It’s a constant struggle here in Minnesota to serve food hot and have it stay hot while eating it. Because of my husbands teaching schedule I’m often serving up dinner late- usually at 10:00PM- and mostly food that was prepared earlier in the evening. The whole re-heating, keeping it warm,etc is a tricky proposition. So, when i came across these mini casseroles I knew they would be perfect for serving soups, stews, casseroles. The cast iron retains heat, has even heating, tight fitting lids, and is very easy to clean up. These stove to table pieces will keep food warm throughout a meal.
His whole line of cookware and matching utensils in glorious colors can be found at many stores, Macy’s, Sur La Table, Crate and Barrel ,to name a few. Batali’s line is a bit heavier than Le Creuset- but it is more reasonably priced. These little pots were $30. And,how cute is the the “tasting” spoon- with a big taste at one end, and a wee taste at the other ! This chef driven product line has been well designed to perform well and look beautiful. Bravo Mario!
It’s also nice that Mario and I have the same first initial.
Uber Chef Mario Batali has done what a lot of famous chefs are doing- hitching their name to a cookware line. In his case- COPCO- a long established maker of enameled cast iron cookware. This celebrity product stuff is something I’m usually skeptical about. I’ve seen his beautiful and colorful enameled cast iron cookware in stores this past year and have been seduced by it. However, I have more than enough Le Creuset and couldn’t really justify giving in to it’s allure-until that is- i came across these mini 2 cup casseroles.