaper septic tank system on a home I built. I had to warranty that poor choice and it cost me for taking the "cheaper path" in the end it cost me more.

I have learned from buying cheap vacuum cleaners that they do not hold up. I have had troulble with a cheap $80 Bissell that is worthless now. I think I got 6 months out of it filters clog in a bad way. I have had the same problem with two other vacuum cleaners one a cheap Eureka and one a cheap Dirt Devil.

Had I had it all over to do I would have bypassed all the cheap vacuums and gone straight with an Oreck which actually does cost at least 3x as much but I have found through other people I know that they hold up very well over the long haul and they do what they are designed to do.

So you can try to make me feel guilty with my choices all day long heck you could spend years on such a venture if you like but I make my choices and you make yours.

We each live with our choices.

What have you done for poor people?

Fellows
No one is trying to make you feel guilty -- remember what Eleanor Roosevelt said about people who fixate their discussions on other people and not ideas.

My point -- one more time -- is that Americans tend to get caught up some fairly bourgeois, if not downright effete buying habits, and that needn't be if people were focused solely on what was necessary to do the job.

As to what I have done for poor people, I give, not loan, roughly 3-4% of my yearly gross to poor. That doesn't include the 10% of my gross that I give, not loan, to various Church and nonprofit entities.

I'd suggest lightening up, taking a few steps back, and be willing to kick around the idea, see Matthew 19:16-30. We are all guilty of what I'm talking about to one degree or another.

[segovius]

Fellowship, you don't have to justify yourself to anyone for anything....

It's your money, you earned it. What you do with it is your business. What's it to do with anyone else?

Bring on more recipes! :p

[segovius]

No one is trying to make you feel guilty -- remember what Eleanor Roosevelt said about people who fixate their discussions on other people and not ideas.

My point -- one more time -- is that Americans tend to get caught up some fairly bourgeois, if not downright effete buying habits, and that needn't be if people were focused solely on what was necessary to do the job.

As to what I have done for poor people, I give, not loan, roughly 3-4% of my yearly gross to poor. That doesn't include the 10% of my gross that I give, not loan, to various Church and nonprofit entities.

Have you read Matthew 19:16-30 lately?

I'd suggest lightening up, taking a few steps back, and be willing to kick around the idea. We are all guilty of what I'm talking about to one degree or another.

RECIPES already! :mad:;)

[Fellowship]

We are all guilty of what I'm talking about to one degree or another.

I agree that is true I just don't see your point in calling me on the carpet post after post after post because I purchased a nice quality enamelled cast iron cooking vessel for my family. It is not like I went and spooned over some money for something like an iPhone or playstation for my personal pleasure of games or gadgetry. I got something that is a long term asset for the use of my entire family.

Some people pay more for a speeding ticket than I payed for this Le Creuset oven.

I will waste no more time responding to your posts in this thread as we have covered all the ground and then some.

Fellows

[dmz]

RECIPES already! :mad:;)
A recipe for getting under Fellowship's skin? I think I found it. :\

[dmz]

...calling me on the carpet post after post after post...
For heaven's sake, Fellowship, I nudged you slightly about not going off into into bourgeoisie land with the "look at my new toy thread" and you're acting like it's your time of the month. (And yes, I did tease you about living in Tejas again.)

Go kick the cat or something, we're just talking here. Peace!

Sheeesh.

[Fellowship]

For heaven's sake, Fellowship, I nudged you slightly about not going off into into bourgeoisie land with the "look at my new toy thread" and you're acting like it's your time of the month. (And yes, I did tease you about living in Tejas again.)

Go kick the cat or something, we're just talking here.

Sheeesh.

