A Valentine's Day present

Jane and I don't go in for soppy Valentine's Day presents for each other - we usually buy something for both of us, in other words it's more than likely to be a piece of cooking equipment or a plate / bowl of some sort.

Yesterday we were out shopping in Sainsbury's and saw this, which fitted the bill perfectly:

This was a pure "spur of the moment" purchase. We had not gone out with the intention of buying anything like this, but the moment we saw it we both agreed it was perfect!  It is a 30cm, 3-litre "shallow pan", [what we would normally call a Saute dish, I think.]. It is made of cast iron and weighs an absolute TON. My photo may not do the colour justice - it is a sort of Kingfisher blue / Turquoise-ey colour. Of course it doesn't fit in with anything else we possess (in terms of its colour), but that is the way we work. We prefer to have individual things rather than sets of things.

The dish seems to me to be perfect for making a Nigel Slater-style dish with chicken, rice and mushrooms, or perhaps a Mediterranean-style Paella. I'm confident that you will spot it in some of my photos on the blog from time to time. 

BTW, we don't really celebrate Valentine's Day at all, since many years ago we got engaged on Feb 21st, so that has always been our significant day! I think therefore that a special meal may be on the cards for NEXT week.

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P.S. We have been away from home for a few days, visiting Jane's Mum. Our connection to the internet while there is through a mobile phone acting as a hotspot, and the signal in that part of the world is decidedly flaky, so what with that and providing TLC to MIL etc, there hasn't been much opportunity for blogging. Back home now though...