Le Sigh

I'm going to have to copy a blog subject from Theresa again. After she wrote about her love of her Le Creuset cookware, I was inspired to write one of my own.

Apparently, all my lusting over Theresa's French Dutch oven paid off, because I hit the jackpot once I got married. Not only did I receive every Le Creuset item I registered for, I received more (THANK YOU AUNT LOUISE I LOVE YOU!).

At first, I devoted an entire cabinet just for my lovelies, but then I couldn't stand that they were tucked away in some dark cabinet and out of site. These beauties deserve to be admired and greeted with a, "Hello, lovers!" every time I walk in the kitchen.

Without further ado, I present my collection:

Yes, you see that correctly. I even have a Le Creuset cake stand, batter bowl, and mortar and pestle (or, as Stephen calls it, a pistol)!

I cannot tell you how amazing this cookware is. I have never seen something cook food so evenly and easily. Those who love Le Creuset love it for a reason...accept no imitations! I had a cast iron Dutch oven that seems like I was cooking with a Fisher-Price toy compared to what I have now. And that frying pan given to us by Mrs. Chen? That thing browns meat like nobody's business. I will never part with it.

I am so obsessed with my Le Creuset collection, that I insist upon cleaning them immediately after they are done being used because I can't stand the thought of them sitting there with old food all stuck to their sides. One night, Stephen suggested that we, "wait until later" to do the dishes, and I must have looked at him like he had 3 heads. Poor guy.

And yes, the rumor is true. Stephen was absolutely convinced that the cast iron pans could not go in the oven at all. He went so far as to say, "Go ahead, put them in the oven. But don't be surprised when they crack in half." Even a visit to the Le Creuset website that listed care instructions for their cast iron pans would not satisfy him because it didn't specifically call out, "enameled cast iron" (which he originally swore was porcelain, but I digress). It didn't matter that my mother uses the Le Creuset pan handed down from her mother and we used to put it in the oven all the time while I was growing up. It wasn't until I threatened to call his mother that he finally gave up...and by gave up, I mean that he started tickling me so I literally couldn't talk about it anymore.

Alright, it's clear that I have gotten a little carried away about this topic.

Le sigh.