Cast Iron Skillet, the Basics: How to Cook & How to Clean

Cooking in a cast iron skillet has become second nature to me; in fact if I could only take a few kitchen items with me on an extended stay my skillet would mandatorily be on that list. In trying to pass this love or skill along to friends and loved ones I have been told that it would be helpful to do a post with a few specific steps. My dear friend, Gretchen helped me out. She has had her cast iron skillet for about a year but not used it much due to intimidation, but after our short lesson together in her kitchen she’s reported a number of positive experiences, in fact I think she may end up becoming a coming a member of the cast iron fan club as well.

I do think it’s important to begin with the proper kind of skillet- choose one that has been pre-seasoned. They are easy to acquire, not expensive and are a workhorse in the kitchen. My favorite brand is Lodge. I nice size to have is a 10 inch, it isn’t too heavy but can still hold quite a bit of food.

· Always start with a hot skillet, using hot pads of course to keep your hands safe. To see if your skillet is hot drop a few droplets of water onto your skillet. If they sizzle, it’s ready to use.

· Use some kind of fat (canola oil, olive oil, butter, etc.)in the pan before you cook anything else. There are some exceptions to this rule; one being toasting nuts or seeds. You can use a dry, hot skillet without any oil because of the high fat content in the nuts. Otherwise, always begin with some kind of fat in the pan.

· Cleaning your skillet in a timely manner is important. