by Sam Tackeff | Jan 6, 2016 | Cookware
Julia Child, photographed in her Cambridge, Massachusetts kitchen, June 29, 1970. By Arnold Newman/Getty Images.
This is the time of year where I sit down to reflect. While many folks are making resolutions about health and fitness – and I have those year round, I just call them goals – I like to focus on resolutions for my kitchen – my favorite room in the house. It’s a nice practice to remind myself to be more mindful in the space where I prepare our meals, nourish my body, and explore my creativity.
Kitchen Resolutions: 2016
:: I resolve to use my large/fancy appliances more often. This has more to do with my current kitchen space, but my Vitamix, Instant Pot, and Kitchen Aid mixer need more use in 2016. I will say that I’ve used my amazing Breville Tea Pot and my Cuisinart Steam Oven almost daily in the past year though.
:: I will do a weekly assessment of fresh produce in my refrigerator, and do what I can to not let the greens wilt and die before eating them. Or worse, completely desiccate. Although, I did contemplate eating them anyway… fridge-dried kale chips.. how bad can they be?
:: I will cull the pantry. No more hoarding of things that I have no interest in using. No more taking pantry items when people move. On that note, if I inherited something from someone and don’t like it, I will get rid of it and not feel any guilt or shame.
:: Take better care of my cast iron. My mother seasons her cast iron (that I gave her) religiously and it’s beautiful. This is really shameful – my cast iron is currently sitting in the oven and hasn’t been used in a month.
:: I will not use the wrong lid on the wrong pot. I learned my lesson this year when I almost lost my Le Creuset lid to a vicious steam hold on my oversized frying pan. It took several days, the advice of over 20 engineers and 50 Wellesley alums and the collective power of the internet to free it.
:: I will not season directly into the pan. I will take appropriate amounts of seasoning into my hand… and then into the pan. One does not need four tablespoons of chile on one’s eggs.
:: I will read my new cookbooks cover to cover before buying several more. This is actually a newer resolution, because I’ve rarely had this problem before. But somehow several cookbooks came into the house this year that were not read through before getting a spot on the shelf.
From previous years:
:: Wash all dishes and wipe down counters before going to bed each night. I’m too often guilty of leaving things until the next day. A clean slate makes life infinitely easier in the morning, and I feel even better when I have my coffee mise en place ready to go to avoid confusion during my morning grogginess.
:: Keep a running Kitchen Journal. To keep track of our likes and dislikes as a family, and to pass on perhaps one day as a keepsake.
What are your kitchen resolutions for 2016?
by Sam Tackeff | Jan 31, 2013 | Cookware
Editor’s note: since I published this post, I’ve received a lot of comments online and off by people frustrated with a different experience (and a much less positive one.) While I was satisfied (and seemingly lucky) with my experience, I’ll leave the comments open, and welcome anyone to share their experience here as well. Did you managed to get your pot replaced? Did it not work? Keep in mind that we’re all real humans here, and in no way connected to Le Creuset, so let’s keep it friendly in the comments!
Here’s a little story for you about my recent experience with Le Creuset. (Spoiler: it ended happily!) But I’ll start from the beginning: from early childhood, my favorite cooking memories involve sitting over the stove, stirring delicious things in Le Creuset pots. My mom has had the same large white French oven, and big blue braiser for at least two decades. More, I suppose. I love the functionality of these pots, and the heat distribution. They are perfect for soups and stews, braising, or even roasting in the oven.
Three years ago, I became a big kid, and got my own – a 7.25 quart round French oven, in Dijon. It’s a cheerful color, made my kitchen happy, and I used it every day. It felt good, having that pot, trusted, and would serve, in a pinch, as an effective weapon, in case of an intruder bursting into my kitchen.
While my mom’s pots have lasted with no problems for decades, alas, I must have purchased a lemon. After a few years, the enamel on the bottom of the pot started cracking, despite my gentle use with wooden spoons, typically low-medium heat as specified by their recommendations, and only gentle scrubbing. (You don’t really ever need to use the thing on high, because of the fantastic cast iron.)
One day, I was heating up some oil in the pan, and the enamel started exploding like tiny pieces of popcorn. I must admit, I had no idea what to do. I couldn’t really afford to drop several hundred dollars on a new pot, and reading threads on Chowhound made me nervous that Le Creuset might not replace it. But after several months with limited braising capabilities, I decided to take the plunge, and try my luck with the return process. There was no sense in sitting with a large, useless kitchen item. (I literally loved the pot so much that the idea of parting with it was horrific, even though I could not use it at the time.) Hopefully, if you are in the same boat as I was, this will be of use.
Here’s what happened:
1. I called customer support, and asked for a Returns Merchandise Authorization number. They ask you to put the number both inside and outside your returns box, so don’t send it to them without calling first! I chatted with the kind support folks for a bit about my problem. They couldn’t promise it would be replaced, but they seemed kindly enough, that I’d risk it.
2. I washed out my sad pot, one last time. I had a big pot, and was a little nervous about finding something to ship it in. Fortunately, my 7.25 quart pot fit perfectly in the USPS priority shipping box! You have to pay for it yourself, but at least this is fairly economical. Go USPS!
3. I wrote a kind note explaining what was wrong, just in case they didn’t notice. I then purchased insurance on the item, and confirmation of delivery (just a few extra dollars, but totally worth it.) My thinking was if the postal service lost my pot, I’d get insurance, and be able to replace the thing anyway. There was a moment where I prayed this would actually happen, because at the time, I still had my doubts about Le Creuset coming through. I also took a picture in the box, just in case. The total came to about 18 dollars, which isn’t free, but also isn’t a tenth of the cost of purchasing a new pot.
