When I think of Le Creuset cookware, I think of shiny French ovens in a rainbow of colors of that are sturdy and will last forever.  The enameled cast-iron of Le Creuset roasters provides such even heating that you don’t have to worry about things burning which makes it perfect for placing a slow-cooking meal in the oven, letting it go with nothing to worry about for several hours and then opening the lid to find a perfectly cooked meal ready for you to enjoy.

I love that my Le Creuset French oven allows me to make one-pot meals that require minimal prep and cleanup.   I throw the ingredients for a soup into the pot and let it simmer on the stove or place the ingredients for beef bourguignon into the roaster and put it into the oven to do it’s magic for a few hours.  Once I am finished with my meal, no matter how impossible to clean my Le Creuset French oven looks after baking something for hours in it, it amazes me how easy it is to clean!  Dishes are easily my least favorite household chore so something that comes clean relatively easily is valuable in my book.

While I was somewhat familiar with the quality of Le Creuset’s enameled cast-iron products, I had never tried any of their stainless steel cookware.  We were given a nice brand of stainless steel cookware as a wedding gift and I didn’t think it could get any better, until I tried one of Le Creuset’s tri-ply stainless steel fry pans.  It is now my go-to pan for just about everything.  I love that it is durable enough that I can sear a filet and then place it into the oven to finish it off in the same pan.  I use my Le Creuset tri-ply stainless steel fry pan often to get a sauce for pasta going or to sauté shrimp.  They really have thought of everything with the sturdy handles and brushed surface so that you don’t notice fingerprints on your cookware.

Le Creuset

Perhaps the best feature of both types of Le Creuset cookware is that I am confident that I will be using the same pieces that I own now for many years to come with hardly any show of wear because the craftsmanship is so superior.

If you are making a birthday present list for yourself or searching for a wedding gift for a friend, you would be wise to consider a piece of Le Creuset cookware for any gift list.

Le Creuset

Le Creuset has generously offered to provide one Satisfy My Sweet Tooth reader with an 11-inch Tri-ply Stainless Steel Fry Pan so that you can see how wonderful it is to cook with for yourself!  Use the widget to enter below!
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* Le Creuset provided me with products for review, but all opinions are, as always, my own.

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I love the touch of savory with dessert trend that has been popular for the past year or so.  Salted caramel or chocolate anything makes me happy because the salt prevents the rich chocolate and/or caramel from becoming too overwhelming.  There is a pizza restaurant that my husband and I love that has olive oil ice cream with sea salt for dessert and they serve it with warm chocolate chip cookies.  The sweet with the salt is just enough to be dangerously addictive.

One of my other favorite savory additions to dessert is balsamic glazes or reductions.  I particularly enjoy this savory accompaniment with berries.

You can make a simple sauce of balsamic and berries and pour it over ice cream for an effortless, yet decadent dessert.  The fine people at Mandarano sent me their award-winning Balsamic Glaze and I have used it in so many ways.  The Mandarano Balsamic Glaze is so great drizzled over sandwiches, pasta or salmon.  I made a simple caprese panini and this glaze kicked it up a notch and made it taste very gourmet and sophisticated.  It is the perfect condiment because it is made with high quality balsamic vinegar that has already been reduced and is ready to use.

One of the best ways I have used this glaze is to make this Blueberry Balsamic Sauce to top this perfect Lemon Poppyseed Blueberry Bread.  As you make the blueberry balsamic sauce, the balsamic glaze infuses the blueberries so that when you bite into one of them, the subtle rich flavor of balsamic vinegar bursts into your mouth.  It really is the perfect addition to this sweet and tart lemon bread which even on it’s own is so moist and delicious.

mix sugar, oil, lemon zest and lemon juice

mix in buttermilk and eggs

mix in flour, baking powder and salt until well combined

mix in poppyseeds and blueberries

pour into prepared baking pan and bake

for the sauce, combine all ingredients, bring to a boil and reduce

*Mandarano provided me with their balsamic glaze, however, all opinions are, as always, my own.

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Part of the reason that I have been so excited to eat this Cinnamon-Swirl Bread that I shared with you yesterday is that I have gotten to toast it in the Magimix by Robot-Coupe Vision Toaster!

