cast iron skillet

[Susan Otcenas]

Yay for Scandinavians! Ebelskivers rock!

I asked for (and received) a cast iron ebelskiver pan for christmas. Sooooo yummy. Fun to make, too!

[Tuckervill]

This works good - just make sure you put it upside down in the oven, or you end up with a sticky varnish like coating... I did that once. Took some time to get the pan back to it's normal self.

The other thing that helps is cooking lots of naturally fatty foods in it.

Yeah, I meant to say that. Turn it over.

I could have written Oxy's post, down to the Pampered Chef scraper and the permanent home on the stove-top. But I have three of them living there, all nesting together on the back left burner (just like my ex-MIL and my grandmother did). Whenever my mother comes over and wants to tidy up, she puts them in the oven! What she doesn't realize is that I never store anything in the oven because I'm deathly afraid of fire, and storing something in the oven is just an invitation for me to turn the oven on without checking first! Drives me nuts, because then I don't know where they are!

Karen

[cyclingqueen2k9]

cast iron skillets are great for all types of cooking. I love them.

[Laterider21958]

Back in the late 1970's - early 80's there was a lot of cast-iron cookware around - especially here in Australia. It was not very expensive and I went 'mad' and purchased cast-iron saucepans, dutch-ovens, set of 3 skillets, set of 3 frypans (with lids), steak platters which came with individual wooden serving bases as did the small ramekins with lids. At the time I didn't season them correctly and was having constant problems with rust. I also found that they weighed a ton.

Being a hoarder I didn't throw them out and they spent over 25 years living in the deepest, darkest corner in my kitchen. In the meantime I invested in stainless steel cookware which are perfect still, except for their handles, which are now held in place with metal bands. So much for lifetime guarantees!

About 3 years ago I needed an extra large frypan and I dragged out the cast-iron one, dusted it down, applied oil and discovered it cooked the best ever quickest "roast" vegetables. With continual use and careful cleaning I have a wonderful non-stick frypan. Generally I remove the food and wipe it out with scrunched up paper towel while still hot and then apply a thin layer of oil. Acidic foods do effect the non-stick surface and the pan then requires a wash. I always dry it immediately to prevent rust and then apply a thin layer of oil and heat it and leave it to cool on the stove. There it stays until I use it the next day.

I'm going to don my miner's head lamp and delve into the back of the cupboard and resurrect the other pots and pans and give them a work out too. The steak platters have never been used as my husband gave up eating meat and joined me in vegetarianism, but I guess they'd be perfect for keeping veggies hot.