'Morning, Solman! It's dark as a dungeon and damp as the dew, Where danger is double and pleasures are few, Where the rain never falls and the sun never shines It's dark as a dungeon way down in the mine. Us coalmine canaries don't know night from day, and we don't sing. We just wheeze when things get dicey then croak. And it's not even 10:00 a.m.! Steff, thanks for explaining the whole matching pot thing. It never occurred to me to think of what they looked like on display! And in my old kitchen I kept the Le Creuset on the stove/counter, because I didn't have anywhere to put them away. But that's just visible, not display And I thought they looked good with the hood and the poppy (they came first) but I never thought about displaying them, or any other pots. Other than the classic French pot rack with copper pots, which always seemed more decorative than functional to me anyway, I've just never considered it. So...lightbulb goes on! People display matched sets of pots. Interesting... ACK!!!! I just realized that I didn't see a soup pot during the Le Creuset festival. They better not have discontinued it!!! It's the best pot ever! Glad the plants are okay.

Thanks all. I feel better now. I measured this pan before buying it. The depth/thickness on the inside is about 4-3/4" (4.75") and it fits nicely in my oven. I had to make sure because I once bought an oval roaster with lid that didn't fit in my oven and had to return it. I learned to measure everything now and carry a measuring tape in my purse. This may be a discontinued model. The difference on this one vs. the latest model is the top edge. The latest model has the edges bend out used as handles on 2 opposite sides. The edge of this one bends out all around at the top, using as handles on all sides. It's similar to their current stoneware loaf pan. I like it better since it's giving me more ways of handling it. It's style is beneficial for me since it's one heavy pan. HOWEVER.... I just remembered this morning that we do have an outlet here in Houston and it's not too far from where I live. I'm heading out there today and check out what they have =o).

@Sherry8aNorthAL, I found that Tramontina is all around a great brand. I don't think you can make a mistake buying any of their products. You miss out on some of the attention to detail that I see in my Staub pots. And yes, I do like these little improvements. But whether the improvements are worth 2.5 times the price is a very valid question. On the other hand, as others have said, these are pots that you'll use for decades to come. So, if you do decide to splurge, the cost does amortize over time. The heavy weight is an issue with any cast iron product. That's why, unlike for Dutch ovens, I prefer carbon steel skillets over cast iron. They handle very comparably, but they are noticeably lighter. Lodge makes a great and inexpensive model, and according to ATK, Matfer Bourgeat makes the nicest one, but I haven't tried that myself. Both cast iron and rolled steel, despite all their advantages, suffer from poor heat conductivity. So they work better on stoves that distribute heat evenly. We love to cook with them on our Bluestar range. The star-shaped burners are perfect for this application. We liked them a lot less, when we had to temporarily use the Viking in our in-law unit during our remodel. Hot spots were very obvious and annoying. Capped circular gas burners are a much poorer fit for this type of cookware. Of course, once transferred to a hot oven, all of that is moot.

Mine was not what I planned. As always, I put a turkey with a bacon blanket on it in my turkey roaster. And a smoked ham in my slow cooker. The usual mashed potatoes and veggies and stuffing. We no longer make all the extra side dishes or salad because nobody eats it anyway. My son and his son's mother broke up in July, so opening gifts this year was later than usual because she wanted to see their son Christmas morning. After she left (yes, my son has custody right now and hopefully it stays that way), my kids all came over. All double vaxed and my son and grandsons pcr tests came back negative (they were exposed a week previous and I wouldn't let them in unless I knew for sure they were negative). My grandson opened his gifts from my daughter and my husband and I, then we opened ours. That's when my day went in the toilet. Buying gifts is something I enjoy doing. As our kids get older, it does get harder. But I managed to find something for everyone. My oldest son said, "I went to the mall with gifts in mind, but it was too people-ie so I went home". He did this 3 years in a row. My youngest was exposed to Covid so while that was his excuse he said avoided the mall, he did come into the store I work in to pick up a rapid test kit for his girlfriend and stopped at the Starbucks in the Safeway next door for coffee. And my husband: "I didn't know what to get you". He got me.............. nothing. Not a thing. For the wife who does it all around the house and now feels so unappreciated I went to bed after the gifts were done and I slept for 2 hours while they all ate dinner and cleaned the kitchen. They were all gone by the time I got up. They usually stay until 10 or 11. They were gone by 5:30. It's the first time in 40 years I did not eat a turkey dinner Christmas Day. I will probably not host the dinner next year. I'm hurt. I feel used and unappreciated by most in my family. Don't feel bad for me: I'm not asking for it. I can feel sorry for myself. LOL