You MUST knead the dough for about one minute to get it all blended nicely. Just flour your hands, and dump out the dough and knead.

I bought 1/2 pig-i requested the butcher to give me the lard. Well, they gave me the lard, but it wasn't 'lard' it was all the fat they cut from the pig, folded over itself and placed in a bag!! So i have to 'render' it into lard. Duhh! So, it's all going into the goose pot (I'm guessing it's about 10 pounds) to be cooked on a gas grill, outside.

any takers?

I'm going to be doing this anyway so i thought i could use some partners here. We are trying to save money, but yet eat healthfully. Here are my rules-no pre-packaged foods, as in canned pasta, anykind of boxed dinners, most processed food.

Canned veggies and fruits, okay. Dried pasta and beans okay.

No HFCS allowed

NO msg

No modified food starch.

No trans fats.

No restaurant eating.

I'm going to the grocery store tomorrow. I got to come up with a list, and amenu, and i'll post it here.

Julia Child's Beef Burgundy-For me, it's about 6 hours from start to finish. The longest part is browning 4 lbs of stew meat.

Stainless steel appliances and countertops remind me of the county morgue i had the privelage of touring when i was in lawschool. The refrigerators were stainless steel, the countertops, the tools, the doors.

So no stainless steel for me.

Becky, the paint came from SHerwin Williams, and is called "golden glow".

Mother of four, I took this picture in my dining room

it weighs 26 pounds-it weighs just about as much as my 15 month old!

Its next to the 8qt oval in Cobalt, and the 5.5 round in Dijon:

THe knife came today.

I cut raw onion with it first. It sliced through like soft butter. Barely any resistance. At first, i thought the onion was rotted b/c the knife slid through it so easily.

Then i cut a potato. Barley any resitance. cut it into little chucnks and noticed how 'clean' the edges on the potato dices were, and how smooth the sides. A dull knife really does tear up food.

this was the very first time i used a truly sharp knife. Now the trick is to keep it that away. Any suggestions?

Make a quinoa pilaf with some beans and peppers. Quinoa is a grain (or is it a grass) native to the new world. It's very tasty, and very much in line with your Mexican theme.

Never used it before for that purpose, and I am amazed.

The bread i made was fairly basic- 3 cups bread flolur, 1 cup barley flour, barley malt, yeast and salt and 1 1/4 cup water.

Used the dough hook. Put all the ingredients in the mixer bowl and WOW

I could not believe how fast it kneaded that dough into a nice supple, non stickey ball! I was dumbfounded. It took maybe 3 minuntes. It would have taken me at least 10.

So i give props to the Kitchenaid mixer- if you are a serious bread maker, you should get one of these.

I used to have an old carbon steel knife. Sharp as hell, but rusty b/c i didn't know anything about it at the time. Eventually (and stupidly) gave it away. So I'll see how this work. Got it from epicedge.com

I just tried to buy some off amazon, and it said that they aren't available yet. BTW, i've purchased 3 Le creuset big ticket items in the past 3 months and haven't recieved a magnet from them!!!! Do you have to be on a mailing list or something?

I recently came across the oppurtunity to get, for FREE, a Lecreuset 15.5 qt "goose pot"-I thought along the same lines as you...is it practical? Will it fit in my oven? Will I ever use such a massive pot?? I could have used the opportunity to get something more practical, but instead i chose the goose pot! It's a 'once in a lifetime' shot, b/c i KNOW i'd never buy a goosepot.

I say...GO FOR IT!!!!

I try to cook as many things in one pot as possible to save on time and dishes. I put the dish together last night. So here goes:

I cooked about 6 potatoes in the microwave. Cut them in half

Then i made the meatloaf: raw hamburger, lipton soup mix, oatmeal and one egg.

Put the meatloaf in the 8 quart dutch oven. Arranged the potatoes around it.

Then put in the baby carrots and cut cauliflower. PUt the dutch oven in the fridge overnigyht

Today at 4:00 pm, put the whole dutchoven, covered, into the oven at 375 for a an hour.

DELICCIOUS!!! The cauliflower was exceptionally tasty-and since i didn't use any water, none of the nutrients of the veggies were lost.

CAn i join this group of allclad/lecreuset addicts???

Okay, here goes:

In the All Clad:

8 qt stockpot
7 inch skillet
10 inch skillet
12 inch saute pan
1 qt sauce pan
4 quart casserole

Le Creuset

5.5 qt Round
5 qt Braiser
8 qt Oval
15.5 qt Goose Pot (en route as i write)
1 qt Cast Iron Au Gratin (also en route)

I swear, no more cookware!!! I don't NEED anymore!!!!

You are missing the ability to do EVERYTHING in one pot, and by that i mean
1)frying
2braising
3)baking
4)and serve the food in the same vessel in which you did 1-3!

When i make Beef Burgundy, all operations are done in the same pot-the browning, the braising with win, and the oven time. so i definately save on dishwashing time.

