What to buy, what to buy...
I've got a 25 percent off coupon at a local store that expires soon, and figure the best bang for the buck is a somewhat pricey high quality item. And lo and behold! Le Creuset. The selection is limited to what they have on hand. I've narrowed it down to an oval casserole that they have in matte black, and what is described as the buffet casserole which is a shallow round pot with a cover.
Any opinions? If they had decent sized a round dutch oven, I'd go for that in a heartbeat to replace the cheap one I have, but they only have the 3 1/2 quart size, which is a little smaller than I want.
They also have the Doufeu by le Creuset, which is the oval pot where you're supposed to put ice on the lid when you put it in the oven. This seems pretty gimmicky to me, but if anyone's got experience with these, I'd be happy to hear about it.
Otherwise, I may end up spending my coupon on the big bag of weed 'n feed.
Help me spend my money wisely on a good kitchen item.
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19 Comments:
Drooooool.
Slowly I add to my addiction....I have my grammas' old Flame colored set and add to it in flame and cobalt.
My SIL has the Doufeu, and thinks it is silly (no personal experience) as the ice melts too fast and she said added too much liquid to her roast rather than just basted. Plus if you use anything but water ice you get the oils (like in broth) baked onto the top which is a PITA.
I have a couple of oval pots and a few sizes and I ADORE them. I want a buffet casserole...the big one! I bet they are wonderful too!
Whatever you get be sure to report on how you like it! (Well, unless it is the Weed-n-Feed! ;D )
sadiepix at 11:12PM on 07/17/08
@sadie -- I'm trying to avoid the weed 'n feed, and luckily the power tools are excluded from the sale, or I'd have to consider a new chainsaw.
I've only got ONE Le Creuset piece, which is the tagine, bought from the same store, at the same type of sale, and I adore that thing. I am slowly getting rid of cruddy cookware and replacing with stuff should have had years ago.
The buffet casserole would look darned pretty at the table, and the oval casserole would look great in the oven with a chicken inside. I don't actually NEED either, but with 25 percent off, on top of it beng a good price, it's hard to pass up the bargain.
25 percent off a $10 item is nice, but 25 percent off a Le Creuset piece is even better.... :-)
dbcurrie at 11:41PM on 07/17/08
Well, no, not a NEED per se...but will last forever, look great and work like a dream! Sounds like a good deal to me too!
Deciding on which piece is the hard part! I got a GC last X-mas and it took me 4 months to make up my mind!
Besides, when else will you allow/justify yourself such a great treat again? Coupons are great for that!
Shop away!!!
sadiepix at 11:48PM on 07/17/08
I found that I tend to enjoy things I don't really need, but buy solely because I want them, somewhat more than things that I really need :-) In any case, if it were me, I would go for a buffet casserole, mostly because I have a thing for casseroles with lids.
As for the Doufeu, when I first read about it, several years ago, I was very excited because the idea totally made sense to me. But then I've read and heard reviews similar to that of sadiepix's, and it seems to be, indeed, gimmicky more than anything else.
Whatever you end up buying - enjoy it!!!
brooke29 at 1:00AM on 07/18/08
@db -- yes, you do NEED a good piece of Le Creuset!! You will find yourself using it frequently and loving what comes out of it. I love my round oven (5 1/2 qt), it's the best $185 bucks I ever spent on myself. Go quickly, now, and tell us what you bring home.
ride&cook at 8:01AM on 07/18/08
If I were to look around my kitchen and make a list of all the things I don't "need", but purchased for the sheer pleasure of my cooking enjoyment, the list would be quite long. If I were to possess a 25% off coupon? Well, there would definitely be a new piece of LC in my kitchen. ;-)
izatryt at 8:05AM on 07/18/08
It sounds like you can't make the wrong choice - either of the casseroles would add delight and utility to your kitchen.