No hard feelings dmz I just read your posts, responded to what you had to say. If it makes you feel better I looked up an American make of the same basic cookware but American and I came across this:

https://secure.lodgemfg.com/storefront/product1.asp?menu=enamel&idProduct=4046

$167.95

https://secure.lodgemfg.com/storefront/storeimages/%7B50CC4337-8ACB-4D4E-AFA7-087D03C7BEF4%7D_004_E5D30_lg.jpg

Only problem is that this company does not have a 4.5 qt size so I had to compare mine to their 5 qt size. The Lodge 5 qt cost more than what I paid for mine with sales tax and all.

I paid $140 for mine with sale tax included in that $140

And the Chinese made stuff sold at Ikea and Target I will not buy as I do not trust that there is not lead in the paint. I just don't trust cheap stuff from China. Now if you like you can indulge in their cheap stuff if you like.

Fellows

I have no reason to kick any cats... You need to grow up.

[rufusswan]

Fellow,

You went fishin', baited the hook, and dropped it in the creek. You can't moan about the size, or type of fish you caught there. You know the kind of 'wankers' that respond to these threads.

I applaud you for at least not purchasing another "disposable" item. Cooking utensils and tools are one of the few items that can be purchased that prove their worth through the years. Although it might be easy to spend too much (at first blush), it is difficult to wear out a good pot, pan, or knife if properly cared for.

Your recipe is very similar to "Beef Carbonnade". Brown approx. 1 1/2" cubed hunks of beef of some type, remove, and caramelize 1 to 2 onions, return the beef and cover with a good, robust Danish beer. In your neighborhood I would use the great Shiner Bock. The original recipe does not include the additional veggies, but I would not hesitate to add some quartered potatoes, and top with asparagas later in the process.

As to the definition of "Dutch Oven". In my neighborhood, it can mean the indoor pot such as you purchased, or the other one used in camp or fireplace cooking. A dutch overn up here may have three 2" legs on the bottom, a lid with a 1/2" lip, and a good strong metal handle. It can be hung from a tripod over a good fire, but is mostly used for oven work or braising. Set pan on ground close to fire, shovel hot coals underneath and on the lid (reason for the lip), refresh coals as necessary. Used like this, you can braise the finest of meals on a gravel bar, cook bisquits, or even cakes.

Paz

[iPoster]

Lodge iron cookware is very high quality for the price, we have an extensive set (of non-enameled) that we use both at home and over a fire camping. Plain cast iron works fine as long as you remember not to use soap on the pans, and re-season it occasionally. Haven't tried the enameled dutch oven/stock pots yet, we just don't get that in-depth when cooking at the old homestead. ;)

[Splinemodel]

You guys are something... You moan about that I could have had a $30 version of what I have.

...

You guys are miserable little people.. To mention that the "French" smoke what does that have to do with anything this thread is about. . . .

. . .

The right wingers here at AI are too damn "American centric" and hate others.

The left wingers here at AI seem to want to tell you how to use your energy and how to cook and with what cheap piece of cookware.

I fit neither of the two lame "boxes"


You're in the "too serious" box. If we bruised your ego, my apologies. I can't speak for the energy saving crowd, but I at least think your pot is very nice, and I wouldn't mind having one myself. If you're happy with it, I don't see why such an impish jab should put you off so much.

I do, however, find amusing americans who fancy themselves as "european" in that certain brand of semi-snobbishness. If you didn't respond so defensively to the first [polite] joke of the thread, the one referencing Texas's long (and proud) history of fire-cooked beef, nobody would have joked back. The smoking bit wasn't serious either, and was a jab at your disapproval of barbecue. You could have said "I don't like barbecue," but instead went of a diatribe about carcinogens in wood. C'mon, that's way too uptight and just asking for return fire.


Lodge iron cookware is very high quality for the price, we have an extensive set (of non-enameled) that we use both at home and over a fire camping. Plain cast iron works fine as long as you remember not to use soap on the pans, and re-season it occasionally.

I have some lodge pots. They are cheap and brutal, but their mass is necessary for cooking on electric burners. I have gas now, so they aren't used as much, but the fact that many, many restaurants use lodge cookware should speak for itself. It's also fine to soap them as long as you swab them with some oil right after drying. Le Creuset cookware is basically improved Lodge cookware, for ten times the price. If I were more wealthy than I am or were extremely passionate about cooking, I would probably buy a few of them.