Leave it to an inventive company like Magimix by Robot-Coupe to make even browning your same old toast in the morning more exciting!  The most obvious feature of this toaster that is unique is that you literally get to watch your toast, waffle or bagel brown before your eyes.  To me this is so great because I am always either not setting the brownness  setting high enough on my toaster and then I have to continuously push my bread down for another round, or I set it to high and burn it!

The Magimix by Robot-Coupe Vision Toaster has an extra wide slot so that it is wide enough to fit those big, thick bagels that I love so much.  The toaster actually has a bagel setting so that only the cut-sides of your sliced bagel get toasted.  That means you end up with a perfectly crispy bagel with a still soft and chewy backside.   Genius.

My mom is notorious for freezing every baked good she makes immediately after it comes out of the oven or putting a brand new loaf of bread straight into the freezer.  This is great for keeping things fresh for a later time, but if I want a piece of bread, I have to wait for it to thaw or microwave it risking the bread turning soggy and chewy.  Another great feature of the Magimix by Robot-Coupe Vision Toaster is the Defrost setting.  You can put frozen slices of bread in and the toaster will gently warm to defrost the bread before toasting.  I love that handy, insightful idea!

One final feature of this toaster that I will share with you is the Warming mode.  Say you put your bread down to be toasted but then you run to grab something and before you know it you got sidetracked only return to toasted, but cold bread.  You can re-insert the bread and push the warm button and without toasting the bread more, it will simply rewarm your perfectly toasted bread.

Thank you to Magimix by Robot-Coupe for sending me this exceptional toaster to review and if you are like my husband and I and you make toast every morning, I guarantee this Magimix Vision Toaster will make you a little more excited to roll out of bed in the morning.

*Magimix by Robot-Coupe provided me with this toaster to review, but all opinions are, as always, my own.

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When I posted this Peanut Butter Cup Fudge,

I shared some of my candy making conundrums with you and offered some tips that I have learned for how to resolve them.

I have had my fair share of caramel-making challenges as well, but the past few years, I have been able to make chewy caramels that are soft and so buttery.  This year, I decided to add some some vanilla bean paste and sea salt to my mom’s classic caramel recipe.  The sea salt really takes these over the top and balances the sweetness so perfectly.

I also attribute some of my recent candy making success to the use of the Thermapen.  This digital thermometer allows for precise accuracy down to the tenth of a degree which is so crucial for candy making.  Read my full-review of this helpful kitchen tool here.

To help  your candy-making courage and encourage you to try some new recipes, the kind people at Thermoworks have offered to give a Thermapen to one lucky Satisfy My Sweet Tooth reader!  Use the widget below to enter and good luck!

melt butter

add sugar, milk and corn syrup and bring to a boil

cook until mixture reaches 240 degrees (I am aware that the thermometer does not read the correct temperature in this picture, I had to snap a photo before the critical temperature was reached!)

pour into prepared pan and cool before cutting and wrapping

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*ThermoWorks provided me with a Thermapen to review however, all opinions are, as always, my own.

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Remember this little beauty that I shared with you a couple of weeks ago?

This Apple Brown Betty is just one of the simple, yet delicious recipes in Alice Medrich’s latest book Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts.  The desserts in this book are as straight forward, no nonsense as the title of the book promises.  Alice begins the book by suggesting some key kitchen tools that will make life in the kitchen much easier as you cook your way through this book.

The name of the game with this book is mouthwatering desserts that look impressive and taste amazing, but require minimal prep in the kitchen.  There are chapters on how to dress up ice cream, fruit desserts, puddings, and of course cakes and pies.  There are go-to recipes for caramel and chocolate sauces, so that if you were really in a pinch, you could make one of these luscious sauces and pour it over store-bought ice cream or a pound cake.

I love this photo from the book of a recipe for Honey Caramelized Figs.  This dessert would be so perfect this time of year.  While the photos in the book are gorgeous, there are not quite as many as I prefer. There is about 1 photo per 4 recipes.  I like a photo with every recipe, but since the recipes in this cookbook are meant to be simple and easy to execute, not having a visual aide may not be too detrimental.

Overall, if you are looking for a cookbook full of sophisticated desserts that will wow your audience without you spending hours in the kitchen, Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts would be a great addition to your collection.

Up next for me from this book will likely be this Baked Hot Chocolate Pudding with the Works.

*Artisan Publishing provided me with a review copy of Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts by Alice Medrich, but all opinions are, as always, my own.

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