I dont have any tips,but just wanted to say congrat.You will love your new dutch oven.I have two in differnt sizes in the red.

SHelley

Watch out. They're addictive. :-)

I love mine. They are easily my favorite cooking vessels.

I can't think of any tips, besides don't heat it empty, and avoid using metal utensils or abrasive cleaners on the enamel.

The 3L braiser is on my Christmas list this year. Hopefully, in kiwi green.

Concrats! You will never regret getting your first.....'cause this won;t be your last.

I don't alter the times and temps with my Le Creusets but I tend to use them for longer cooking and low temperature dishes .

Congratulations!....better start dropping quarters into a jar....saving up for your next one!
Like chase...I just cook with it....but don't use it for things like boiling pasta or steaming a few veggies....but for soups, stews, spaghetti sauce, chili etc.
Great Stuff!!
Linda C

I haven't altered anything either - never occurred to me. Maybe I should have read the directions? :-)

I have the red too!

Have fun. It took me about 6 months to even find a spot in the cupboard for it...as soon as it was clean I was using it again - LOL.

Stacy

Congrats! Red is my favorite color also.

The real forte of enameled cast iron is that the cast iron has a great heat capacity; it isn't very responsive like copper or aluminum, taking a relatively long time to heat up and cool down. But once it's up to temp, it tends to stay there. That property makes it ideal for long, slow cooking with little temperature fluctuation. Especially now that the weather is getting cooler you won't mind having the oven on for a few hours. Lots of dishes do well in ECI by doing the initial cooking on top of the stove then covering the pot, putting it in a slow oven for hours and hours of slow braising.

If you want a great reference on this, you might check out Molly Stevens' 'All About Braising: the Art of Uncomplicated Cooking'. Highly recommended. One technique she uses: take a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper bigger than the pot's opening. Cover the pot with this material, making a upside down shallow cone--put the lid on top of this material, and it makes a fairly effective seal as well as a route for the vapors to condense and return back to the dish.

I've posted the following recipe several times, but if you want a nice lamb recipe with which to 'baptise' your Le Creuset, you couldn't do better than this one from Anthony Bourdain:

GIGOT DE SEPT HEURES (Seven Hour Leg of Lamb)
From Les Halles and Anthony Bourdain

1 leg of lamb, about 6#
4 garlic cloves, sliced, plus 20 whole garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
salt & pepper
2 small onions, thinly sliced
4 carrots, peeled
1 bouquet garni
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup flour, 1 cup water
Preheat oven to 300 F. Make many small incisions in lamb, place slivers of garlic in each incision. Rub lamb well with olive oil, season with salt & pepper. (At this point I would brown the lamb on all sidesÂbut thatÂs not necessary.) Place it in Dutch oven and add onions, carrots, bouquet garni, garlic, wine. Put lid on Dutch oven. Combine flour and water, make a 'caulk' and use it to seal the lid to the dutch oven. Place it in the 300 degree oven and cook for 7 hours. Yes, 7 hours. NO PEEKING--leave it alone.
Remove the Dutch oven and break the seal. You don't have to eat the cooked flour paste.
That's it. About a half hour to an hour of prep, then you leave it the heck alone for 7 hours. It's nearly foolproof. Serve it with whatever else you want, and a medium bodied red wine goes quite well with this (say, a nice Zinfandel) but a dry white (such as the remainder of the bottle you opened to get the cup of wine in the recipe) is fine as well if that's your preference. Bon appetit!

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 have many pieces of Le Creuset , all purchased one at a time. They are my "go to" cookware. I do not do anything special when cooking, except not heating an empty pan. Since they hold the heat, you may find you do cook at a lower temp, but I've used them so long I can't remember :). If your bottom is not enamel, do not leave it sitting in the sink to soak , as it will rust. If I have to soak, I dry the bottom and set the ones with iron bottoms on the stove. I also find the uncoated edges of the lids will rust - so I dry them. I do not put mine in the dishwasher. I love my Le Creuset! I have also used my warranty to exchange a few pans that pitted, but I believe that surface coating was discontinued. They are a great company! Enjoy!

That's a pretty good price and it will last a lifetime if well cared for. I scratched one of my pots quite badly with metal utensils so now I only use plastic - silicon- while cooking.
I also dry after washing and use old dishcloths between the lid and base while stored.

I'm so happy for you and that is a great price. I got a oval red one for my birthday two years ago and I love it. Ditto the recommendations above. I always hand wash it, and use silicon utensils. I also store in in a lower cabinet because the weight is hard to handle pulling down from an upper shelf.

That's exactly my plan! I'm looking forward to many wonderful dishes all winter long as, like most people probably, that's when the oven gets the most use.

I saw the green color at the store susytwo! That's one of my favorite colors, but in my kitchen, the red works better. The blue they have was a very pretty color as well, but after much thought I stuck with the red.

Thanks for the tips about the bottom and edges! I have to check to see if my bottom is finished or not - I can't remember now! And I wouldn't have thought about the exposed edge - I'll have to remember to dry it right away and give it a little bit of oil along that edge to make sure it doesn't rust. There are certain things I won't put in the dishwasher and this pot will be one of them. Altho I have to find a place to store it - it's so unbelievably heavy I need a place that has easy access so I don't kill my back taking it in and out!

Lisa

I put mine in the dishwasher, no reason not to. I don't think you need to oil the edge.

And they have a life-time guarantee. The company is very good about replacing anything that breaks, chips, etc.

I have 4, the oldest going back about 35 years. They're wonderful. I've never done anything special in regard to cooking with them, and I DO put them in the dishwasher.

Congratulations on your new pot Lisa. You are going to love it.

Ann

I have one well used Dutch oven that has a very well worn interior....I looked on the site to see about having it "reconditioned" or whatever....and the guarantee is only good for manufacturing defects.....and since it's easily 30 years old...I don't suppose it was defective.

Linda--I've sent chipped pieces back and had replacements, no questions asked. I hope I'm not suggesting anyone defraud the company, but it's not supposed to chip. I had a very large (huge, in fact) ceramic baker crack in the oven, and they sent me the closest thing they had (still big, slightly different shape.)