[Fellowship]

You're in the "too serious" box.

I realize people have their opinions as I have mine as well. I just thought I would get some responses like the following:

http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?showtopic=1720&st=0

The thing is I wanted feedback from you AI'rs since I sort of at least know you all.

What I got was mixed and I thank those of you who gave me some great ideas. As for the people who did nothing but add crap to the thread it is a shame you have nothing better to say.

Fellows

[Fellowship]

Now this looks pretty darn good:

http://champaign-taste.blogspot.com/2006/12/chicken-paprik-and-new-le-creuset.html

Chicken Paprikás
from The Bon Appétit Cookbook

4 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 2/3 pounds)
All-purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 red, yellow, or green peppers, cut into strips
1/2 medium onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
5 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4 teaspoon hot Hungarian paprika
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped, drained Italian plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Fellows

[segovius]

Now this looks pretty darn good:

http://champaign-taste.blogspot.com/2006/12/chicken-paprik-and-new-le-creuset.html

Chicken Paprikás
from The Bon Appétit Cookbook

4 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 2/3 pounds)
All-purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 red, yellow, or green peppers, cut into strips
1/2 medium onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
5 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4 teaspoon hot Hungarian paprika
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped, drained Italian plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Fellows

Looks good, I am going to check this one out...

Btw, I am a huge Paprika freak - if you are into these things I can recommend the best paprika in the world: La Chinata (http://www.tienda.com/food/products/pk-02-2.html).

It is made here in Spain in limited quantities and is oak-smoked...you can get in hot or sweet versions but the thing about it is that is the first spice in the world to achieve coveted DOC status....it really is that good.

Imo, if one is serious about cooking Mediterenean food this is an essential...

[southside grabowski]

Sorry Fellows, but I will always get a kick out of American who declare themselves to be more (insert favorite European nation) than American. I have watched so many people go through this. Truthfully, you might enjoy living in another part of the US. Much of the NE is far quainter than the Metroplex as are parts of CA and OR.

[segovius]

Sorry Fellows, but I will always get a kick out of American who declare themselves to be more (insert favorite European nation) than American. I have watched so many people go through this. Truthfully, you might enjoy living in another part of the US. Much of the NE is far quainter than the Metroplex as are parts of CA and OR.

I think more Americans should be more European....

[Fellowship]

Sorry Fellows, but I will always get a kick out of American who declare themselves to be more (insert favorite European nation) than American. I have watched so many people go through this. Truthfully, you might enjoy living in another part of the US. Much of the NE is far quainter than the Metroplex as are parts of CA and OR.

I love many parts of the US but I would have to take out a jumbo loan on a home to live there and I am happy living in a paid for home here in Texas. What I try to do is bring elements of places I love back home and appreciate them in my day to day. Call me what you want but I am happy with my appreciation for other cultures as well as certain local cultures within the US. I am just not simply content with my local flavor if you will as it can get old like any one thing can get old after a while hence I incorporate many flavors into my life.

Fellows

[Fellowship]

Looks good, I am going to check this one out...

Btw, I am a huge Paprika freak - if you are into these things I can recommend the best paprika in the world: La Chinata (http://www.tienda.com/food/products/pk-02-2.html).

It is made here in Spain in limited quantities and is oak-smoked...you can get in hot or sweet versions but the thing about it is that is the first spice in the world to achieve coveted DOC status....it really is that good.

Imo, if one is serious about cooking Mediterenean food this is an essential...

That paprika looks wonderful!!

I may have seen it in stock at one of the local stores here called central market. I might have to get a canister of it.

Fellows

[southside grabowski]

I think more Americans should be more European....

I see many Americans romanticize a French or Italian or whatever lifestyle, but they are really not anything like my cohorts from those countries when it comes to core lifestyle values and philosophy.