4. I waited. The support site says turnaround time is 2-4 weeks, although on the phone I was quoted 4-6 weeks. There’s nothing to really track the process, or any form of communication from the company. But yesterday, I came home, and there was a box on my doorstep. The box came back in less than 3 weeks, and they even replaced it in the discontinued color of the original (Dijon).
If they don’t find fault with their workmanship, they offer a 75% discount off of the purchase of a new pot. (But they won’t return the item you sent to them.) I think I would have had a tantrum if they had pulled this, but fortunately, things went well.
Moral of the story: this was an anxious month. I sent my well loved item back to the factory without promise of return. I wish they had a program that you could just exchange at an authorized point of purchase, but I’m certainly appreciative that I got my pot replaced! And frankly, I wish I had done it sooner! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my pot. So, if there are any of you sitting at home with a sad Le Creuset, just take the plunge.
by Sam Tackeff | Jul 7, 2012 | Cookware
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Holy Scandinavian Design, Batman!
I was shopping around at Crate & Barrel and noticed that the re-issue of Dansk Købenstyle are in stock!
Købenstyle originally came out in 1956, created by the prolific Danish industrial designer Jens Quistgaard – for Dansk, an American company founded by Ted Nierenberg – and quickly became one of the most iconic cookware designs of the time. Known for it’s bright, cheerful colors, and innovative design (the lid flips over to become a trivet), it’s not surprising how popular this line became.
Since Crate & Barrel doesn’t have them up on their site yet, I’ll report to you that I found the red, white, and very dark blue (I actually thought they were black) in various sizes. The enamelware is lighter than your typical cast iron, which means that it won’t strain your back on the way to the sink, and it won’t strain your wallet as much as a new Le Creuset. Even the big pieces were around $100 – the 6 qt. I spotted was $119.95, the large baker $99.95, and the 4 qt. $99.95.
I want them all.
They don’t however carry my favorite color – bright yellow. You have to shop vintage for that.
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by Sam Tackeff | Jun 12, 2009 | Baking, Books, Cookware, Pantry Staples
Dear world, I’d like a Le Creuset French Oven (medium or large), and a braiser. Any color will due, although, extra points are given for ‘Carribean’, ‘Cobalt’, or ‘Onyx’. Perhaps you have an extra lying around, or your dear great aunt in San Francisco has a stockpile of them in her kitchen and can’t really lift them anymore because they weigh a ton. Perhaps you are reading this from the Le Creuset or the Sur La Table corporate office, and think to yourself, today, this very lucky young lady in Noe Valley will have a package shipped to her. If you are any of these people, don’t hesitate to contact me. I can barter, trade, and provide you with tasty sustenance in return. Your generosity will be greatly, greatly appreciated.
* * * * *
One difficult thing about moving across the country in a couple of suitcases – taking your kitchen with you.
The easiest to bring are the little tools, which can be boxed and arrive in no time flat: like David Lebovitz, I’m a big fan of my scissors, and I love my tongs, my Kyocera ceramic knife I picked up at Zabars, and my knife set, and my little stovetop espresso maker, my graters, my Moulinex, my Silpat, my whisk, my measuring cups, wooden spoons, silicone spatula, williams and sonoma kitchen towels, and silicone pinch pots. Along with these came my collection of bento making supplies: boxes, rice presses, tiny fish shaped soy sauce holders, mini utensils, silicone muffin cups, and box bands.
My expansive spice collection was also shipped, and I have since supplemented with a collection of spices and spice rack from Martha Stewart which was on sale at Macy’s for under twenty dollars. I couldn’t live without my spice mixes from Penzey’s, my Super Special Spice Mix from my grandmother in Istanbul, my assortment of curry powders, garam masala, five spice powders, mace, turmeric, corriander, and excess of cumin.
Fortunately, I am blessed to be living with someone who was given a very, very nice set of calphalon pots – so I didn’t have to shlep my slightly shoddy pieced together collection of pots and pans with me. He also came with a lovely red tea pot which, I’m glad to say gets significant amount of daily use.
He also gave me the very best present on earth for my birthday, a Martha Stewart Blue Kitchen Aid mixer, and in the next few months I will be saving for attachments… I think he deserves to be rewarded with the results of the Ice Cream maker attachment, and after several attempts of homemade pasta made with a rolling pin, I’m looking forward to the pasta attachment.
Bakeware is also a pain in the neck to ship, but fortunately for me, I live close enough to the Recycled Cookware store on Divisadero that I managed to pick up things like bundt pans, baking sheets, and loaf pans, and even a gently used coffee grinder for a few dollars a piece. My mother this weekend was a very kind soul to donate two Madeleine pans from her cupboards to my “cause”, because after six months of searching for “affordable” Madeleine pans, I had determined it a failed quest.
I’ve been a fan of Cook’s Boulevard, which, being right in the neighborhood, is useful, when, say, I’m in desperate need of ceramic bakeware for my herb baked eggs, or last minute meat thermometers, silicone popsicle makers, or, really great three dollar peelers.
Ikea has been a savior for a new mortar and pestle, a digital kitchen scale, and glass jars in which I keep all of my bulk supplies – dried beans (currently I have Christmas Limas, flageolet, yellow indian woman, and popping corn, all from Rancho Gordo) rices (jasmine, arborio, sticky, and plenty of brown), whole grains (wheatberries, farro, bulgur), nuts (almonds, walnuts), chocolate chips, flours (white, wheat, cake, wheat bread flour, wheat bran, corn meal), and sugars (white and dark brown).
And of course, rounding everything out is my collection of cookbooks – most every Jamie Oliver tome, and an ever growing collection of signed books from the weekly talks at Omnivore Books on Food, the only cook book and food book store in San Francisco, and currently my favorite bookstore in the world.
