it is the best all-in-one pan

Every once in a while, I’ll look over at my boyfriend’s computer, see what’s on the screen, and roll my eyes. Because once again, he’s on that website. You know the one I mean. The one with those expensive, European enamel-covered pots that can cost about as much as the down payment on a car. He can’t seem to stay away from them. But I’m okay with that, because I’ve figured out how amazing they are to cook with.

But if you’re just getting started with a Dutch oven, this is the cookbook companion you’ve been looking for. Easy Dutch Oven Cooking—well, it’s all right there in the title—has 100 recipes for your Dutch oven. From classic to contemporary, these recipes are all easy, with 5 steps or fewer. From your breakfast of Shakshuka Eggs in Purgatory to a lunch of Black Bean Soup with Citrus, to dinner of Roast Whole Chicken with Radishes with a dessert of Peach Cobbler, you can literally use your Dutch oven to cook all day.

Easy Dutch Oven Cooking not only has all the recipes, it also has cleaning and care instructions for your Dutch oven, tools and ingredients to stock your kitchen with, pro tips for cooking with Dutch ovens, and conversion help if your pan is larger or smaller than the one called for in the recipe. There are some 30-Minute Meals and One Pot Meals, and many recipes are marked Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Vegetarian, and/or Vegan for those with special diets.

The recipes include the classic recipes that you think of a Dutch oven for—braises like Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Fennel, Boeuf Bourguignon, or Stout-Braised Pot Roast. There are soups like Tomato Bisque with Shrimp, Vegetable and Lentil Soup, or Chicken and Rice Soup. There are chilis—Pork Green Chili. Chipotle Turkey Chili, Vegetarian Three-Bean Chili.

You can fry with it, for the Powdered Sugar Beignets, Mozzarella Sticks, Coconut Shrimp, or Parmesan Parsley Fries. You can bake in it, to make the Jalapeno Corn Bread with Honey Butter, Whole-Wheat Bread, or Caramelized Banana Bread.

But you can also make a Deep Dish Pizza, Fluffy Cheesecake, Easy Caramel Sauce, Artichoke Dip, Lemony Quinoa and Kale Salad, Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting, Buffalo Chicken Wings, or Tiramisu.

I love the variety of recipes in Easy Dutch Oven Cooking, and I appreciate that the recipes are written simply and clearly. The creativity of author and food blogger Sara Furcini is crazy, but I do wish there were more photos of the food. Some of these dishes are completely new to me, and it’s always easier to know if I’m making it right when there are photos.

So even if you don’t have one of those fancy European Dutch ovens, you can still make these simple but super-flavorful meals. So you don’t have the Ferrari of Dutch ovens. A Hyundai can get you there just as well, and there are lots of less expensive Dutch ovens that work beautifully too (I try to convince my boyfriend of this one, but he has a thing about France). Anyway, that’s the beauty of a Dutch oven—big flavors made easy and simple on the cleaning. With a Dutch oven and Easy Dutch Oven Cooking, you can make just about anything you want.

Egalleys for the Easy Dutch Oven Cooking were provided by Rockridge Press through the Callisto Media Publisher’s Club, with many thanks.