[Fellowship]

I see many Americans romanticize a French or Italian or whatever lifestyle, but they are really not anything like my cohorts from those countries when it comes to core lifestyle values and philosophy.

I always think people should let others make up their own minds regarding their opinions.

Fellows

[southside grabowski]

I love many parts of the US but I would have to take out a jumbo loan on a home to live there and I am happy living in a paid for home here in Texas. What I try to do is bring elements of places I love back home and appreciate them in my day to day. Call me what you want but I am happy with my appreciation for other cultures as well as certain local cultures within the US. I am just not simply content with my local flavor if you will as it can get old like any one thing can get old after a while hence I incorporate many flavors into my life.

Fellows

That's fair Fellows. I have been fortunate to live my life in a very international work place and I have really enjoyed it. I suspect you see many more Americans each that than do I:lol:

[southside grabowski]

I always think people should let others make up their own minds regarding their opinions.

Fellows

Don't mix finding a behavior humorous with not approving of it. Just about everyone we send to France or Spain or Italy comes back sure that they have found their true identity. It's funny, but I get it. In many ways we have a colder lifestyle here in the US. We have gutted our local businesses for suburban malls and abandoned our local proprietors for national chains. Many live in impersonal subdivision where you can’t even get a newspaper without driving.

[MarcUK]

seg and fellows sitting in a tree. K, I, double S, I, N, G. :lol:

carry on, dont blame me I have no free-will. :D

[Duddits]

So I just got my first enamelled cast iron piece of cookware from Le Creuset made in the northern French town of Fresnoy-Le-Grand. It is their signature "flame" color and I love it. A 4.5 qt round "french oven" or dutch oven as others call them.
Congratulations.

The Le Creuset dutch oven is one of the world's perfect things.

It is virtually impossible to ruin food in it, and it can cook many things better than anything else. Despite numerous attempts to reverse engineer it, nothing compares - except for pots costing even more.

The closest knock-off was from a company just on the other side of the border with Belgium, I believe, with a production process almost identical. Wasn't as good and went out of business.

A Le Creuset pot substitutes for - and outperforms - many other pots.

Anyone who eats would be wise to buy one. It has a lifetime warranty, and over time will save your culinary ass again and again. It is the best kichen investment you can make.

mmmmm.... that's not my point, though. There are people dying of starvation in this world and somehow I needed a $285 saucepan?

That's nasty, petty, and wrong. One good Le Creuset can save money on food, other pots, energy (cooks at lower temperatures) and help you eat well which everyone, even all those people dying of starvation, want. There is no link between a good kitchen pot and altruism, except that your response to his good kitchen pot was the opposite of altruistic.

My point -- one more time -- is that Americans tend to get caught up some fairly bourgeois, if not downright effete buying habits, and that needn't be if people were focused solely on what was necessary to do the job.

As to what I have done for poor people, I give, not loan, roughly 3-4% of my yearly gross to poor. That doesn't include the 10% of my gross that I give, not loan, to various Church and nonprofit entities.
You insult him and brag about your charity in what is likely the most condescending statement ever posted on the internet. If you are involved in charity, bragging about it sullies it. Do it out of the goodness of your heart, and not to brag about. And such condescension... all because he bought a decent pot. Yay for him! Boo for you!

Go kick the cat or something, we're just talking here. Peace!
Do not kick the cat! I am a cat and I do not like getting kicked!

Peace yourself! Do you know how yucky you sound in this thread? He's friendly you're yucky. You should go out and buy a nice pot and be less yucky. I recommend Le Creuset as a sensible choice. Eat well, be happy, do good things, and please, don't kick the cat!

[iPoster]

Starting to look like cookware needs to be added to the list of things you don't talk about in polite company, up there with politics and religion.

:err:;)

[dmz]

Duddits:

Not meaning to get personal with Fellowship, which I don't think was actually in dispute; when I read his initial post he mentioned something to the effect that he felt "more French than American," then went into painful detail about his purchase.