But I'm here to stick up for the 3 1/2-quart dutch oven. I got one as a birthday gift this year, and as I already have a heavy 3 1/2-quart saucepan, thought I wouldn't use it very often. Little did I know, its much more even heating would make it one of my most reached-for pots - it makes risotto (and any rice, really) cook more quickly and evenly than a regular saucepan, and is great for a medium-sized batch of soup, beans, stew, or anything else slow-cooked.
But if you are covered in that department, I vote for the oval casserole, since that matte black finish is lovely and you're already planning future chicken-roasting!
producestories at 8:24AM on 07/18/08
I'd go with the Buffet Casserole, provided it's the 3.5 qt model (roughly 12" diameter).....
Don't be fooled by its given name....this is one of the most versatile shaped pans you will own. Calphalon calls it an everyday pan, all-clad calls it a braiser, others will list it as a roasting pan, but in the end they are all the same basic shape....with the same versatility. I have the calphalon everyday pan, which I've used as follows:
1. Frying walleye, Latkes, Crabackes etc...sides help with splattering.
2. Browning meatballs (enough room to just add the sauce & serve)
3. As an open roaster for chicken, or pork tenderloins, etc....
4. Roasting vegetables
5. Making Tater Tot Hotdish (a MN classic)
6. Potatoes Au Gratin, etc...
7. Twice baked mac & cheese.
8. Paella (its shape is basically that of a paella pan)
9. Used it to stir fry prior to getting a wok
10.Bain Marie for custards....4 le creuset ramkins fit perfectly inside.
These are just examples of the versatility of this shaped pan....and it makes you more efficient: Use as a fry pan to brown your Swedish Meatballs, then saute your onions & garlic until carmelized, deglaze with stock, season & thicken, return the meatballs & pop the pan in the oven with its lid to hold until serving & simmer, put directly on the table.
1 pan to wash & a beautiful one at that.
2qrs at 8:30AM on 07/18/08
Well, hmmmm....now my choices are narrowed down to one more than I started with. That 3 1/2 quart dutch oven suddenly sounds more appealing. Honestly, I've GOT to stop cooking like I'm feeding an army of hungry teenagers. And I don't have a super-heavy pot of that size. I have some fairly heavy-bottomed pots of that size, but I don't think they're oven-worthy because of the handles.
The shallow casserole thing appeals because it's so darned pretty, and I can imagine that I'd use it for serving as well as cooking. And since cast iron holds heat so well, it would keep things warm.
The oval casserole....I'm not fond of oval shapes on a cooktop, but oval for a roast or chicken in the oven makes perfect sense. And I don't have any heavy oval pots of any size. Well, except for clay roasters.
Hmmmm....I think I'm edging towards the shallow casserole or the smaller dutch oven. On the plus side for the dutch oven is the fact that I know I have space to store it. Or, if I use it that much, it could live on the stove. The shallow casserole would require some moving around to find it an appropriate home. Sigh.
The good news is that this store sometimes will have this same type of sale the day after Thanksgiving, so I might have another chance to get a Le Creuset deal then...
Thanks for all the input. (still undecided....)
dbcurrie at 12:36PM on 07/18/08
@2qrs -- what is Tater Tot Hotdish?! Will you post the recipe? I was born in MN so I need to know this!
ride&cook at 2:28PM on 07/18/08
As for the DouFeu, I think that is based on a very ancienne sort of pot where hot coals would have been heaped on the lid rather than ice cubes. The ice cube idea seems ridiculous on one hand...why not just water and then the same effect (an increase in heat from above?) might be achieved.
Incidently, 31/2 qts IS a small size. I have a 3qt Staub pot which is lovely but not as useful as I'd hoped, its just too small and would be better served with a long handle rather than two little lugs. The so-called everyday pan (Calphalon 10"diameter) I now use only for fritattas. For Paella and most other oven to table dishes I use the gorgeous 13" Le Creuset Williams Sonoma Bistro Pan. It's near perfect but I think it's no longer in production.
