With tax, this baby cost over $300. I was going to buy it over at Amazon and save a few bills, but when I went to Williams Sonoma to check it out in person first, the sales chick told me that the Le Creuset Williams Sonoma "Signature" line has extra enamel on the inside for extended wear. The chick was fly and I believed her.
When I got this beauty home, I turned it upside down on the floor, took my pants off and sat on it.
The Williams Sonoma chick might have been stringing me along, but there is some secret connection between Le Creuset and your Billy Sonoma stores, because you can't by this next fierce sonuvabitch anywhere but over at ol' Billy's place:
Are you diggin' on that? That right there is a 3.75-quart sauce pan with a 10-inch fry pan that doubles as the fucking lid! How beautiful is that? They call it a Multi-Function and it is worth every nickel of $200. Go to hell.
No, I did not buy the Multi-Function. I figured I'd start out classic and simple with the French oven--move to the sexy stuff later. Plus, shelling out three C-notes for one pot in one day is enough, but don't think I didn't hover over the 4.5-quart saute pan as well. I did. Big time.
Do you people realize that I've been cooking all this slop in shit-ass Revere Ware for 18 years? Jesus christ awmighty. Not that I don't have a damn nice 10-quart Calphalon Stock pot. I do. But that's only for your large duty. For the most part, I've been making with the middle class pots and pans ever since I got the Goat.
That miserable shrew Martha Stewart has a line of enamel coated cast iron as well--total made-in-China crap. No surprise there.
Hey Martha, you got your ears on out there? I didn't buy any of your for-shit cookware you miserable shrew. Ha! Kiss my ass.
I haven't broken the cherry on the Le Creuset. I'm thinking potato soup ... or coq au vin ... or beef bourguignon ...
All of this and I'm pretty good in the sack too.
I am completely fabulous.
* * *
68 comments:
Why drop trousers and 'paint' the bottom of the casserole. Is this some sort of O'Brien sept ritual, or even Ohio.
And WHF $300, for a fucking cooking pot. The shagging thing would want to leaching gold into the food for me to spend that amount. Ha, over paid and over sexed. :)
I hope it does something other than a bottle that doubles as a top for 300 fucking dollars!
It appears I have failed to properly illuminate my subject matter to some portion of the readership.
IT'S A PIECE OF LE CREUSET COOKWARE FOR CHRISSAKE.
Does that help?
Le Creuset.....worth every dollar believe me. We have exactly this one, and 20 years later its as good as new. Moroccan Chicken with orange cannot be cooked in anything else.....
Jeez why do you think we call useless things "half baked"?
Enjoy! (But they are heavy SoB for sure)
Been cooking with my Le Creuset for years. Nothing else will do for my gorgonzola cheese sauce. And clean up's a breeze, the dogs have it licked to a sparkle in no time.
You will not regret your purchase.
If Hermes himself farted into the fire that forged the thing. There is no shagging way it deserves that price. And hurling LE CREUSET in my general direction as if anyone 'sane' would care that some French tosser bothered his arse to got up of a morning.
IT'S A CAST IRON POT.
And if you're a shit cook, your family stomachs are what needs to be in cast iron.
And I forgot the smiley. ;)
You certainly did.
Here's the saddest thing: When I found out Lodge had a line of enameled cast iron, I immediately looked into it, only to find that the venerable American cookware has this portion of it's line .... "made to our exact specifications in China."
What a kick in the ass.
My anti-China cookware is not unfounded. I bought* a Chinese manufactured casserole THAT I REALLY NEEDED and the goddamn glaze started to fail after the first use.
*At one of those "parties." Don't ask.
given that that pot will last forever, on a cost per use basis, you win.
drooling...
I got one of those babies at a discounter - I think I paid $100 for it.
I used to buy cheap crap. I have learned to save my money and buy the best quality I can afford. So we have good knives that the children will divvy up after we are gone, and we have 3 or 4 Le Creuset pots/pans, including a blue one of similar pattern to The O'Brien's there. Our blue one is 12 years old and the inside has darkened and it remains as spectacularly useful a pot as it was the day I took it out of the box.
