For my first use of these, I decided to make stuffed portobello caps and tomatoes. The larger dish was the perfect size for 2 3-oz caps and the smaller dish worked well for me 2 medium tomatoes. First things first, the clean dishes were sprayed with cooking spray then the clean and slightly damp veggies were placed face down and popped in a 350 oven for 15 minutes. When I took them out to flip them over, I could see that the dish was starting to get veggie residue on it (perfect! let's get something nice and baked on!). The cooked again for 15 minutes and then I stuffed them and put them back in the oven for 10 minutes. At this point, the tomato dish was getting especially "baked" and I was imagining cleaning the dish later... Fun times. The timer went off, I plated the veggies and sprinkled them with feta, and then... didnt soak the dishes. There was some definite veggie stuff on them and then, where the stuffing had come out, it had baked into the dish. And I just left them on the stove. I didnt soak them, didnt try to flake off the nasty. Nada. I mean, I wanted to see just how these dishes performed! After dinner, I opted to not clean the kitchen right away. We played with the kids, then my husband and I chatted, and then, finally, I went in. The dishes were cold and the dirt was dried on. P-E-R-F-E-C-T! And, just to add insult to injury, I cleaned them last! With my sponge having already washed a few things, I didnt bother to add additional dish soap, so imagine my surprise when the junk wiped right off! (I was actually really surprised. I recently baked in a well known glass 9x13 pan and that thing still has burned on gunk that I, two washes later, still havent been able to get off, so I didnt have too many high expectations going into last night). I cleaned the two dishes in about as many minutes and they sparkled like they had just come out of the box. So, 2 Le Crueset pans turned out to make 1 delicious dinner and then made for extremely easy clean up. I think I'm in love!! I might be begging for new kitchenware for my birthday and Christmas this year!"..." Read more
- Michele in Lansdale, PA