Since I got mine a decade ago my Dutch oven has been a mainstay on my range from September through May. Mine is red, too, so it actually works nicely with my decor throughout the holiday season. Didn't consider that when I bought it - I just think food looks really appealing in a red pot. For casual meals, I like serving right from it. The Dutch oven is the one I use most often (I have chicken soup simmering for tonight in it now), but I also have a couple Staub brand ones in other sizes. I bought a big covered round one to bake my no-knead bread in. I don't find a difference in the quality between the brands, but I love my LC best because it was my first(grin)and the size works for so many dishes I like to make. Can't remember if anyone mentioned this among tips, but I've had great luck cleaning mine (especially after something like coq-au-vin has really left it deeply browned inside)by just filling it w/ warm water and a squirt of dishwashing liquid and letting it soak overnight. That was hard for me to do, at first, as I don't like any dishes in my sink. But the next morning I just rinse the pot and wipe it down with a microfiber dishcloth & it looks like new without anything abrasive ever touching the enamel. I'm sure you'll love yours, and congrats on getting it at such a good price!

I had mountains burned thick on the bottom of my Le Crueset pan a while back. I was lucky I didn't start a fire after scorching the contents so badly. I'm glad to know about the peroxide because that is one of the few things I didn't try. After soaking, scraping and boiling with baking soda and various other things I finally found that rubbing with a damp dishwashing tablet took off the final layer rather easily. I wish I had tried it earlier in the process.

No your LC should not wobble. I too was thinking you bought a knockoff. We purchased a large LC Goose Roaster from our local outlet. They were having an awesome sale in addition to their already low prices. They were to remodel the store and did not want to pack up everything to move out and then have to move it back in again. They would rather sell it. When we are buying quality cookware I make sure I buy it from reputable stores. I don't buy from TJ max or marshalls or any of those type stores. You don't know what you are really getting.

My new obsession for mine is stovetop lasagne. Maybe someday I will get to doing bread in it. Meanwhile, here's a link to a Web site I am working my way through. If I could afford the book I would get it. One Pot Meals from Martha Stewart Skillet Lasagne Before starting the meat you can make a mirpoix of oil, onions, carrots and celery if you want, or some green pepper and mushrooms, whatever you would like in your pasta sauce, but if you use a jarred or canned sauce you don't have to do this, particularly if your sauce already contains onions, etc. So however much you want to flavor it up or not depends on your taste and time. Add garlic towards the end of this step if you want some. 1-2 tsp. is probably enough. I use the lower end of the garlic spectrum. Brown a pound of some type of protein. Most recipes call for ground beef but I used ground turkey and next time I make it I may use a mix of meat and beans, or perhaps some veggie crumbles, and I'll bet you could use part italian sausage for flavor it you're a big meat eater. Salt the meat to your taste as it is browning. If the meat is fatty, drain before proceeding with the dish. Add 1 large jar canned spaghetti sauce or Italian flavored tomato sauce. You need 26-28 fl. ounces of the sauce, so use whatever you have on hand that will equal that amount. I used a 24 oz. jar of Ragu spaghetti sauce and 2 oz. of my own home canned tomato basil sauce. You could also use canned tomatoes and canned tomato sauce, tomato paste, etc. to get the desired amount. Season to your taste with italian seasoning if you like. I tend to do this because I find store bought sauce bland, and if I am making the sauce from just plain tomato sauce, then I want a lot of seasoning. Add 1 1/2 cups water. When mixture is boiling lightly, add 3 cups pasta (you don't want a hard boil because too much of the water might evaporate if you do that, and then the pasta will stick--ask me how I know!). The pasta I used was broken up lasagne noodles and then some campanelii to supplement to 3 cups. You could also use mafalda ribbons. Cook the pasta for about 15 min. Test for pasta being done. Your water should be absorbed and the sauce thickened. Watch out, since this dish actually might get too thick if you're not careful. You can always add more water to it if it starts to get too thick. While the pasta is cooking, make the ricotta topping. The recipe says to use 16 oz. of ricotta, which is a typical container (although mine was 15). For my taste, this is too much, but your mileage may vary. Mix this with about an equal amount of chopped frozen spinach. I had a 16 oz. bag, which I used about half. If I had a 10 oz. package I would use it all. Mix the ricotta and spinach with 1/3 cup grated parmesean, a healthy pinch of basil or oregano or italian seasoning, and 1 TBSLP dried parsley if you have it. If you hate spinach you don't have to add it, just plain ricotta is fine, and if you have some other type of vegetable you would like ti mix in, like kale or shredded zuchinni or something else, by all means do it. When the pasta is done, mix up the casserole to make sure the meat, sauce and pasta are evenly distributed. Spoon the ricotta mixture on top of the casserole and cook 5-7 min. more until the topping is heated through. Then, top the dish with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella or italian style shredded cheese and broil for about 3-4 min. until cheese melts.