The first thing that came to my mind, was Americans trying to buy themselves some European sophistication -- we'll leave the empathy-deprived, gauche, "look at my new expensive toy" aspect for another time. The topic deserved a nudge back to something less esoteric.

Conspicuous consumption is always in bad taste -- willfully putting it on display. Not many people can shell out two bills on a Dutch oven, and it's obtuse to try to draw a crowd on the subject, my answer to Fellowship's "what have you done for the poor" challenge notwithstanding.

Back to the root of what I suspected was a shallow comment that deserved a nudge -- the "being more French than American." My apologies, effete snobbery is not my strong suit:



Elizabeth Bates has been to Rome
And looked at the statues there;
Elizabeth Bates has scaled the Alps
And sniffed the mountain air.

Elizabeth Bates has winced at Nice
And quibbled at gay Paree,
And lifted her delicate eyebrows at
Indelicate Barbary.

Elizabeth Bates has "done" the globe
From Panama back to the States,
But all she saw on the way around
Was Miss Elizabeth Bates.

—Milo Ray Phelps, New Yorker, December 21, 1928




(Edit: Don't get me wrong, Fellowship is a sweetie.)

[Duddits]

Starting to look like cookware needs to be added to the list of things you don't talk about in polite company, up there with politics and religion.

:err:;)
You nailed it:

The person who got pissy managed to link the pot to politics and religion!

[Fellowship]

dmz I happen to love France yet I am an American. I think you need to learn how to live and let live. It should not concern you if I happen to love what the French are good at. I have explained myself fully within this thread with the vacuum example in particular I think you need to take a look at it and read it about 12 times or as needed until you "get it".

I for one do not have any desire for an inexpensive cast iron pot which is not constructed with enamel coatings. There are many acidic foods which react with the non-enamel coated untreated cast iron pot and as I cook with ingredients that are acid containing I decided on an enamel pot. Enamel pots are indeed more expensive than $30-40 uncoated pots. I view this subject like a I view a tool. If you use them often and want them to last buy quality. If not do not buy nice and / or expensive tools.

You really need to get a life and stop wasting your time nailing me on a cross for buying a nice French Le Crueset French Oven.

I have used my pot three times for my family since buying it and I get to avoid MSG and added fats you get when you eat out. American restaurants seem to think foods loaded with salt / MSG is what people want.

Well I don't want it so I cook at home..

Fellows

[Fellowship]

Congratulations.

The Le Creuset dutch oven is one of the world's perfect things.

It is virtually impossible to ruin food in it, and it can cook many things better than anything else. Despite numerous attempts to reverse engineer it, nothing compares - except for pots costing even more.

The closest knock-off was from a company just on the other side of the border with Belgium, I believe, with a production process almost identical. Wasn't as good and went out of business.

A Le Creuset pot substitutes for - and outperforms - many other pots.

Anyone who eats would be wise to buy one. It has a lifetime warranty, and over time will save your culinary ass again and again. It is the best kichen investment you can make.



That's nasty, petty, and wrong. One good Le Creuset can save money on food, other pots, energy (cooks at lower temperatures) and help you eat well which everyone, even all those people dying of starvation, want. There is no link between a good kitchen pot and altruism, except that your response to his good kitchen pot was the opposite of altruistic.


You insult him and brag about your charity in what is likely the most condescending statement ever posted on the internet. If you are involved in charity, bragging about it sullies it. Do it out of the goodness of your heart, and not to brag about. And such condescension... all because he bought a decent pot. Yay for him! Boo for you!

Do not kick the cat! I am a cat and I do not like getting kicked!

Peace yourself! Do you know how yucky you sound in this thread? He's friendly you're yucky. You should go out and buy a nice pot and be less yucky. I recommend Le Creuset as a sensible choice. Eat well, be happy, do good things, and please, don't kick the cat!

