Kitchen Porn

I'll say this for me: Consistent. When a show closes, insomnia follows. I was out like a light, exhausted, by 9:30. Then about 1:00 this morning, SNAP! Wide awake. It's the weirdest thing.

So... like everyone everywhere (according to some sources), I look at porn when I can't sleep... KITCHEN porn. Mama needs her a new soup-making stockpot sort of thing. The old one, inherited from Phil's side of the family, just hasn't got long to live and that's a fact. It was once, long ago, heated without anything in it, and subsequently the pan's layers have just been separating for ages since. With the amount of soups & stews & pasta sauces I've produced since the Great Layoffs of 2008, it's aged badly; really bumpy and curvy and generally misshapen on the bottom. Won't be long.

Fortunately, due in part to all those above-referenced cheap eats, I can finally afford to replace it if I don't go too crazee-like. It's officially my birthday present. I want enameled, and I want red.

The pretty little Paula Deen stockpot I like @ Target has some pretty bad reviews online, makes me skittish. I could always try one & return it if it disappoints, I guess. Having the part-time job there, & hence the discount, makes Target a go-to in most cases. But... Paula Deen Paula Deen, what have you done to us, darlin'? Is it true what they say about the pretty stockpot?

Keeping in mind that I have a tight budget but grandiose dreams, I did a lot of kitchen-porn-surfing, indulging in a few drools over the high-end, nearly-a-grand apiece copper works of art, on down into more realistic realms.

Here are the winners from tonight's exhaustive online Kitchen Porn search:

1. Rachael Ray's big 12-quart one for $49.95 plus $10.99 shipping ($60.94)http://www.rachaelraystore.com/Product/detail/Rachael-Ray-Enamel-on-Steel-12-qt-Stockpot-Red/300438

or

2. The 8-quart one from Le Creuset which may be the better investment for $54.99 + free shipping ($54.99! That's like about 1/2 price compared to most sources!)
http://www.chefscatalog.com/checkout/cart.aspx?action=checkout

and some interest in

3. The Tramontina enamel Dutch oven [as recommended by Cook's Illustrated] for $49.97 from Wal-Mart (free shipping site-to-store)
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tramontina-6.5-Quart-Cast-Iron-Dutch-Oven-Red/11989387

I still have my mother's old cast-iron dutch oven, although its original glass lid was lost in a tragic Thanksgiving-Day glass-breaking mishap a couple of years ago. Said Dutch oven, no doubt using a substitute lid from some other pot, will soon be pressed into service for the famous promised beef stew. But I still need to replace the old soup pot (kettle?) no matter what. Definitely leaning towards the Le Creuset for my birthday present. It's built to cook a lot of cheap or fancy meals well, over many years, and it's gorgeous.
And... I want it.
That's a kitchen-porn feeling, baby.