Paula Deen Porcelain 6 Piece Cookware Soup and Stew Red

Paula Deen Porcelain 6 Piece Cookware Soup and Stew Red
This pot is so beautiful that if you leave it out on the stove, it looks like something a Better Homes & Gardens photographer would put out in a shoot on to-die-for kitchens. (In my kitchen, the pot is the only magazine-worthy item, but hey, it's a start.) 

I was afraid that beauty would mean it was lacking in cooking ability, but it's nice and solid and thick enough to easily and quickly boil a potful of water for spaghetti, to make a big batch of sweet potato corn chowder, and most importantly, it can handle chili. 

I've never before owned a pot the right density and shape to make decent chili. I like to use fresh tomatoes and keep the sauce from getting thick and gloppy like canned chili, so for years I've accomplished this by simmering the dish in the microwave for an hour or two on extremely low settings. While my stove (which is fancy enough to be in a magazine article but never clean enough) has a snazzy "crock pot" depth burner, without this pot, the sauce still thickened too much unless I hovered far more than I want. (If I have to check something more than every 30 minutes, preferably 60, I'm unhappy.) 

I won't leave my microwaving ways behind me - that's a no-hover situation and produces great chili - but using this pot makes it even better. I can leave it safely simmering without worry and easily taste test and tweak the spices now and then, producing the best Tamara's Infamous Chili con Carnage possible. What's even better is that I can put the pot out and let people serve themselves because it's so dang attractive. (Okay, I did that anyway, but it wasn't terribly attractive.) In this pot, you don't even see all the splotches and drips I've left on the outside of the pot since the finish is perfect camouflage for chili. 

AND - this is a big AND - the handles have never required potholders - this includes picking the pot up to dump boiling water and noodles through a colander. That's a big fat first for me. It's extra cool, too, since I rarely can find my potholders and normally rely on my husband's freakish ability to latch onto hot stuff and not let go. (Yeah, baby!) 

The wooden spoon that comes with the pot is quality, and the three little "ingredients" bowls round out the set making it a perfect gift, too. At least if you can give it up after you see it. . . I couldn't. 

All in all, five unburned thumbs up!