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They wash up nicely in the dishwasher, the wonky shapes make me smile, and the price tag doesn’t hurt! These could make a great stocking stuffer, white elephant gift, or heading-off-to-college dorm-room present. Every piece in this set has been super-handy. The white tray is also great for holding my tea (and maybe a pastry) when I’m WFB (you know, working from bed). These are perfect when I need a place for my tea bag, a spot for that garlic I chopped while the pan heats up, or to bring just a few chocolate-covered almonds back to my desk (so I don’t eat the whole bag). Sure, the irregularly shaped dishes don’t stack perfectly in my cupboard, but they don’t spend a lot of time in there because they’re constantly in use! The kids love them for snacks, sauces, and small servings of fruit, and I love pulling them out for … just about every excuse I can come up with. I bought this Sugar & Cloth melamine set on a whim during a sale, mostly because I love a good matte melamine, and the colors really drew me in. It’s the largest Dutch oven that Le Creuset currently makes, but I’m so pleased with my new addition that … who can say what the future holds? If the company ever decides to level up to a cauldron, they know where to find me. The Marseille-blue exterior is worn, but the enamel on the inside is still perfectly smooth, because these things are built to last.) These days, I can happily cook two chickens at once or a big-ass batch of bone-in short ribs. (Psst: I ended up finding a used one on eBay for around $200. I’ll freely admit that both the supersize dimensions-it could house a small dog-and hefty price tag can be a lot to handle.

With a thud, I realized that I needed the larger, 9½-quart oval model.

Though it’s still a wonderful workhorse, my OG Le Creuset-shockingly-just didn’t have enough capacity. My family got bigger, my storage options got better, and my appetite to feed large crowds grew. (Especially since I lived in a small New York City apartment, where devoting an entire shelf of precious cupboard space to a single French braising vessel felt like an act of lunacy.) But over the years, life expanded. When I first bought it, as a 20-something, it seemed impossibly huge and heavy. One of the first truly grown-up kitchen items I ever owned was a 5½-quart round Dutch oven from Le Creuset (the upgrade pick in our Dutch oven guide).

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