As the weather turns cooler, my thoughts often turn to stews and soups. Both are among my favorite winter foods. There is something comforting on an elemental level about coming in from the cold and sitting down to a nice, warm pot of homemade beef stew. Naturally, this means that I have stockpots and saucepans galore. My favorite pot to make delicious stews in is my cast iron Dutch oven. It’s a five-quart Dutch oven that’s plenty big enough to make just about any stew I’m in the mood for. Plus it’s also great for a variety of my simmered dishes.
If you don’t already own one of your own, you’d be amazed at the sturdiness and durability of a cast iron Dutch oven. I’ve found that many stews and soups quickly get heavy, and they can easily be too much weight for flimsier pots. But cast iron can easily handle the heartiest of peasant stews with no problems. What I also love about my pot is it’s beautiful enameled cobalt blue finish that always looks so good on my stove. I can even take it from the stove to the dining room table and it looks great. It’s also safe for refrigerator storage, and can conveniently go straight from the refrigerator back to the stove. I highly recommend keeping quality Dutch ovens and stockpots in your kitchen so you can create wonderful stews and soups too!
