Grilling

 

Over the last few weeks I have been having these moments that I am so grateful for what I have and last night when I took out my Le Creuset grill pan out of my cupboard I smiled big time.  It had been in there since July.  Not used once and honestly I did not feel like getting into the specifics how to use stay alone cleaning the orange beauty.   Just staring at it every time when I got a worn out pan out seemed to be sufficient usage.  The thing is that deep down I knew that I longed for using it.

It is one of those specifics that homemade cooks seem to own besides a Kitchen Aid high thech mixer, a great set of sharp kitchen knives, a multi fuctional stove with tons of options.  More than once I have walked into breathtaking beautiful kitchens that had that hallmark orange casserole.  It seems to be one of the few things that you can leave out on a stove without anyone even wondering why it is not stored away.  No justification needed.   All you needed was one glance and you know that this kitchen was bestowed with a homemaker and a self made chef.   'Oh nice, a Creuset...is it any good?', I would then ask and then I got listen to a few cooking stories that made me long for my own orange wonder.

Honestly the last five years I have not been spending that much time in the kitchen and therefor not been spending a lot of money on pots and pans.  Still there was something that my two men really like and that is well baked steak or burger.  (Before you now start to fill me up with meat shame...please hold your horses.  These two men fill up their shopping cart with a combination of meat and vegetarian alternatives.  A his favorite at the moment are spincach burgers.   So please take down your guns or stop reading.  It is your choice...)  More than once my son expressed his dissappointment about the status of his baked meat.  'Nay, grannie bakes it better!', or 'Why can you not do this just the way they do this at our favorite burger place?', were a few of his cooking reviews.  

Honestly?  I knew why because I just don't have the skills and secondly I don't own a professional gril.  The thing was that I already had tried a few things to get a better go at my grilling.  But helas, all were failed attempts.   Honestly I do think that a steak cooked or grilled by chef will always taste differently than the one you prepare at home.   So I just gave in and accepted the feedback of my son to be sincere and justified.  

Then last summer I was browsing on the internet and due to a friend who was dreaming of getting a Le Crueset I decided to have a glance at their collection and there it was the one thing that I had not tried: a cast iron grillpan.  And yes, I decided to spend some of my summer holiday budget on it.  You should have seen me when the box arrived.  It was if Christmas had arrived six months earlier!  Giddy and so over the moon with this new kitchen asset.  The bright orange in combination with the black colors made my heart jump for joy!  Jezus...what had come to me?  It was if I was in candystore and got to fill up the biggest bag with all my favorite sweets. 

So that it took me almost six months to actually start using this thing of beauty is actually not something I am proud of.  After all is this a pan that screams to be used non stop.  Yes, it takes up a lot of space and it is not easily to be carried around and not fits just randomly in any cabinet.  The moment that you start using it for what it is designed for you a whole new world opens up.  Last night I had such a great time with my LC.  The moment I gentrly dropped the meat on the black surface I had a certain sensation within that I can only describe as butterflies.  The sizzling and the smell of food that then was catapulted into my kitchen was so overwhelming and made me long for more of the same. 

Now I have had this cooking ephinanies before and I know so well what then happens.  From there it only can go down and it does.  Because after using the tool you need to that one thing that nobody considers their favorite task:cleaning up.  It is whithin this act that many of my cooking adventures have been send back to where they came from...in my dreams.   Why?  Well because when I attack something with water, soap and a sponge it does not always turn out to be successful.  Some of my pots and pans have only had a very short life span.  Especially my grilling pans turned out to be rather one hit wonder.  Yeah, I have managed more than once to ruin a pan because I just went totaly bezerk with my sponge and soap. 

This time I had pledged to not let this happen because a Le Crueset only derserves to be handled with care, the best care.  In order to keep up that promise I had ordered a tiny extra accessory along with the pan.  My first reaction was to ignore it when it had popped up on my screen when I had bought my LC online.  It was the design that had gotten me to click on buy.  From above it looks like the top of a LC.  Cutest cleaning brush ever and believe me it surely delivers what it promises.  At the moment my cleaned LC is standing on my stove and it ready to be called back into action!  

Let us just say that my first grilling of 2023 was a success on all frontiers including the one that I normally rather dislike and can make me fill up with dissappointment.   The new year is so far so good when it comes down to using a grilling pan.  Yes, I am trying to be grateful and happy with the small wonders and delights that the universe is granting me.  Oh...the fourth of January and this means the sales are on...hmm wondering what Le Crueset is putting on sale...  *letting my fingers glide over my keyboard