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objects large and looming
I'd like to introduce the newest member of our family: La Cocotte.
What is this funny-sounding object, you ask? Does it have anything to do with cocoa? Cotton? A hen? No, no and no. La Cocotte, or specifically this one, is a 19-lb 7.25 quart oval-shaped eggplant-colored enameled cast iron pot manufactured by the Alsatian brand Staub, and, not that this should surprise you in any way, I have coveted it for years.
Why? Well, let me bore you to pieces and tell you! For one, the adorable little button handle doesn't get hot nearly as easily as that of its Creuset-ian counterpart. Two, it boasts "self-basting" spikes/picots under the lid, which encourage evaporating juices to trickle back down and throughout whatever dish you are cooking. Three, a lot of chefs prefer it because it's heavy as hell and therefore superior for all things slow-cooked, roasted, broiled and browned. Four, being oval-shaped and g'normous, a whole bird or roast could be browned in it without requiring disassembly first. And finally and most-pertinently: it's STUNNING.
However, all of this fawning has occluded our view of the larger and more looming issue: weighing in heavier than a pile of laptops and measuring in almost as large in diameter as an empty cabinet (which does not exist), no object this colossal, even one as lusted after as this, gets to reside in a petite NYC apartment without finding other ways to make itself useful; double-duty is more than a requirement, it's the law. Thus, we have spent an embarrassing part of this weekend trying to find other, less noted-on-the-accompanying brochure, uses for it.
- Baby cradle. We'd line it with soft blankets first, we swear! To confess, I had brought this possible usage for the pot up months ago, when trying to justify the price to my husband. I guess that did the trick!
- Doorstop.
- Something to bang your head against so your hangover feels, in comparison, less menacing.
- Something to drop on this tiny dog that has been yip-yip-yipping downstairs for at least 20 minutes now. I kid! I kid!
- Free weights. We tried some curls and presses with it yesterday, and must say, I think there's a promise of more toned arms in our future. New York Sports Club be damned! La Cocotte est arrive.
… More to come, but feel free to add your own.
comments (15)
Adding on to #5: Hold La Cocotte at waist level, arms bent, legs slightly wider than hips width, and as you exhale, slowly twist left and right.
And if you're feeling even MORE adventurous, try some squats and lunges.
1 | Muffy | August 27, 2006 12:44 PM
I can't believe the things that turn you on! :-)
2 | SantaDad | August 27, 2006 05:52 PM
OMG that is a geeeorgeous pot! I'm a fellow kitchen dork who has been envying my friends much larger kitchens (ours is so small we explode with our baking utensils). You could use it as storage for all the seldom used weird items like lemon ballers and weird sized graters, etc.
3 | kitchendork | August 27, 2006 06:51 PM
Looks like it would make a sturdy step stool to reach things in upper cabinets!
4 | Shorty | August 28, 2006 08:45 AM
3 words
Coffee Table Organizer! Use it to hold magazines, mail, remotes, etc. I have a dish that I love so much I can't hide it in a cabinet so I have it on my coffee table....If I need to use it I just dump all the stuff into a drawer and wash it out.
5 | Hillary | August 28, 2006 08:59 AM
Bathtub gin.
6 | Dupin | August 28, 2006 09:48 AM
you promised posts more interesting than dumpling-stuffing! when oh when?!?
i figured that being the cooking-lover you are that you'd have a link to c&z and sure enough, you did! this disappoints me because that would mean that you probably read her post almost exactly a year ago about: the.exact.same.thing.
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2005/08/introducing_la_cocotte.php
old deb, come back!
7 | cob | August 28, 2006 10:11 AM
isn't the best usage that it makes your butt look small? ;)
8 | coco | August 28, 2006 11:13 AM
Dup - So, can we use it for a baby cradle and bathtub gin at the same time? Because, um, this would go to explain a lot about people like you and me.
Cob - Dumpling-stuffing! That's a great suggestion for it. I mean, I could brown the filling and steam the dumplings in there, too. I should tell Clotilde, too, make sure she's okay with two food-obsessed bloggers each recieving a Cocotte as a gift in a one-year span, and that she hadn't planned to use it for dumplings, too.
Coco - I thought it would take a miracle, but it turns out La Cocotte is that too!
9 | deb | August 28, 2006 12:46 PM
What did you end up getting Alex for your anniv?
10 | M | August 28, 2006 01:45 PM
I got him this headache. Behold the madness of us trying to arrange some photos on a wall:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smitten/226363729/
11 | deb | August 28, 2006 02:22 PM
Happy 1st Anniversary!
12 | Jess | August 28, 2006 02:43 PM
happy anniveresary and, i must say, i love la cocotte. i've always had a weakness for all manner of pots and pans. they must be just perfect.
and that anniversary present looks fun :P
13 | zo garbin | August 28, 2006 08:10 PM
What a gorgeous present! I'm quite jealous of la cocette...not sure it'd work in my small London flat either...but perhaps it's something I could put on my wedding registry...hmmmm...weight lifting is always a good thing in my household!
14 | ukyankee | August 29, 2006 04:00 AM
oh great, now i want one!
15 | divinemissk | August 30, 2006 02:12 PM