For years my girlfriend has been telling me about something she got as a wedding gift a long time ago. It was a cooking vessel that was so useful, and so versitile, that she used it for practically everything. Unfortunately, she lost it in the divorce, and has wanted one ever since. But she hasn’t been able to justify the expense of one. I think she keeps bringing it up as a subtle hint for a gift idea, but I don’t know enough to know what to get.
It think it’s a dutch oven, and I think it’s called La Crucette, or something like that.
A dutch oven’s nothing but a big, covered handleless pot, possibly with legs and a bail to cook over coals, or without legs and a bail to cook on the stovetop or in the oven. They’re really only “versatile” in the way any other pot is, except that they hold more.
I googled “La Crucette” and only came up with Italian sites.
What did she cook in it? What kind of cooking does she like to do? Maybe that will help narrow it down, if no one else can come up with the item.
You’re looking for “Le Crueset,” I think. The last “t” is usually silent (croosay), but some people pronounse it crusette. It’s pricey, but good quality. Here’s one at Williams Sonoma. Check amazon as well, or ebay, and you may be able to find one cheaper.
lorinada, apparently you can do everything with it. Saute onions, roast a turkey, make popcorn, bathe the cat, use it as a sled, win the US presidency, and travel to Venus. And it’s indestructable until the year 3085. Hence the price, I guess.
Any idea what color she wants? Some folks are very picky about their LeCrueset colors. I inherited my one and only (very beloved) LeCrueset pot from a friend whose mother-in-law gave her the wrong shade of red.
You need extra parts to fly to Venus. The style has been around a long time. My grandfather had one, it wasn’t enameled, but otherwise the same. His mother gave it to him when he started working for the U.S. Forest Service in 1910.
Surely, someone else makes them.
Not a freakin’ clue. Most of her kitchen is white. Her pots and pans are largely silver, but she does have a red stovetop grill. I don’t know why I’m thinking she wants red, but that’s what my instincts tell me. I should probably follow them if I can’t get more clues from her.
Just in case you’re interested, the current issue of Gourmet magazine has an entire feature on dutch ovens, complete with comparisons of all the major brands, costs, features, etc.
