It is a Roman dish. Mainly meat dishes. Never wash in detergent.

My mine gave me hers and I have had a good luck making chicken, here is the recipe. She also used to make a wonderful black bean and sausage dish, I have not yet found the proper recipe for that though. But I remember the result being almost purple and was delicious with crusty bread.

I wash mine with straight water, just like the cast iron.

I have one just like it that I inherited. I use it like a dutch oven, so I have roasted whole chicken and a brisket in there. I am going to use it soon to bake bread. I assume from the comment about beans & sausage that it would also be good for tagine dishes because it would steam/cook everything together - much like you would expect a tagine to do. I also haven't tried, but am curious about, baking things in it - like casseroles.

I do the same cleaning as others posting here. The instructions for it say to never wash with soap, and the more you use it the browner it becomes.

Find out if your local library has any cook books specifically for clay pots.

Like others have said, never put it in the dishwasher, for two reasons: Clay pots are VERY sensitive to sudden temperature changes, and any powdered detergent can get stuck in the pot's pores and decrease its functionality.
Hand wash it in luke-warm water with liquid soap, rinse very well, wipe dry, and let it air dry for 24 hours before storing. Clay pots can develop mold if they're stored wet, and you don't want that.
Before baking, always soak the pot in cool water for about 20 minutes. This allows the pottery to absorb enough water to properly steam what you're going to cook.
NEVER preheat the oven! Once the pot is soaked wipe out the excess water, then fill with whatever you're cooking and put it in the oven while it's still cold. Electric ovens heat up slowly enough that you don't really have to worry about them, but you may need to gradually step up the temps with a gas oven. (Insert pot, heat to 200F, 10-15 mins later increase to 300F, etc.) To modify recipes that call for a preheated oven, increase temp by about 50 degrees and add 15-20 minutes to the cooking time.
Don't put the hot pot on a cold surface, and if you need to add liquid to a hot pot make sure the liquid is warmed first. (Those sudden temp changes can cause the pot to shatter, kind of like new Pyrex does.)
For storing, keep the lid upside-down inside the pot. You can put a dry towel between the lid and the pot if you want, but just don't store it with the lid on like you're cooking.

You could bake some incredible bread in that clay baker. Just let the bread do its final rise in the pot and stick the whole thing (covered) into the oven for baking. The covered pot will do a wonderful job of steaming the bread while it bakes, resulting in a thin and shatteringly crisp crust. Let the bread bake uncovered for the last 10 minutes of baking to get some good color on the loaf and set the crust.

I got one of these as a graduation gift. They're pretty great, even if everything takes longer to cook. I like to use it to roast chicken and potatoes. It renders fat and natural juices but you can still get meat brown if you take the lid off for the last 10-20 minutes of cooking (unlike in a slow cooker, which doesn't really brown meat).

I use the rendered chicken fat to make the most amazing sourdough croutons in the universe.

Mine is branded as a Schlemmertopf. Their website has good info about taking care of clay pots, not just this particular brand, along with [old-fashioned] recipes: http://www.fantes.com/schlemmertopf.html

The most notable things I've learned are to soak the lid in water for 10 minutes prior to cooking and start with a cool oven. There are specific instructions for gas versus electric ovens, as well.

I love clay pot cooking!

I put a little info about clay pot cooking here: http://www.squidoo.com/clay_pot_cooking

Here's a recipe I love from "The Claypot Cookbook" - Georgia MacLeod & Grover Sales (out-of-print).

Eggplant with Ham and Cheese

1 large eggplant, sliced thin
¼ pound French Brie or other soft, mild cheese, sliced
4 large stalks broccoli, chopped coarsely
¼ pound precooked ham, chopped coarsely
½ cup crushed soda crackers
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For Sauce Combine:

1 eight-ounce can tomato sauce
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon dried oregano
¾ teaspoon dried basil

Presoak a clay pot, top and bottom in water for 15 minutes.
Brown the thinly sliced eggplant in a frying pan with a little oil or butter, then set aside.
In the presoaked pot, place alternate layers of eggplant, ham, cheese, broccoli, cracker crumbs, and three-quarters of the sauce, starting with the eggplant.
Top with the remaining sauce and the Parmesan cheese.
Cover the pot and place in a cold oven.
Set the temperature at 450F (230C) degrees.
Cook for 45 minutes.

PS - I always double the tomato sauce. -Ben

I use mine for making no-knead bread. Unlike Twilliams I don't let mine rise in the pot. I preheat the pot without soaking. I let the dough rise in a banneton on parchment paper sprayed with oil. When it's time to bake I just drop it into the pot with the parchment still on........ I also take the lid off towards the end of baking.

I grew up with my parents using their clay baker all the time, specifically I remember lots of roasted port loins with lots of spices served on beds of egg noodles. They're awesome!

Wow! Great tips and advice everyone, thanks so much!

You can also cook fish - just use parchment paper.