Some expensive things are worth the money: professional knives, Le Creuset cookware, Nikon lenses, and Guinness. Many expensive things are not worth the money. I'm thinking Cadillacs, champagne, and Madonna.
Worth the $$
Not worth the $$
I was, dear readers, paid the handsome sum of $7.50 to write the entry in the second link. Life. Is. Beautiful.
Im still serving my eighteen years sentence with the middle class pans. But a girl can dream. Someday I might even figure out what the frack goes in a dutch oven!
I'm not sure why you need stuff like that when most everyone had a microwave.
Did you enjoy a can of Merlot with your dinner last night, Bill?
The quality of such a pan is not exactly lost on me, however I find that the plain ol' cast iron pans found at walmart for short change to be quite to my liking. I don't find enough of an inconvenience in their weight or the fact that they need to be washed by hand enough to spend more (particularly that much more) on cookware.
My wife, I'm sure, would readily disagree with me.
I will say, good for you for getting what you want, and enjoying it. THAT is the important part. :)
Erin: Everyone knows that the best merlot comes in a box. NOT a can. Some people!
IT'S A PIECE OF LE CREUSET COOKWARE FOR CHRISSAKE.
My sister, a fast-budding chef (and a damn good one, evidenced by the rice pudding she made last night that made my knees buckle), drools over Le Creuset Cookware and eventually wants to own all of it. She's got the right idea.
Did you enjoy a can of Merlot with your dinner last night, Bill?
Erin, please clone yourself, in the age range of 19-30. I'm really not picky beyond the range.
I can see you the same intensity about Le Creuset as Christian Bale feels about being an acTOR! I loved reading this and have felt this way about many things...Now cook something up to show us!
Agree completely with your worth and not worth links. Also, could you clone yourself, exactly like you are, but into women, more than goats?
As our humble hostess invited me to comment here, I'll do so. And I'll break my response into parts ... this is Part I. Before I do, let me give a bit of a disclaimer ...
I am a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute (for those who didn't know that), in Montpelier, VT. I've been cooking professionally now for about three years, and before that, about 14 years at a very serious amateur level (e.g., I catered parties, cooked at unit functions, etc.). I own about 60 pots and pans of various makes and types (to include Le Creuset and Lodge Cast Iron), as well as 60+ pieces of professional grade cutlery (Henckels, Wusthof, F. Dick, Global, Messermeister, Glestain, Shun, Mac, Kyocera, Sabatier, etc.). I've got lots of other cooking gadgets and equipment. My views are based on having used all of the pieces of cooking equipment I've mentioned and more, both in a home and professional setting.
I have two Le Creuset pans - a 7 1/4 Qt French Oven, similar to Erins, and also a "Dofeu" pot (an oval shaped French Oven, essentially. I've owned the French Oven now for about 10-12 years, and paid about $240 for it at the time if memory serves me correctly. It still looks and performs like it did the day I bought it. Same goes for my other Le Creuset pan.
I also own a Lodge Cast Iron Enameled French Oven. It's a little smaller, and it doesn't have as much room in the bottom. It performs nearly as well as the Le Creuset IMHO and IME. I had to buy it after my other Le Creuset was stolen. It cost about $80 or so if I recall correctly. As Erin notes, it is made in China.
All this being said, when it came time to make chili for the Super Bowl, I reached for my Le Creuset rather than the Lodge. Why? It heats more evenly IME, has more room in the bottom of the pan to sweat vegetables, and has a larger surface area at the top of the pot. It also holds and maintains heat magnificently, something very desirable in a braise (which the chili essentially is). The Lodge performs OK, but I notice it doesn't heat as evenly. I've made chili in both pots, and IME the Le Creuset is superior.
I also still have the first set of All Clad pots and pans I bought, their LTD line. I bought them in 1997, and they too still perform and look like new (other than some scratches here and there from use. I also have some Falk Culinair brushed copper pots and pans, Lodge Cast Iron skillets and grill pan, Mauviel copper pans, and some Calphalon pieces as well. My favorites are the All Clad and the Falk Culinair. All cost a good amount of money, but all will be with me till the day I die, and I only had to buy them once.
