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Tag: Dutch oven

Can I use the Dutch oven in an electric oven?

Reader question: wonderful book – I found it in the library. Can I use the dutch oven in an electric oven?  – Michelle A., Pennsylvania

Of course you can use an electric oven to cook in a cast iron Dutch oven. In fact, I often prepare my GOPMs in an electric toaster oven because the smaller oven space preheats faster and uses less energy to keep hot during cooking. Best of all, it’s portable, so in the summer I can plug it in on my front porch and keep the heat out of the kitchen while still enjoying a quick and easy hot meal.

Glorious One-Pot Meal recipes layered in cast iron Dutch ovens have been successfully prepared in gas and electric ovens, conventional and convection ovens, buried in campfires coals, inside barbecue grills, in roasters, and even on stovetop burners. Someone once mentioned that they were going to use a solar oven to make these dinners, but I never heard what happened of that experiment. If you know more about solar ovens, by all means please leave a comment and enlighten us all.

The patented Glorious One-Pot Meals infusion cooking method only needs two elements to work perfectly: a cast iron Dutch oven and 450 degrees F heat. The heat source does not seem to matter much, though when possible it is good to control for exactly 450 F with an oven thermometer. When controlling the heat is not possible (in a campfire, for instance), you may want to stick with recipes that do not contain dry goods like rice or pasta for better results.

The only type of oven I know that you should NOT use with a cast iron Dutch oven is a microwave oven.

Happy cooking, and please pass along a thank you to your library for stocking my book!

Too hot to cook? Use a Toaster Oven!

Reader question: What do you do during the summer months when it’s too hot to use the oven?

One of my favorite summertime cooking solutions is to use a toaster oven!

Seriously, I have a large toaster oven that fits a 2-quart Dutch oven easily, holds my 3-quart round oven beautifully, and even squeezes  in my 3 1/2-quart oval-shaped Dutch oven without hitting any sides.

Europro Toaster Oven

On warm evenings when I would rather not heat up my house, I simply plug the toaster oven into the outdoor socket on my back deck and let the heat stay outside. On rainy days I move it to my covered front porch.  🙂

Although I originally purchased this particular toaster oven so that I could prepare Glorious One-Pot Meals when I held cooking classes in locations other than a kitchen, I soon realized that a toaster oven has a number of advantages over a regular oven.

First, as I mentioned, you can pick it up and move it outside so that you don’t have to heat up your house in order to enjoy a meal. In the summer I use my outdoor toaster oven to bake pizzas, home fries, fish,… you name it. As well as Glorious One-Pot Meals, of course!

Second, it takes less energy to heat a smaller space like that inside a toaster oven than it does to heat and maintain the heat in the large space of a typical home oven. So I get to feel a little greener when I use it.

And, third, my toaster oven preheats much more quickly than my regular oven, probably for the same reason as #2 above.

When I picked out my toaster oven, I went to the largest selection of small kitchen appliances I knew of with my trusty 2-quart Dutch oven in hand. I proceeded to open each one and try to slide my pot inside. When I found the one that fit, I knew I had found a new tool for creating easy and delicious meals all year round.

Whenever I’m using the toaster oven to bake rather than toast, I always place an oven thermometer inside to validate the temperature just as I do with my gas oven inside. Just to be sure the temp is where I want it to be.

Looking for a Dutch oven?

Reader question: I don’t know what size cast iron Dutch oven to buy to use with Glorious One-Pot Meals.  My sister said that the commonly available 2 3/4 qt. size is better, for more vegetables for two people, but your recipes say 2-qt and to fill it up.  Also, stores are not carrying the 2 qut anymore.  What to do? – Amy, Denver, CO

Thanks for writing, Amy! Before I can answer this the question to ask is: How many people are you feeding?

Glorious One-Pot Meals generally follow the 1-quart-pot-per-person guideline. This means that you can safely fill the pot up to the brim with food and know you’ll be cooking the right amount for the number of people eating, likely with a little left over, but not a huge amount.

Yes, I like to use the 2-quart enameled cast Dutch oven when cooking for 2 people for a couple reasons: the method works best when the pot is filled to the brim, and I don’t have to think about how much food I’m putting in since I’m filling it to the top. The 2 3/4-quart is barely larger than the 2-quart – you won’t notice much of a difference, maybe a couple more minutes to cook sometimes, certainly room for more veggies or anything else… Depend on your nose to tell you when dinner is ready. It’s also possible to cook smaller amounts in a larger pot with good results, so you’ll have a lot of flexibility to work with whatever size pot you get.

You’re not the first one to tell me that they’re having troubles finding the 2-quart Le Creuset enameled cast iron Dutch oven in stores. I heard it several times this weekend when I appeared at the Englewood Public Library’s Meet the Faces Behind the Books event. I was touched by how many owners of the original edition of Glorious One-Pot Meals sought me out to tell me how much they loved the book and the cooking method. Hearing enthusiastic testimonials from busy home cooks is what keeps me going on the darkest days! 🙂  It was wonderful to see and connect with all of you!

If you’re having trouble finding the perfect cast iron Dutch oven for your cooking endeavors, I’ve added a new page to this site, Dutch Oven Deals, where I can post links, coupons, and recommendations for Dutch ovens. You can always access this from the link on the side column.