Even better, the pot is pretty and can go right to the table!! IMO, bare cast iron, while very useful, isn't very attractive.

AND i can make a killer stewed fruti in my LC-can't do that in a bare cast iron because the acid reacts with the iron and gives a weird flavor.

I would omit the cream of mushroom soup. Not only is it high in fat and cals, but high in salt and MSG, and it tends to overwhelm all the other flavors.

I suggest using Arborio rice to get the creaminess we all like, and cooking the rice in chicken stock.

Here's my take on your recipe.

INgredients:

Leftover Ham
Frozen Peas and carrots
cheddar Cheese
4 cups of Chicken Stock
Onion
Butter
1 cup of Arborio Rice

Method
Melt butter in wide shallow pan. Chop onion and saute. Add the ham and cook with onion. Add the rice, and cook althogether for about 5 minutes, stirring. Add the chicken brother about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring. After the chicken stock is halfway gone, add the frozen peas and carrot. When the rice has abosorbed all the stock, and is the consistency you like, stir in the cheese. Enjoy.

Let's just say I have an 'insider' helping me out, so i'm getting any 3 items FOR FREE (nothing illegal i assure you!)

Right now i have a 5 qt round, a 8 quart oval oven, and a 5 qt braiser.

I definately will pick the 14 inch cast iron au gratin.

For the second, i'm thinking about the wok, or a a sauce-pot. BUT i'm tempted to get the 'goose pot'! I mean, i probably wouldn't use it but twice a year-to me, it's lke getting a vintage Jag that you only take out for a spin twice a year.

the numbers 32, etc, refer to the diameter of the pot measured in centimeters.

So the 5.5 qt is 28 centimeters across.

My new 8 qt oval is 33 centimeters across.

I think three babies is enough for me! I really think my collection is complete, i have a round, an oval, and a braiser (i cook for 4 people). Now i can enjoy them.

I'm too attached to my all-clad stainless skillets to ever replace them.

I do want the LeCreuset Butter Bell though!

I'll be cooking my Vegetable Power! Chili The 8 qt size will be perfect for it.

Here's the recipe:

1 can black beans
1 can pintos
1 can of Bush's Chili Beans, medium
I yellow pepper
2 poblano peppers
1 orange pepper
2 tomatoes
1 large onion
6 cloves garlic
2 cans tomato sauce
4 cans water
1 chipotle pepper, chopped, with 2 tblspoons of the adobo sauce.
chili powder
paprikia
a bit of rosemary.
Oil

Rinse beans and put into pot. Cut up vegetagbles and put into pot. then put in the spices, oil and all the peppers. Bring to a medium boil, then simmer for 2 hours.It tastes best the next day. Serve with shredded cheese and blue corn chips.

I got home, and unwrapped the box. It is the real thing!! And it looks great alongside it's two sisters, the 5.5 Dijon Round and the 5 quart Flame braiser.

the closest outlet store to me is 3 hours away :(

Anyway, i tracked my package and it is due to arrive today. we'll see what we have.

I've been wanting an oval oven in a bigger size, but the 9.5 quart seemed too big for my needs. Searching on Amazon, i came across an 8 quart oval for $295. I searched other venues to find a cheaper price, but turns out, that nobody carries the 8 quart oval! Someone had posted here on a 2007 thread about the 8 quart oval and how it wasn't widely available.

anyone have any ideas? I just hope it isn't a fake b/c i bought it already. BTW, irawoodsinc.com carries the 8 quart oval, and it's the only retailer outside amazon.com to do so.

Since the Staub v. LeCresuet debate has no signs of ending, i thought i'd throw this stick onto the fire. The April 2010 issue tests the Staub against the lecreuset, and here is a summary:

1. CI compared 7 1/4 qt lecresuet to the Staub 8 qt

2. Both browned meat beautfully and created flavorful fond.

3. BUT...CI said the black interior made it diffucult to see if fond was developing or burning AND the pot and lid weighed 6 pounds more than the lecreuset.

CI concluded that Staub comes in 2nd place to lecreuset.

What do the gurus at CooksIllustrated recommend? I don't have a web subscription so i can't see their eqiupment reviews.

I was a cooking class, and it worked wonders for the souip. The teacher was using a kitchenaid which is about seventy dollars. CUisinart sells one for forty, and walmart has a few for under twenty. any recs??

i have made Julia's beef bourgionion 3 times in the past month, and was amazed at how delicious it was.

I used a cote d rhone, and I DID NOT use pre cut stew beef. I had the butcher chop up a chuck roast for me. You can tell by looking at stew beef that is is too lean to have much flavor. I also used a Lecreuset 5 qt braisedr pan.

I made a chicken sausage paella tonight with arborio, per recipe. It was delicous! So creamy, so rich! On the 'cream of mushro0om soup' thread, i think if you used arborio rice, you wouldn't need the cream of mushroom soup, or a make a white sauce.