What's your most sentimental piece of serve or cookware?

11 years ago

I have a several sentimental items in the kitchen.

I recently found this adorable little red ramekin from my recently departed Nana's dish collection (it was that red, yellow and black rooster pattern).

Have it next to the range as a salt dish, and reminds me of her every time I look at it :)

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

User
11 years ago
I have a lot of stuff...my Mom's wooden spoons and all of her iron skillets also her granite roasters. Her Blue Ridge pattern luncheon plates...my grandmother's iron skillets and their tea pots...hmm..have to think...all of their table cloths..:) I am a repository of all things inherited ! Great thread...and I love love that sweet dish. c
Madeline616
Original Author
11 years ago
Wonderful, Trailrunner! Those things are so priceless.
Related Discussions
Top 5 pieces of Le Creuset cookware?
Q
Comments (4)
I have tons of LeCreuset and I love all of it, but I'll try to narrow it down to my top 5 for you. The 3.5 qt buffet casserole is great and is a really versatile piece, as is the 5 qt buffet casserole (I have both). I use the smaller one the most, but my kids are grown now so it's just two of us at home - with a growing family you may get more use out of a 5 qt model. I would also consider a 7 1/4 qt round. This is one of my most used pieces, and I have a 6.75 oval and a 5.5 round as well. Still, I find myself using the 7 qt round piece more than the others. Again, with a growing family I would go bigger rather than smaller if you are undecided. I have to say, I have the skillet and I have quit using it in favor of my Lodge cast iron skillet. I actually prefer the Lodge as I don't have to worry about scorching the enamel outside when I am heat searing a steak or something similar. Also, the Lodge skillet is a bit thicker and I just like it better. It also costs a whopping $25.00 versus the LeCreuset skillet's $100.00 plus price tag, and this is one of the few LeC pieces I own that I don't think is really worth the money. You may want to also look into the 9.5 qt oval dutch oven. You can cook double batches of soup, chili, etc. in it, and it would also work for a turkey. One piece that I use constantly is my 2 qt round dutch oven. This is my grits, oatmeal, and rice pot and it works great. Another piece I really like is a 3 1/2 qt wide dutch oven. These are great for casseroles, etc, but can also be used for pot roast or meats as well. I hope this helps. I do like my 5.5 qt. round dutch oven, but I really do find that I almost always use the 7 qt instead - even with just two of us at home now. I find that if I'm going to make chili or soup I like to make a big batch and freeze the leftovers. With growing children I would choose bigger pieces over small since you are going to be cooking larger and larger amounts of food over the next 20 years or so.
...See More
What's your most used cookware? And why?
Q
Comments (5)
Don't want to sound like a wiseguy, but my most used is---everything. I don't keep stuff that doesn't get used often, because I have no storage room to spare. Probably the cast ironware gets a slight nod, though, followed by the stainless skillets and pots. Then the bakeware. The wok is an exception. It doesn't get used as often as it should. But nothing cooks like a wok, and when you need one nothing really subs. So it sits there, taking up more space than I can spare. I don't use non-stick cookware (other than the cured cast-iron) and there's none of it in the house. Other than a microwave I don't own any of the appliences you mention. I keep trying to talk myself into a bamboo steamer, but I know I won't use it enough to justify the space it would take up.
...See More
What is your most used cookware....and then some...
Q
Comments (25)
We use the 3qrt and 1 1/2 qrt copper/stainless Dansk saucepans just about everyday. Along with a 10 1/2" Wagners's cast iron chicken fryer. A 12" Tri-Ply frying pan rounds out our most used cookware. When we steam fish or veggies we use our old carbon steel wok and a bamboo steamer set inside it. We are doing a lot more steam cooking lately. Interesting to see that a lot of cooks don't just buy sets of cookware. There is mixing of this and that brand. Holds true to what I have been seeing in the cooking store I work in. People are buying pieces instead of sets of cookware. Which I think is the way to go. Whenever a customer comes into the store and wants to buy a whole set of cookware the first question I ask is will you use all the pieces included in the box? Don't spend money on things you won't use all that frequently. NancyLouise
...See More
If you love your cookware, please tell me about it!
Q
Comments (28)
Great find, John. Cousances was bought by Le Creuset in the 1950's. The little skillet is indeed the lid to the saucepan. They still make these, called the 2-in-1, at least in the U.S. The skillet part is my total fave, and the saucepan part is a new fave for induction. Edited, from the eBay Guide "Cousances enameled cast iron ... had features which distinguished them from their competitors. Among those features were the base, which was left without enamel, but sealed against rust with the final glaze, and the skillet design which was a French version of the classic American skillet popularized by Griswold and WagnerWare, having two pour spouts, a cast on handle, and a lifting tab on the largest of the handled skillets." You've got the care and cleaning right. You don't need to do anything to the enamel. If it's clean, it's clean. And if the bottoms aren't rusted at all, they're probably still sealed. The place to beware is the very edge around the top where the iron is sealed, but can get worn. You don't want to leave that soaking so that it rusts (but if that happens you can just scrub off the rust and do better next time). You can bake on some oil to season any truly raw iron parts, but it shouldn't be necessary. If you do get stuck on gunk, you can deglaze it on the stove. Just heat some water and use a wooden scraper or wooden spoon to loosen the gunk. If the gunk is on the outside, heat it in a larger pan of water. And if you burn the bottom or really thoroughly bake on gunk, it just takes longer and more elbow grease, but you should be able to bring it back if you're patient and gentle. The most important thing for caring for your enamelled pans is not to scratch the enamel. No scrambling the eggs with a table fork in the pan. Use wood, plastic or silicone. For clean up you can use a plastic scrubby, or a plant fiber one, but no metal. Like any cast iron, don't shock them. No ice cold water in a hot pan. Don't put a hot pan down in a puddle. Try not to bang the rim or drop it. Le Creuset make silicone handle covers nowadays which can be very useful. Congrats on the new friends. They can parlent en français with the Maviels, because you know those prima donnas flirteront avec les bad boys.
...See More
cat_mom
11 years ago
I am a sentimental sort, so I am sentimental about a lot of my kitchen stuff (where/when/why I got each tool, gadget, pot and pan.....!).