Wow what a kind soul you are. I can't say I know you my friend but I thank you for your kind words. I can safely report that I have had nothing but perfect meals from my pot to date. I have used this pot three times and each time it has delivered far beyond my belief. It has such even cooking at low temps as you say and it is not at all a problem to clean up. Over the years I have had more and more of a love for cooking and this pot really has been a fine investment to serve the goal of great food at home for my family.

Respectfully,

Fellowship

[Fellowship]

I think it's difficult to understand the investment when we live in such a fast-food culture.

But that aside, to me the pot still seems like an extravagance. I can't really understand how much of a difference it makes in cooking. I mean, if you made the same meal with this pot and with a "control" pot, would a blind taste-tester really discern a difference? I understand and greatly respect the rationale behind purchasing the pot, but I can't understand whether it really makes a difference.

*That also said, the pot itself is beautiful and I think anything that makes you more respectful of food and the cooking process is entirely worth it.

I appreciate your final bit of disclaimer at the end but to the former I would say that you are simply not in the know of how cast iron with a tight fitting lid cooks compared to pots and pans you use for other cooking methods. You can cook a larger array of meals for your family and have leftovers. I could care less about most "fast food"

"Slow food" is what I would rather have but I am not against anyone who likes fast food.

Fellows

[segovius]

I think it's difficult to understand the investment when we live in such a fast-food culture.

But that aside, to me the pot still seems like an extravagance. I can't really understand how much of a difference it makes in cooking. I mean, if you made the same meal with this pot and with a "control" pot, would a blind taste-tester really discern a difference? I understand and greatly respect the rationale behind purchasing the pot, but I can't understand whether it really makes a difference.

*That also said, the pot itself is beautiful and I think anything that makes you more respectful of food and the cooking process is entirely worth it.

I think it is possible to tell the difference.

I cook a lot and personally can tell the difference between certain organic foods - especially chicken - and the non-organic version. Also certainly the difference with food cooked in terracotta is very marked so I would say one can definitely differentiate.

Having said that - and I don't mean to be snobbish - I do not think that everyone can tell, palattes are different (some are even jaded haha) so surely the benchmark is whether one can tell the difference or not.

If yes then such investments are a bargain. If no then they are a waste of money.

[Duddits]

But that aside, to me the pot still seems like an extravagance. I can't really understand how much of a difference it makes in cooking. I mean, if you made the same meal with this pot and with a "control" pot, would a blind taste-tester really discern a difference? I understand and greatly respect the rationale behind purchasing the pot, but I can't understand whether it really makes a difference.
It really does make a difference. A less experienced cook might think the difference is in other things, but it really is the pot. That's what I've been told by experienced cooks. I've had meals out at people's houses where they credit Le Creuset.

The pot is able to both retains heat and surround food with it evenly. It doesn't burn stuff, no hot spots, and makes stuff tender. It's easy to use since you can cook on the stove or oven with it (one pot instead of two). It's what high tech slow cookers aspire to do, but Le Creuset, with its old school approach, does it better. It's like a little oven within an oven, evenly, slowly, and forgivingly cooking your food. If you have to do stuff, and friends are coming over to eat, it's the best way to make lots of food and know it will turn out well without stressing.

As for extravagant - if you factor in the price of food over a year, the cost is negligeable. If you factor in the price of the pot over its lifetime (my mother uses Le Creuset from her mother, and it's still covered by warranty), the cost is negligeable. There are other metrics (food money saved, culinary ass saved, eating healthy and good food) that also makes it sensible. How much do you spend on food over 50 years? What percent of that is $200?

[Duddits]

DMZ:

I understand your point, but I think you've got the wrong target.

Not meaning to get personal with Fellowship, which I don't think was actually in dispute; when I read his initial post he mentioned something to the effect that he felt "more French than American," then went into painful detail about his purchase.
I don't pretend to know his motivations but he seemed to post in a friendly "look what I just got" way rather than recreate the scene you describe from Moliere.