Basically, one has a simple choice when buying cookware/cutlery. One can buy a big set of cheap stuff that usually falls apart in a few years, or a set of higher cost, well made stuff that lasts a lifetime. Budgets and interest in actually cooking have a lot to do with what folks choose. Those not all that interested in cooking usually go for the cheap stuff IME (with exceptions, of course). Those more serious about it buy the more expensive stuff (again, with exceptions).
Al
TRAG
Part II ....
I will say this - remember, you are doing the cooking, not the cookware. I've cooked using cheap pans and professional grade stuff, and achieved acceptable results using both. One just needs to realize, for example, that thin, cheap stainless steel frypan will not perform the same as will an All Clad 12" frypan, and adjust cooking methods/heat application accordingly. Unfortunately, most folks IME don't understand this, and are genuinely baffled when the chicken paillard they just put in the cheap pan comes out burnt, while on TV, where they use the good stuff comes out perfect. As the old saying goes, one gets what one pays for.
As for cast iron, sure, you could buy it instead of the LeCreuset and save a bunch of money. However, it takes more effort to maintain, and doesn't clean up anywhere near as easily as enameled cast iron. Performance wise, Lodge cast iron and Le Creuset are pretty close IME. It's all a matter of taste, money, and how much one cares to maintain the Lodge over time.
All this being said, I'm a staunch believer in quality over quantity when it comes to kitchen equipment. I'd rather spend $150, for example, on an All Clad frypan that will last years than a cheap T-Fal that will fall apart in six months (and I'll have to buy again). But that's just me.
As for Erin sitting on the pan ... let's just say I don't do that .... ;-)
Al
TRAG
As for Erin sitting on the pan ... let's just say I don't do that .... ;-)
By the way, Erin, I want photos. You in heels, preferably, sitting on the pan. And you'd probably look sexier than Nigella Lawson, who I believe is the sexiest chef in the world.
I have a blue multi function. Make oatmeal in it when I run out of instant. I won it in a sales contest a long time ago. Honestly, none of this crap is worth the cost. Because we're a nation of sheep and the food channel is church, we'll pay the equivalent of semesters tuition or a months health insurance for a pot. Who cares?! A big screen w/ cable, a cell phone, and a $300 pot. Where's the poverty line again?
Bill,
Your sentiments are similar to a college friend of mine. His are based on his belief that he should spend as little time cooking as possible, and hence, it isn't worth the expense to buy high cost kitchen equipment. He regularly disparages my efforts in the kitchen as well as my choice of equipment, the latter being "not worth it."
As I noted, there is a big difference in the performance of a pan, depending on how it's made, type of metal, etc. Whether that is worth an increased cost to you is certainly a personal decision. As I see it, you've already made that one, so further discussion on the subject is quite unnecessary I should think.
If your multi-function works for you, that's really all that matters, cost be damned.
BTW, I don't watch the Food Network, and haven't for years.
Al
TRAG
Will work on the Erin clones, gents. Thanks for the vote of confidence.
Bill, please extend my condolences to your wife.
Al, if you weren't married, you'd be getting some SERIOUS trim.
"When I got this beauty home, I turned it upside down on the floor, took my pants off and sat on it."
I am totally down with this, EOB.
Not this year, not next year, but no later than year three, I'm gonna roll all the stuff outa my new shop.
Then I will Shotblast and grind the concrete floor. Then the low spots shall be leveled with epoxy such that race cars can be corner-weighted from said datum plane. Then an epoxy sealant will be applied in light grey.
When it is fully cured, I shall remove my clothing, and slowly roll over and over across each square foot, feeling the cool precision of my perfect shop floor alternately on my nads, then my cheeks, as glorious sunlight streams through my glass block windows. Nads. Cheeks. Nads. Cheeks.
That is all.
All of you Le Creuset naysayers would probably shit if you knew how much some of us pay for a good smoker/grill.
Serious trim ... hmmm .... I must admit my wife has had to fend off a few females over the years who lusted after my prowess in the kitchen. Note that I said prowess in the kitchen, and nothing else ....
Al
TRAG
BTW, I paid about $1200 for my BBQ Cooker (a smoker to most of you). All 600 pounds, cold rolled, and welded steel of it. It took 5 of us to get it off of the back of my truck.
Al
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Yep Al, I'd say you're serious about your barbecue. Do you do any competition events?