Most treasured, family "heirloom" item would have to be my grandmother's wood chopping bowl, and metal chopper/blade. Second would be my favorite or family recipes, especially the ones my mom wrote out on index cards for me when I moved out of the house.
blfenton
11 years ago
I have two platters that were my mothers. A lime green one and a blue and white one that my uncle gave her when she was married in 1951. He was only 17 when she got married and he paid about $2 for it and for him it was a lot of money. I use both of them all the time.
autumn.4
11 years ago
I have to say I love pulling out hand written recipes from my grandma and my mom (mom is still living). There is something comforting about it. I am going to categorize them as 'sentimental pieces'.

As for cookware - I don't yet really own anything that old. I did have a couple of soup bowls that were my grandma's that held great memories for me but they have broken. :( They weren't fancy or expensive or even attractive (my grandma loved the 'dime store') but it was more the memories tied to them.
zeebee
11 years ago
A high-sided brown and tan pottery bowl that Mom used for bread dough. She was a serious baker and that bowl was her main baking accessory for as long as I can remember.
pirula
11 years ago
I have several lovely, sentimental things. But by far, the most sentimental has to be my mother's ugly, seriously hideous and HUGE cast aluminum dutch oven.

I'm of Cuban descent. This thing makes enough food for 15 people. Seriously. It measures about 20-22" in diameter. I can only use it on the middle burner of our Lacanche because it is so huge. It's ugly (did I mention that?) but so help me, food tastes better when it comes out of it. Enormous vats of Cuban chicken and rice and black beans to feed an army.

I keep it in the walk in pantry because there is simply no room in any kitchen known to man to store this thing....
lazy_gardens
11 years ago
Two items, and I use them both.

A cast iron skillet my mom found in the Sierras when she was 10 or 12, in an abandoned and falling-down cabin.

My great-grandfather's hand-forged, elkhorn handled buffalo skinning knife. The knife is a fabulous heavy cooking knife and really sharp.
User
11 years ago
I didn't even think to mention the cookbooks and recipe cards that Mom and Aunt Marie and Aunt Bessie and Grandmother Hawkins and Grandmother Dillinger all wrote out...and then there are some from their friends in there too. My DS1 uses some of the recipes in his restaurant..which I think is cool and he has his grandfather's knives now..I still have his steel...life sure has a lot to offer us if we stop and look around ...thank you for such a great thread.

And...Madeline..I just want to say that was my Momma's name and is my daughter's name too...so you are close to my heart...c
Madeline616
Original Author
11 years ago
Trailrunner, how truly cool and so special that your son uses some family recipes at his restaurant! And I'm sure he treasures his grandfather's knives :-)

Always anted to name my daughter Madeline but was never blessed with one, so Madeline is my little dog's name :-)!!

What's your most sentimental piece of serve or cookware?

Comments (10)

User

Madeline616
Original Author

Related Discussions

cat_mom

blfenton

autumn.4

zeebee

pirula

lazy_gardens

User

Madeline616
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

What's your most sentimental piece of serve or cookware?

Comments (10)

Madeline616Original Author

Related Discussions

Madeline616Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Madeline616
Original Author

Madeline616
Original Author