My parents don't have a cast iron dutch oven so we planned to bring our Le Creuset pot with us to cook the meal...at $305 this is definitely a luxe pot, but it will last you a lifetime. Here is the "Cadillac of Cast Iron"...
Well it was a great plan until we got half way to my parents' house and realized that we had a week's supply of diapers for a two day trip, but we had left the Le Creuset pot at home! We certainly were not going to go out and pick up a $300 Le Creuset pot from the local hardware store which seemed like our only option, until we thought to check out Kohls! This is where we found the Food Network Cast Iron Dutch Iron for $89.99! More than a 1/3 less than our beloved Le Creuset...
If your kitchen is in need of a dutch oven and you can't stomach spending more than $100 on your cookware, than I say go for the Food Network line of cast iron.
And if this post has made you hungry for some delicious beef stew, I recommend Ina Garten's recipe for Bourguignon. We make it with Guigal Cotes du Rhone...and it always comes out fantastic. And of course we buy two bottles so we have one to drink with our meal! At $12.99 this is a medium bodied French red that is easy to drink with food or on its own. Here is an article on the success of Guigal Cotes du Rhone and why it is such a great bargain if you are interested in reading more about this tasty red!