Congratulations on both the performance and the Dutch Oven. That was a real find.

You do not need any special recipes for a dutch oven. although perfect so slow cooking in an oven or on top of the stove, you can use it just like you would any other pot.

Ann

Congrats!
One of my favorite uses for my Le Creuset pots is slow cooking dried legume recipes...black eyed peas, lentils, baked beans, veggie chili, etc.
The beans come out really creamy.

Enjoy
Ann

I like to make a curried vegetable stew in my LC pot and serve it over rice. I can provide a recipe if you're interested.

Teresa

Nice find!

I lost a brand new LC DO over the winter. Forgot it at a friends' vacation house and without going into the lengthy details I suspect the odds of me ever seeing it again are slim to none. Bummer.

Sally, I've been meaning to ask if your Thermapen issue ever got resolved after the rep saw your gripe and offered to help?

Thanks, all. It's good to know I can cook with it like any other pan. (Wow, two Anns in a row! That's quite a treat.

Yes, Teresa, if you have time, I would love your recipe, as I love curry, but I know you keep very busy. Just whenever you get a chance and have the time or inclination.

FOAS, I don't remember a Thermapen rep seeing my gripe and offering to help. I'll have to find my old post if it's still around. I think what the deal is is that whatever I'm measuring, usually bread loaves fresh out of the oven, aren't a constant temperature, so it's fluctuating with the temperature of the bread - I guess. Unfortunately, my email account from Yahoo has totally disappeared, like it doesn't exist, so if anyone emails me through Gardenweb, I won't see it. Yahoo has been slow to respond. Thanks for the heads up about that, FOAS.

Sally

Lucky day indeed! Both of your surprises sound great.

I made the recipe below for the first time early last week. The comments in upper case are my notes, as is the three star Very Good note at the top. This is a vegetarian recipe, I just happened to have lamb shank meat left over from a restaurant dinner and thought it would be good in the recipe - it was. I don't think that using fresh tomatoes would add anything to this and the tomato juice from the canned ones was a good substitute for the water, although I did add a little more water at the end. The amount of hot smoked paprika that I used gave the dish a gentle kick - you don't need to use that. I do recommend increasing the ginger and cumin to one teaspoon each. I typed out all the fractions so you won't have to change the coding - wish GW would fix that. I think that the small halved eggplants that I used were a very good choice, no bitterness and brushing them with olive oil and lightly charring on a grill pan really added a nice flavor.

I cooked this in a heavy stainless steel shallow skillet - covered most of the time but it would be perfect done in your new Le Creuset because it will maintain an even heat. I served it partly over a mix of brown rice and quinoa on dinner plates.

I know you'll enjoy your new LC.

Lee

Eggplant Tagine ***VERY GOOD!
Moroccan Stew of Eggplant and Olives
Serves 4
Tagines are Moroccan gently simmered meat, fruit and vegetable dishes, flavoured with spices like garlic, cumin, ginger, pepper, saffron and turmeric. What curries are to India, Tajines are to Morocco and North Africa.

* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 cups chopped onions
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 and a half teaspoons paprika USE one half t SMOKED HOT PAPRIKA AND 1t REGULAR SWEET PAPRIKA
* one half teaspoon ground ginger USE 1t
* one half teaspoon ground cumin seeds USE 1t
* 6 plum tomatoes, chopped USE I SMALL CAN 14oz DICED TOMATOES AND JUICE
* one half cup water ADD AS NEEDED TO GO WITH JUICE IN TOMATOES
* a pinch saffron
* 1 1 eggplant, cut into one half inch cubes USE 5-6 VERY SMALL ASIAN EGGPLANTS CUT IN HALF LENGTHWISE, BRUSHED WITH OLIVE OIL AND LIGHTLY CHARRED ON GRILL PAN
* one quarter cup raisins
* 1 cup greek-style green olives, pitted
* to taste freshly ground salt and pepper
* 1 cup cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
* one half lemon, sliced into 4 wedges
* ADDED ABOUT 12 oz COOKED CUBED LAMB SHANK

Directions

1. In a heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil and the onions over medium heat.
2. Saute the onions for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Add the garlic, paprika, ginger and cumin and saute for 2 minutes longer.
4. Add the tomatoes, water, saffron, eggplant, raisins, olives and salt and pepper.
5. Turn the heat to low, and simmer the tagine for 30 minutes.
6. Add the chickpeas to the vegetables.
7. Taste, and adjust the seasonings.
8. Serve in soup crocks over mounds of quinoa or couscous, with a lemon slice on each serving.

Source: Taken from Ashbury's Aubergines at http://home.att.net/~ashburysaubergines
We fell in love with tagines after having dinner at Dar Tagine, a Moroccan restaurant on Preston Street in little Italy. Since we have two vegetarians in the family, a meatless tagine was in order..

Thanks, Lee! That looks delicious. I appreciate you typing out all the fractions. I appreciate it very much. I'm putting this on my menu soon, and will report back to you as soon as I make it.

Sally