Rachael Ray Stoneware 1-1/2-Quart and 2-Quart Round Bubble and Brown Bakers, 2-Piece Set, Purple

Made my reluctance to cook for the family dissipate--these are efficient and fun!
These Rachael Ray Stoneware 1 1/2 quart and 2 quart round Bubble and Brown Bakers, which come together in a 2-set package, got me interested in cooking again.
My present family is what you might call a... strange (???-- we don't think so!--but...) family. The combination of a meat-eater, a vegetarian, a vegan, and two children with autism who are terribly picky eaters don't really make for the usual sort of "news discussion of the day", and/or "general merriment around a dining table" type dinner meal.

I do recall what (so-called) NORMAL is, from my childhood. I remember gathering around the dining table, wax tapers lit, linen napkins in napkin rings, and my father at the head of the table; my mother at the other end. We all ate the same stuff: hamburgers and peas. With a glass of milk. Sometimes we had succotash instead of peas. I liked the succotash. Possibly I am a changeling and come from Native American stock. Now that would be cool.

At any rate, my...

Pretty, but not as practical as I'd like
There are two reasons to order this casserole set: you really really love purple or you watch Rachael Ray and love the look of this bakeware.

I really love purple and had seen these bakers on the show and thought they looked fun.

The color is a deep purple, a little brighter than eggplant. Some foods look better in them than others. The cheesy potato bake I made looked very good because yellow/orange is a complementary color to purple. Things that are white like rice or green like broccoli also look good. But the tomatoey red sauce of another casserole I made didn't look as pretty in this dish.

I wish the bottom of these bakers was glazed. I store them nested and worry the smaller one will scratch the inside of the larger one. Also, when I saw Rachael Ray use these on the show, I liked the idea of the holes on the side to grip them. In practice this isn't as helpful as I expected. My oven mitts are too thick to fit well in the holes and the...

Awkward to Cover, Overflow Risk
Oh Rachael Ray, there are many reasons why you told Alton Brown that "you're a cook, not a chef". Your Bubble and Brown Bakers help prove that point. While this baker set is very attractive, it's not very well designed for cooking food. The reasons are many:

1. Any bake ware that sports several warning about "do not soak", "glaze chipping" and "how to clean off stuck food to avoid soaking" make me a little wary about how durable this piece really is. While I'm one to follow instructions, how many people actually do not soak an over ware piece that has food baked onto it? The main reason would be to avoid glaze deterioration because the piece is very porous. That said, if you treat the piece correctly, you shouldn't have a problem - but it's not infallible. One customer already had a problem with quality control and the glaze bubbling up. I did not, so hopefully it's a one time thing - but I'm still a little concerned about how long that glaze will stay on...

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