Alpha - I don't do competition events as it would require a much larger and more mobile smoker. Not to mention a heavy duty truck to haul it all with. But yes, I am serious about BBQ. For that matter, I am very serious with anything concerning food.
My pit is a 20"X36" model, from Klose Manufacturing of Houston, TX. You can check out their stuff at www.bbqpits.com.
Al
TRAG
Bill's commentary got me to thinking .... what do most folks really need in the kitchen?
Much of the stuff I have I bought out of curiosity. Some of it I don't use. Most of it I do.
Based on this, here is what I think the average American household needs ...
Cookware: a 12 qt stockpot, 3 and 4 qt saucepans, a 12" frypan or saute pan, a 1 qt saucepan, and a 10" nonstick frypan. Oh, and a 12" cast iron skillet.
Cutlery: a good 8" chef's knife; 3" to 4" paring knife; 6"-8" utility knife or slicer; offset bread knife; 6" flexible boning knife or 6" boning knife, non-flexible.
Tools: Utensils/smallwares - Whisks, ladles, spoons, forks, measuring cups/spoons, vegetable peelers, etc. A blender and a food processor. Stainless steel colanders. An immersion blender. Hand held electric mixer. Rolling pin. Pepper grinder. Strainers. A box grater.
Anything beyond this basic stuff is completely individual choice.
Nice to have, but not necessary: pasta machine; Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer; carbon steel wok; food mill; Small electric coffee mill to use as a grinder; Chinois and/or china cap; microplane graters; a good sized roasting pan with rack.
Really nice to have, but still not necessary: Vita Mix Blender; Robot Coupe Food Processor with continuous feed attachment and blades; stove top smoker, or a backyard smoker; sausage stuffer; pate and terrine molds; heavy duty meat grinder; Japanese turning slicer; French and/or Japanese mandolines.
Baking: cake and pie pans; ramekins; sifter or sieve; double boiler or a bowl to fit over a saucepan; copper bowl (for egg whites); molds of various types, e.g., savarin, madeleine, etc.; muffin and popover pans; half sheet pans; silpat pan silicone pan liners; parchment paper; cookie sheets.
I'm not a baker, so if anyone has other suggestions, have at it.
Al
TRAG
P.S. I guess everyone here can see I really like cooking ... ;-)
Have almost all of it Al, including a vintage set of cast iron skillets, including one 16" beauty that is about 100 years old--it belonged to my great grandmother.
Yes, I use it.
DIG THIS: I have a Vita mix maxi 4000 and here is a pic of the instruction book for my Kitchenaid K4-B, which was made in Hobart, Ohio and dates back to the 1940's. Works like the day it was manufactured.
Jesus Christ. I can hardly stand myself.
My cast iron isn't as old, other than the stuff my wife had (given to her by her father). But I use that, too.
As for the Vita Mix, mine is a 2002 model, a Vita Mix 5000, bought at the Fort Belvoir, VA PX while I was looking for housing. As for my Kitchen Aid, it is about 10 years old, and recently had the thermal fuse replaced after it died on me during a bread making session. Apparently, the newer ones don't stand up to continued bread kneading ....
Al
TRAG
Al,
Most of the competition venues down South have a backyard or patio class. While not as prestigious as First Shoulder at Memphis in May, it still pays handsomely and is a lot of fun. You can also compete in the 'Anything But' or the 'Blind Box' on Friday night.
Re: your kitchen selections. All spot on. I like carbon steel knives(personal preference) and still have a selection that were presented to me by some very special people at my first marital go around almost 35 years ago.
My introduction to Le Creuset came at a garage sale years ago. A pot like yours for $5. I didn't know what I was looking at, but the friend I was with acted like I had just found a brick of gold: "Buy it! BUY IT!!!"
I have been a convert ever since. Yes, I got lucky that one time, but they really are worth the astronomical retail price. Those things are the real deal. They last forever.
Anything that lasts forever is worth the price!
BTW, the Lodge Enameled Cast Iron isn't made in China. Just thought I'd set the record straight ...
Al
TRAG
Sorry, Al, but I copied this directly from the right hand sidebar on this Lodge page on their enameled cast iron:
"Made to our exact specifications in China, Lodge Enamel Cast Iron is cast from molten iron in individual sand molds."
