"Le Creuset" news and stories

Longing to match your dutch oven to your handbag? You're in luck. Fashion designers have long gotten their inspiration from the unlikeliest places -- cars, buildings, the kitchen sink. Turns out it works in both directions: Even the kitchen sink, perhaps the most recognizable symbol of utility, can also be a true fashion statement.

At least that's what Kristin Martin, brand manager for Le Creuset cookware, recently insisted to the Associated Press. According to Martin, an item for the kitchen -- in this case, cookware -- is "not just a tool, it's a statement. And that's the same thing with fashion -- you are making a statement when you wear it.

Happy Coq au Vin Day!

The French pride themselves on this traditional dish, featuring a wine braise that produces succulent, fall-off-the-bone tender chicken. In fact, the dish is so prized that one French tale has the well-known chef Alexander Dumaine denying one woman's praise for his coq au vin, pleading that he was not yet satisfied with it. She wondered, after 30 years, how it could possibly improve. According to legend, Dumaine responded, "That, madam, was practice."

We'll trust Julia Child for her perfected recipe, which she shared on Good Morning America in May 1995. Never one to spare any calories, Child would appreciate the additional steps of this recipe to brown the chicken in bacon fat and flame it in brandy. Pull our your Le Creuset and start simmering!

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The much-loved Le Creuset has already given us a variety of colors -- orange sunbursts, somber browns, vivacious yellows and greens -- not to mention a variety of shapes. One would think they've hit everything with the rainbow they usually offer, but they've been missing some basics.

Finally, we're getting black and white! Both can be found over at Bloomingdale's, under the names "Black Onyx" and "Shiny White." Now they say that these puppies are exclusively at Bloomies, but as The Kitchn points out, Sur La Table also has the white. Hmm. Maybe theirs isn't "Shiny White," but "Ivory White"? It's not really "exclusive" when you have two stores and don't list the other! Cheaters.

Whatever the case, these new releases are beautiful, and I'm really wishing I had an old retro kitchen. Can you imagine how amazing these would look alongside black and white tiles and other retro kitchenware? Or, conversely, tres moderne in a sleek kitchen.

They'll be available at these stores for the time being, and roll out to others later this year.

We all love our Le Creuset Dutch ovens, but their light colored enamel interiors become discolored and stained with use. Check out this stain-remover solution!

I love Le Creuset, mostly because the products, as pretty as they are with their shiny, colorful enamel finishes, are actually really good.

However, this might be the cutest Le Creuset thing I have ever seen -- the Petite Blueberry Casserole. I know that Le Creuset has several other casseroles in vegetable and fruit shapes (e.g. artichoke, pear), but the Blueberry is adorable because it's a fat and round. The casserole is 5"x5"5" and is microwave- and dishwasher-safe. How perfect would the Petite Blueberry be to go straight from the oven to the table with a Blueberry Crumble?

Available from Amazon for $25.

[via: jsung at ThisNext.com]