You claim his pot is not a pot but a symbol of American “bourgeois” conspicuous effete consumption. I disagree. I think it’s just a pot: a practical, well-made, widely-sold, widely-purchased, widely-used, widely-admired pot. Le Creusets are sold in common everyday stores and are found in common everyday homes. They're everywhere, last forever, are endlessly useful, easy to clean, and conserve energy. It is easy to make large amounts of good healthy food in them, perfect for company. Despite their origin, they have long been an American workhorse hardly worthy of pontification. Le Creuset is a staple, not a symbol.

It's funny that this is an Apple forum. Many people make the same criticism about Apple's customers – that Apple products symbolize conspicuous consumption – comments that are thankfully dissipating as more people recognize their value. It is ironic that a place where we argue the value of a computer that costs $2000 and lasts 3 years would also be the place where we would argue the value of a pot that costs $200 and lasts for generations.

Audience Member 1: "What do you think the Rolls Royce represented?"
Audience Member 2: "I think it represented his car."

-Stardust Memories



“Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar”

- You know who



The first thing that came to my mind, was Americans trying to buy themselves some European sophistication -- we'll leave the empathy-deprived, gauche, new-money "look at my new expensive toy" aspect for another time.
Anyone attempting to buy one’s way into European sophistication – a ghastly goal to begin with – with a Le Creuset pot will fail miserably.


The topic deserved a nudge back to something less snobbish.
Nothing snobbish about Le Creuset. It's like saying Americans eat pasta to put on Italian (or Chinese) airs. Not true. They just like pasta and like many things of foreign origin, in America is Americanized. The snobbery is in viewing the innocuous act of buying a kitchen appliance as a character flaw symbolic of a societal flaw.

Conspicuous consumption is always in bad taste -- willfully putting it on display.
You've got the wrong target. Le Creuset is not conspicuous consumption any more than sleeping on a mattress is conspicuous consumption. This past week someone bought a diamond-encrusted skull for 130 million dollars. That's your target. Some have argued a $600 phone is conspicuous consumption. But Le Creuset? You might as well target French toast.


Not many people can shell out two bills on a Dutch oven, and it's obtuse to try to draw a crowd on the subject, my answer to Fellowship's "what have you done for the poor" challenge notwithstanding.
The price of Le Creuset is based on cost of production – individual molds must be made and broken for each one - yet pay for themselves many times over. If you are on a budget, it is a sensible investment. Besides, you would be surprised at the relative cost of cooking utensils among the world’s poor. Well made, hand made pots are not the problem. It’s the cost of, and access to, ingredients that are the problem.

As for the old saw that no one should ever buy anything as long as there are starving people in the world... that should probably be its own thread and deleted for all time! Bill Gates is the world's greatest philanthropist and a conspicuous consumer (what a house!). Paul Allen has a 500 million dollar boat and is also an incorigeable philanthropist. For all we know, Mother Teresa had the first flat screen TV in India. The world's problems, my friend, are not solved by depriving oneself of a decent pot. If anything, I would guess that anyone who knows how to cook themselves a decent meal is more likely to be altruistic than those who cannot.

Back to the root of what I suspected was a shallow comment that deserved a nudge -- the "being more French than American." My apologies, effete snobbery is not my strong suit:)
What is more effete snobbery: a well-intended post about buying a pot and sharing recipes, or a semiological analysis that criticizes it as emblematic of nationalistic and demographic foibles?


Elizabeth Bates has been to Rome
And looked at the statues there;
Elizabeth Bates has scaled the Alps
And sniffed the mountain air.

Elizabeth Bates has winced at Nice
And quibbled at gay Paree,
And lifted her delicate eyebrows at
Indelicate Barbary.

Elizabeth Bates has "done" the globe
From Panama back to the States,
But all she saw on the way around
Was Miss Elizabeth Bates.

—Milo Ray Phelps, New Yorker, December 21, 1928

“On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.”

