101-Banana Tart:
Cast iron pans work great on gas stovetops. If you have an electric stovetop with conductive coils, then they’ll also work great. However, if you have a ceramic-glass stovetop, you need to read your user manual before cooking with cast-iron pans. Most manufacturers will tell you not to use cast-iron pans or any pans without a flat bottom.
If you decide to use a cast-iron pan on your stovetop, here are a few things that may make it safer to use cast iron.
And if you don’t want to risk putting the cast-iron pans on your glass-ceramic stovetop, heat them up in your oven to brown meat before cooking. It won’t quite be the same as browning over a flame, but it’ll be better than not browning meat before you bake ingredients in a recipe.
A few folks have asked me for advice about what they should get first if they’re going to start cooking in cast iron. I would suggest getting an 8”, 10” or 12” skillet to start with, depending on your family size. If you are mostly likely only going to cook for 1, go with the 8”, if you’re going to cook for 2-3, the 10” is just fine. If you’re going to find yourself cooking larger amounts of food more often, the 12” or 14” is what you’ll want to get.
I’m lucky that the lid that came with my 4-quart stockpot also fits tightly on my 10” cast iron skillets. But in case you don’t have a lid that can do double-duty, Lodge makes lids that fit their skillets as well. These are a great price and the glass means you can see how things are going without lifting the lid.
But almost all of the dishes in the chapters on cooking in skillets will permit you to use any of these sizes. The recipes were designed to use a 10” skillet, but you can decrease or increase as needed pretty easily. Baking recipes are a little trickier, admittedly. But good luck on your cooking foray.
101-Banana Tart:
This incredibly easy dish is similar to a Pineapple Upside Down Cake, but it uses puff pastry as a crust instead of having a cake batter poured on top of the caramel and fruit. The recipe for this dish will be available soon on Drive-Thru at GapersBlock.com
Book Sales — WOW!!!:
Thanks, y’all! None of you have even laid eyes on the book and I’m already in the top 100 books in two categories on Amazon. I’m not really sure what this means, but I’m floating with the love and support. I’m very honored. Very honored.
A few people have asked where and how to get started. If you’re lucky enough to have a relative or friend who has an older seasoned skillet who will give it to you, take it. Seriously the best. Otherwise, try to find a flea market or check yard sales. You may be able to find a piece of good used and well-cared-for cast-iron there.
However, since this isn’t a usable answer for many people, I thought I would suggest you consider purchasing cookware from Barbara and Doyle Bailey who run The Cast Iron Cookware Shop. When I needed a few pieces to be able to work on the cookbook, I did some research and found them. I was impressed with the variety, the price, and the customer service. It was surprising, but I was happy with every item I purchased from them and was delighted with the personal responses I got from them when purchasing cookware.
If you’re trying to decide what you should purchase first, I would suggest getting a 10” or 12” skillet to start with. If you’re most likely to only cook for 1 person, you could get the 8” skillet. I have 2 10” skillets that are round, 1 10” square grill pan, 1 14” skillet, and 1 4” skillet. I have two Dutch ovens, muffin pans, loaf pan, corn stick pan, and a grill grate for using on our grill. This is all I used to write every recipe in the cookbook, but most of the recipes were made in the skillets. I love them. I think you might, too.
Beginning of a Banana Dessert:
If you picture a Pineapple Upside Down Cake, then replace the pineapples with bananas and then use puff pastry instead of cake batter, that’s what this will be. I may need to make it once or twice to tweak the recipe a bit.
99-The Everything Cast-Iron Cookbook:
It’s here. It has finally arrived. It’s 304 pages of green, black and white, glory. I haven’t found any typos yet, but I’m sure Andrew will find any lingering ones. I got a little weepy reading the acknowledgments page. I have so many people to thank, and so little room to do it.
Here is the book photographed in the drawer we keep our skillets in. Yes I keep cast iron skillets in 1 drawer. It pays to know a great kitchen designer.
My book is here. In my house. In my hand. In my kitchen. And it looks great and it makes me happy and I read the acknowledgments page and cried (again) and I reread parts and smiled. I’m proud of this. And while I understand if you don’t buy the book. I’d be delighted if you would actually purchase it. I have a pen specifically for making autographs that the delightful <a href=”http://www.vivalafeminista.com”>Veronica</a> got me. I guess I should practice my signature a bit.
Just found out today that the cookbook will ship from Amazon.com on May 16, 2010. So go ahead and place your orders now so you can get it right away. Can’t wait to see it in print, a full month earlier than I expected.
Many thanks to Chuck Sudo over at Chicagoist.com for recognizing that I am indeed a Cast Iron Goddess. Honestly, I’m blushing and pretty sure that I’m not ethereal enough to be a goddess. Maven, maybe. Proponent, for sure. Lover, for definite.