I researched this very carefully. Straub and Le Creuset are the only two enameled cast iron manufacturers that aren't getting their product from China--at least the only two I could find.
It broke my heart when I saw Lodge is farming this out to China, but that's why it cost so much less than the premium brands.
If you cook every day (can you believe some people don't? But I hear it is so), you should use the best quality you can afford. I don't think we all need a million knives, for example. I have two or three really wonderful ones (also purchased from Bill S.), and they always deliver. I also have a Staub dutch oven I bought in Austria that I use all the time. It always delivers.
Woman I know put her Le Creuset in her suitcase when moving to Moscow. It was that important to her.
I am also told that one can buy this sort of thing off eBay . . . that you are buying from a virtual store (not someone who has just cleaned out the basement) with warranties, etc. I was looking at KitchenAid mixers, and a friend told me to go there instead of paying the ghastly prices in the shops here (Luxembourg).
That said, I saw your Le Creuset for about $260. But that wasn't including shipping (don't know what that runs). And I cannot say if it had the Bill S. special finish.
Well, fuck me silly. I love all of this and I don't own any Le Creuset. If I cooked more or more seriously, maybe, just maybe, you'd have me convinced that I would need one of these. Or 2 or so. Color? That would be the hard part. What color? My kitchen would need to be expanded to fit a Le Creuset, but I could live with that.
Absolute necessity in the kitchen? Those pink, Italian, vanilla-scented gloves to protect your hands when you wash your Le Creuset, your German knives, and your cutting boards.
A really good maple salad bowl is a joy. Really good wooden salad tongs and really good and old wooden spoons of every shape and size. Really good cutting boards with a designated "no onions/garlic" one for your fruits.
My all-time favorite kitchen appliance is my Dualit toaster, but my family hates it. I bought it after my wedding because no one would get it for us from our registry ($200, 20 years ago). I had to buy a pink toaster to replace it, but it's just cheap plastic and it still cost me $80.
My old metal Waring blender was a wedding gift ($75, 20 years ago) and it died. But I loved it. It only had 2 settings. How beautiful is that?
I have found a place in my heart for Martha Stewart. Her kitchen line has a lot of turquoise in it, which I like. But I respect and understand your sentiments about her, Erin.
Good food and good cooking will always be sexy. Have you all seen "Big Night?" That's a great food movie, I think my favorite.
I speak a little bit of French and I don't think Erin should be cloned. She is not a commodity nor will she ever be.
I speak a little bit of French and I don't think Erin should be cloned. She is not a commodity nor will she ever be.
Says one who's probably not single enough and therefore not looking and hoping and hoping and hoping. ;)
I'm still seeking my own Erin O'Brien, and I may have come close in another way, a former 9th grade crush, who, despite the current distance between us (California to Florida), is still the same way I remember her (still brilliant, still in love with words) and it still attracts me. I've grown a lot since 9th grade and have no intention to try to rush this. I'm patient. Something she said in an e-mail yesterday inspired me to begin a second writing project concurrent with the one that might still be my second book, so I'm definitely not rushing it. I want her in my life forever, no matter how it turns out. Naturally, I hope it turns out the way I'm seeking.
You paid $300 for a dutch oven yet make sure to get every ounce of use from a bar of soap. I'm so confused....... :-)
Erin - I stand corrected.
Al
TRAG
J.A. Girl--FINALLY someone has seen the light!
Yes, I use every last shaving of soap. How the hell else would I be able to afford this hoity-toity French pot?
Goddamn. I am ten feet tall!
Just bought one at Costco late last year. $50 (hell no it's not Le Creuset, but it looks and cooks exactly the same). It rocks the chili and jambalaya something fabulous. Of course now, Erin, you will have to take and post more food pics.
Of course now, Erin, you will have to take and post more food pics.
In heels! ;)
Wow.....50 comments on a post about cookware!
So I guess now the list of taboo topics of conversation in polite company has been expanded to: religion, politics, and...Le Creuset!
Speaking of religion. Quran vs Bible. I swear by the Bible.