- Peter Steiner, New Yorker, July 5, 1993

[Duddits]

I'm sold.

Do these chip?
They are eternally sturdy. My mother's (which was her mother's) has got to be more than 50 years old. My mother doesn't follow the rules on how you're supposed to take care of it, and yet it's pretty forgiving. I know she's used steel wool on it and over the decades some of the enamel in the interior has erroded.

If you scrape at it, it will scrape. But its hard-fired enamel, almost like a glassy stone surface, not some heinous dupont petrochemical. As long as you resist the urge to use an abrasive cleaner, it rewards you by retaining a super smooth surface and therefore super easy to clean. But even if you don't, it still seems to age gracefully.

They now have a cheaper line of pots out that are based on cermamic, not iron and I would not get one of those. They look like the real deal, and obviously the company is trying to cash in on their name with a more affordable line, but they are the real waste of money. I'd either get the real deal, or pass.

[segovius]

I'm joining the ranks of the gratuitous money-wasting snobs. Inspired by Fellows, I absolutely have to have the Creuset Tajine (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Le-Creuset-L7473-00-67-Tagine-Cerise/dp/B00004SBKK/ref=pd_bbs_2/203-9344692-9905538?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1189686411&sr=8-2).

An object of great beauty imo.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ZND0ZJ37L._AA280_.jpg

[dutch pear]

Man has this thread made me hungry!
I'll go home and cook something real nice now :)

[Fellowship]

I'm sold.

Do these chip?

You know the best part of cast iron is how it retains heat when you have it heated up and put something in it that is cooler it does not cool down the pan. For example when you want to sear a piece of chicken or beef etc. In aluminum cookware while aluminum is a good conductor of heat it is poor poor poor at retaining heat when you put something cooler in it it looses oohmph to retain the originial temp of the preheated pan (it can actually cool down). With cast iron you get the pot up to temp and put something cooler in it you have virtually no "cool down" or heat loss in the pot as cast iron retains heat very very well and you continue with your successful cooking.

The other great part is that after you have cooked a meal in a cast iron pot the pot keeps the meal warm after you have cooked the meal. Again it is that retained heat feature which serves as yet another benefit. No heating source needed to keep the food warm in case you decide to go back for seconds or something like that.

Fellows

Ohh and the (other) best part of this pot is that it cooks tougher cuts of beef so you are enabled to buy cheaper tougher cuts of beef for example and the way the heat cooks with cast iron it breaks down the collagen just right and the meat comes out just perfect. NOT tough. It is the nature of the steady consistent radiant heat. Even the lid retains and radiates heat.

[Fellowship]

I'm joining the ranks of the gratuitous money-wasting snobs. Inspired by Fellows, I absolutely have to have the Creuset Tajine (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Le-Creuset-L7473-00-67-Tagine-Cerise/dp/B00004SBKK/ref=pd_bbs_2/203-9344692-9905538?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1189686411&sr=8-2).

An object of great beauty imo.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ZND0ZJ37L._AA280_.jpg

How could you...... I just can't believe you would make a purchase like that..... Just go eat at your local McDonalds ;)

You know I don't mean that!

Fellows

[segovius]

How could you...... I just can't believe you would make a purchase like that..... Just go eat at your local McDonalds ;)

You know I don't mean that!

Fellows

Thank God....we don't mention the M word in my house ;) :D

[Fellowship]

Did I mention PICTURES?

http://homepage.mac.com/fellowship/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/2007-09-13%2009.44.36%20-0700/Image-BA770520621611DC.jpg

Come on in and click on the slide show:

http://homepage.mac.com/fellowship/PhotoAlbum71.html

Fellows

Forgive me as I completely forgot to snap some pics of the final dishes I made here. All the dishes I made got eaten up. I will in future as the final results are just yummy.... These pics are some I took while putting some dishes together. Note I also use my pot in the oven not just the cooktop.

Fellows

And seg I am going to get some spanish paprika don't you worry!