Some years ago we got this glorious orange Le Creuset braising pan, and since then I’ve been inclined to braise everything I don’t grill. Contents today: venison rib chops—something that probably would grill very well, but Jackie likes the way I braise it, so that’s what I’m doing.
it is gorgeous. Everything from Creuset is beautiful. Thirty years ago, I was in Zabars, the wonderful delicatessen in NYC. Its second floor is full of pots and pans, dishes and small appliances. I saw a Creuset orange-red stove-top two-handled pot, medium size on sale. For $30!!! I bought it of course. They go for about $250-300 nowadays! And I can leave this pot to my heirs :)
I do a lot of my cooking in cast iron, which I like because it cooks well, and will outlast civilization. But I also really like these enameled cast iron. They may not last quite as long—as you say, they’ll last two or three generations. (And the way things are going, that may already be long enough to outlast civilization.)