Just goes to show that food is the one thing that brings people together, regardless of background, religion, upbringing, race, etc. At least that's been my experience in my travels around the world.
Al
TRAG
P.S. I saw an immersion circulator at Williams-Sonoma tonight. I must have it. Mmmm .... sous vide .....
Family meals, regardless of what is served, is one of my favorite things in life. It would be great to have a real chef, like Al or Erin, prepare one of them.
It would be great to have a real chef, like Al or Erin, prepare one of them.
In heels! Erin, I mean!
Oooook, time for a very cold shower. ;)
WV: exualve - If it isn't, it should be the name of some device related to cooking.
Bill - I don't know where you live, but imagine the blog fodder it would be if Erin and I prepared a meal for your family ... the Republican and liberal Democrat, in the kitchen, and actually not trying to "kill" each other. All while making fabulous food ....
Rory - I don't do heels ... I wear Chef's clogs, Danskos to be specific. Lest someone here think I'm a left wing, hand wringing, knee knocking lib because I wear clogs, let me just say this - spend 8 or more hours on your feet, and you'll be wearing Dankso's too.
Al
TRAG
I'd like a pic of EOB in Danskos only...
Liberal Democrat?
hmm....
Liberal? Probably. Democrat? not so much.
Al, I do 10-14 hours a day on concrete, this is the finest shoe in the world:
Red Wing
Yeah, they're made in China, and they kick ass.
That sole design helps when pushing cars on ice and when climbing up or down a muddy embankment. They are incredibly light. Aluminum toe caps. I tore through a disappointing number of American made units, Knapp, Wolverine, etc, before I discovered these, about $150.
I also have the tan version, 6674, for Sunday go-to-meetin.
Erin,
We could be in trouble when I'm the one that saw the light :-)
Phil - I'd love to try those shoes, but only if they come in clogs and black. Do they?
Al
TRAG
Al, Red Wing and WORX, they won't have the same tread design but the one model has a safety toe. I gotta believe a dropped vat of sauce hurts as much as a cylinder head.
I have a battered pair of Red Wing's "WORX" brand steel toes I use when all day welding, so I don't torch my favorites. Good boot, but I've never experienced grip like that Red Wing Vibram TC-4 style sole. I left my house on quick errand the other day wearing sneaks, went flat on my ass, forgot I didn't have the Red Wings. Probably oughta shovel the steps once in a while, too.
Le Creuset is the Catdaddy of cookware. We cook a lot in the House of Juju, and have 14 pieces of all configurations, sizes, and colors. I counted 'em after reading this.
Good stuff.
My advice to you is this: don't ever drop one on your toe. I speak from experience.
Le Creuset. Smacks of Multiculturalism. When the Islamocommunist Caliphate comes to America they'll be carrying French pots. Bastards.
RJ
Welcome Yabu. Fourteen pieces! You lucky dog.
Cooking, he-men discussing their shoes, multiculturalism, erin clones ... this is the oddest comment thread I could ever imagine.
Le Creuset is great cookware, but I wouldn't use it for, say, any cooking application where I had to flip something in a pan (using only my hand on the handle to do so) in a professional situation. Way too heavy to use on the line without killing your cooks. At home, it's another story. And having dropped heavy kitchen stuff on my foot, I can also say that good footwear is a must.
Al
TRAG
I'm more of a Staub man myself. I have the 8 quart round one and you can come sit on it anytime!
The Staub's are surely beautiful. Iffin' I ever feel the urge to use one as a tuffet, I'll look you up Anon.
Thanks for dropping in.
That multi-function getup makes my nipples all sorts of hard. How come I've never heard of this previously? I used to be an F&B smallwares buyer for a 12-restaurant casino resort. I admit that there were some things I bought in mass quantity that was that made in China bulljive that I wouldn't be surprised if we tossed after a few uses, but we did throw down some dollars at the request of our Executive Chef after opening some new Steakhouse, a new Italian and a new Seafood restaurant... some copper-core All-Clad and Lincoln Centurion induction thingies...
Meanwhile, at home, all I ever used to cook with was some POS bachelor pot that also doubled as my dinner bowl. So I guess that technically, I had a multi-function pot. I've cooked the best tasting eggs up in that bitch.
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