The Tale of a Girl and Her Pot

Okay, so I let a little time pass between my introductory post and this one, but it was for good reason. As promised before I will be starting off my praises of kitchen gadgetry with an ode to my beloved Le Creuset dutch oven. Sadly, I wasn't joking when I said that I was planning on having a professional portrait taken with pot in hand. Even more sadly, I'm pretty strapped for cash, and since portraits don't fall in the "necessity" category it hasn't happened yet. Through the use of my friend's light box, however I was able to get a few pictures that did her, my pot that is, justice.

I can't emphasize to you enough just how bonded I am with this pot. Yes, that's what it is....a pot. But if faced with a house that was being ravaged by flames and given the opportunity to save only one inanimate (this scenario assumes that anything living has safely evicted the scene) object it would be my kiwi colored, 5.5qt, Le Creuset dutch oven. I did get into a debate once with my boyfriend about this...basically he argued that saving the cast iron pot would be feudal because in that situation it's a good chance that the pot would be the only thing left standing in the ashes. This may be true, but I'm not taking any chances.

Now, there are several reasons why I love this pot so. First of all, it took actual blood, sweat and tears for me to get it. Well maybe not blood, and maybe just a few tears, but I did sweat a bit during that year I spent as a sales associate and merchandiser at the local Potterybarn. Don't let my title fool you, arranging and selling crappy (seriously...crappy) furniture to yuppies with a misguided sense of self importance is not IN ANY WAY a rewarding line of work....at least not for me (disclaimer: for those of you making a career in the upscale retail world, I think you have the patience and drive of a saint and I applaud you...I am a weaker person). It did offer one incentive that was worth the agony: a 40% discount at both Potterybarn AND Williams Sonoma! So yes, even though I had decided long ago to never be one of those people (see misguided sense of importance above) I did agree to whore myself out to the company that fueled their self-richeousness for a pot. Thus, I worked, for a year, at a job I hated, while demanding to anyone who claimed to love me that they get me NOTHING other than Williams Sonoma gift certificates for any gift giving holiday. That is the story of how my pot and I came to be.

The beginning of our relationship, unlike most, did not have a sketchy start. I put the pot on the stove, filled it with food and it did exactly what it was supposed to do. In the years since, I have tested the boundaries of our relationship and each time I rest assured that our collaborative endeavors have no bounds, and this is the main reason I love this pot. It's ideal for soups, chilis, stews, and it out performs any deep-frier I've ever tried. Recently I used it to make bread..that's right...bread baked in a pot. I had never had the desire to make bread at home until my eyes fell upon a blog that featured a beautiful loaf of bread sitting in a dutch oven much like my own. From that point on I was inspired and determined to make bread in my pot by the end of the week. Well...I did, and like so many times before I was blown away by the results my cast iron princess yielded. The loaves were crusty on the outside and perfectly light and airy in the middle. For my first bread making endeavor I could not have been more satisfied. It was so good, in fact, that I served it up to my friends at our weekly dinner party. The recipe can be found at our blog, Dinner at Club 62.

I have to sum up this up by saying that a good quality dutch oven is an absolute necessity. It bears an extravagant price tag, but it is an investment that will last a life time and probably even longer. Its simplicity and versatility make it my go-to tool for most dishes and it serves as my frier, bread machine, skillet and crock pot, all in one.

And So It Begins...

As much as I hate to admit it, my passion for cooking is not a result of growing up in the kitchen with my mother and grandmother learning cherished family recipes. No, the only thing my mother hated more than cooking was doing it with someone else in the kitchen. If I had a dollar for every time I heard "THIS IS A ONE BUTT KITCHEN!!" I would indeed be a wealthy woman. It took a couple of years of living alone and in poverty to realize what a joy cooking can be. That's right, I credit my love of the culinary arts to being poor. Specifically, I credit the fact that food in its most natural state is not only healthier, but less expensive and easier to "stretch" if you will.

I truly believe that cooking is an art form and one that requires tools. Now, I will be the first to admit that bare hands are the best kitchen tool. I will also be the first to scoff at new fangled, over-priced and one-use gadgets. I would be lying, however, if I did not admit that many of the items in my kitchen not only fuel my creativity, but have become some of my most prized possessions. It's creepy, I know, but it is my hope that through this blog I can help sway those who are on the fence about making an investment, or just shed some light on something new that seems worth while. Consider it a product review blog as well as a forever updated "What I want for my birthday or Christmas" list.

I will leave things at that, for now. My first "official" post will be in praises of my 5.5qt. Le Creuset dutch oven (color: Kiwi), however I am holding out until I can get a profession family portrait taken with my beloved pot (my boyfriend is welcome to sit in as well...if he wants).