I have a 5qt oval Le Creuset that really gets a lot of use, both stovetop and in the oven. I love it.
You really can't lose with Le Creuset. But I'd get the oval dutch oven.
Pointy at 2:32PM on 07/18/08
Tater Tot Hotdish:
1. Saute a large onion & garlic (to taste).
2. Add & brown 1 pound of ground beef
3. When ground beef is cooked, add 1 can of cream of mushroom soup.
4. Fold in 3-4 cans of green beans (I prefer french cut...lol).
5. Top with as many tater tots as your pan will allow.
6. Bake at 375˚ until the tater tots are cooked.....45 minutes or so.
7. turn the broiler on & crisp up the top until tater tots are crispy.
It's the thanksgiving green been casserole with meat & tater tots instead of french fried onions.....which....can also be added.....and some people put a layer of cheese between the base & the tater tot top.....
I know....its a "Hotdish" and not very chic....but....its really good, and is winter staple in some part of Minnesota when a quick throw together meal is needed.
Best consumed when the temp is below Zero!
As a side note: There are some online debates on how this is made....lots of variations, but....the consensus is that the tater tots must go on top...never the bothom..and mixed vegetables as an add-on are a no no.....let the green beans shine.
2qrs at 2:47PM on 07/18/08
dbcurrie---
Does this "local store" that you describe happen to be the hardware store in LaGrange, Texas? I also got a coupon last time I was home and to my surprise noticed they sold Le Creuset, with about the same selection that you mentioned......VERRRY interesting.......
nichole at 4:08PM on 07/18/08
Well, I am moving to Texas! I want a hardware store that sells LC!
@2qrs--I SO grew up on one of the variations of that dish! Ours was seasoned ground beef, topped with peas, then a mix of undiluted cheese soup and cream of celery, then the tots. Funny! I can't eat it anymore, but as a kid it was sure good. I made it part of the menu at a nursing home I worked at years ago..it was a hit!
@db--You cook like you are feeding threshers too? There are only two of us but I can't help myself! That is why I buy the big size pans. Can't wait for the DH to be teaching so I have some hungry college students to feed!
sadiepix at 4:58PM on 07/18/08
Why not buy the more expensive dish, sell it online for closer to the retail price, then use the proceeds to buy the 5-qt dutch oven elsewhere? That is, if you really want the larger dutch oven and not the two things they have available.....
youattal at 5:44PM on 07/18/08
Forgot to mention that I just used a 20% off coupon for the 5 qt at one of the national chains--what a steal!
youattal at 5:45PM on 07/18/08
@nichole -- hardware store, yes, but in Colorado. It's an Ace hardware, but family-owned and they allegedly stock a lot of stuff outside the Ace catalog. And they have a good cooking section that they're now expanding. And now and then they have these sales that are semi-secret. Like you have to have one of their customer cards so you're on the mailing list and thn its just a little unobtrusive mailer, or there's a sticker on the front page of the local newspaper for one day only. They also do sales on odd days, like New Year's Day, when the younger members of the staff look a little crumpled. Sometimes they have what they call bag sales, where you can get a discount on anything that fits in the bag. Or it's 50 percent off anything up to $30, so everything that's $29.99 ends up wiped off the shelves (but you could spend more and get $15 off the purchase. I usually have my eye on some piece of cooking equipment, so that when the appropriate sale comes along, I know what I want to buy.
dbcurrie at 5:49PM on 07/18/08
Honestly? I think the buffet casserole would be my first choice, followed by the dutch oven -- but yeah, it's all Le Creuset and you can't REALLY go wrong with the stuff.
Good luck choosing!
bansidhe at 7:41PM on 07/18/08
Bought!
As lovely as the buffet casserole was, I decided that the dutch oven was going to be more useful right now. There will be more sales.
And oh yeah, I got the weed 'n feed, too. Had a coupon for that, too.
dbcurrie at 10:03PM on 07/18/08