Dutch Out, French In

It's Not the Real Thing: Recalled that I was very excited to get my very first Dutch Oven in May. It wasn't the top of the line but I figured a newbie like me did not need the best. Boy, was I wrong! My Dutch oven, the chic-looking all cast iron pot, could not withstand heat! The outside enamel chipped off after the first use and the inside bubbled up after the sixth use.

What's a dutch oven when it can't be used as a dutch oven? A flower pot?

Oolala: I started over. This time, I got the real thing - the $$$ Le Creuset $$$ - and this is a French Oven, boys and girls.

So far, it's good as new after one use. Hopefully, it will hold up for the duration of the warranty - the next 100 years.

Lesson learned: You get what you pay for. Quality does cost money. Can't be stingy if you want the very best.

The beautiful cheap dutch oven wannabe reminded me of the old Chinese saying: a pretty pillow doesn't mean it's a good pillow; it's the stuffing inside the pillow that counts.

So true!!