Never knowing before that a sale at Bloomingdales could slash prices of designer goods to an affordable cost, I was faced with the possibility that owning my own Le Creuset oven could actually be reality. The pot in question was a small 2 qt, cherry red french oven at just under $100, about 40% off the original price. At the time, I was just starting to invest in small appliances, and had previously splurged on a red cuisineart blender/food processor combo to match my red kitchenaid mixer, and so, I thought to myself - this Le Creuset french oven in red would be the perfect addition to my new luxury collection of cooking tools.
I made the purchase on my American Express Clear card, declining an additional 15% discount to sign up for the Bloomingdale's card (this I eventually signed up during a large shopping expedition after I had exited the poor student arena).
I was so happy. My prized little red pot was used for everything from cooking ramen to making soups, sauces, small braises etc. I even kept the box that the pot came in, not being able to bear throwing it away. As my cooking became more sophisticated, my little pot also matured with me; handling expensive ingredients like foie gras, truffles, bone marrow, and the best wines. We had such a fine time together, experimenting with new ingredients, keeping familiar food warm, and it became a very special part of my culinary adventures (life in some translations).
As my culinary repertoire increased, so did the size of my parties, and eventually, I was no longer able to use my favorite red pot for most of my cooking. Having also grown into a larger income, I was able to supplement my cookware collection with larger Le Creuset pots; the next one being a 9 qt Cobalt French Oven, seconds, from TJ Maxx. There they were, side by side, quite a sight; a little red pot, and it's big blue brother.
(A note about this blue pot, I almost burned a house down with this one, while attempting to do a mass reduction of lobster stock, and conveniently leaving the house. The pot did actually burn to irreparable damage, however, a friend rescued it from the garbage and is still currently attempting to refurbish it. It's been about 3 years since that sad fate)
I eventually reached a stage in life where I had the luxury of being able to choose the Le Creuset colors that I wanted to expand my collection with, rather than be restricted to only those that had the largest discounts. When making the decision to pick a color, I had very much wanted to stick with the original red - how lovely it would be to have a collection of Le Creuset ovens in bright red!
However, in honor of my first red pot, I chose to single it out by keeping the rest of the pots cobalt blue. Never any seconds either; but always on sale in some way or another; mostly from the bloomingdales home sale section.
(If you were curious about the red appliances that I originally wanted my pot to match with; they failed miserably and I eventually splurged on commercial quality blenders and food processors in a stylish black. The red KitchenAid still works marvelously though)
My current collection (all cobalt) includes: two 2.75 Qt round french ovens, one 5 Qt oval french oven, one 7.25 Qt round french oven, one 9.5 Qt oval french oven, one 8 Qt stock pot, one 12 Qt stock pot, and of course, the original red 2 Qt round french oven. I also received a red whistling kettle as a gift, making it 9 pieces in total.
My pot and I have moved several times together - into small kitchens, even smaller ones, a huge one, and a medium kitchen. Through it all, it's always been able to find it's place in the forefront of all the other cookware, a little flash of red in the sea of blue.
These days, I use my little red pot for what has been the most glorious and honorable cuisine in my entire life - baby food; where it cooks up everything from petit peas, to brown rice and barley. While I relish being at the pinnacle of my culinary career, whenever my gaze falls upon the little red one, it reminds me of my humble beginnings, both as a chef, and as a person.
They say that sharing a meal is the best way to get to know another. Every once in a while, this is what my red pot and I do - over some korean ramen topped with an egg, indulging in those memories of the more unassuming times.
- It makes no sense because iPad spellcheck is dense
