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I was washing up my one and only piece of Le Creuset cookware this morning, briefly thinking I should get more of it, when I realized that aside from cooking a holiday meal, one piece is all I really need. The piece I have is a two-handled deep casserole with a lid, and I use is it as a frying pan, baking dish, braising pan…and probably other ways that I’ve forgotten. It was given to us as a wedding gift over three years ago, and I absolutely love this thing.  If I had a true need for more of it, I probably would have gone out and splurged on some a while ago.

If you spend any significant amount of time cooking at home and you’re on a budget, and you don’t own any cast-iron cookware, you really need to get some.  I submit to you that if you’re thinking buying one of those cheap-o sets of pots and pans, please reconsider your needs and think about buying one or two pieces of really high-quality stuff, like Le Creuset.  It combines the excellent heat distribution and heat retention of cast-iron with an easy-to-care-for enamel coating. Plus, they’re beautiful to behold, coming in many colors. There’s no need to “season” it like plain cast-iron, you can scrub it with soap, and you can let it air dry.

Also, keep your eyes peeled for open stock sales of high-quality pans like All-Clad, Farberware, or Calphalon.  With a piece of Le Creuset, and a piece or two of heavy stainless steel or copper, you’ll be set.  Now if you like to puff yourself up, and display a whole matched set of cookware of which eighty-percent will simply gather dust, my way of thinking won’t help you.   But if you want the helping hand that really good cookware brings without breaking the bank, two or three well chosen pieces should do the job.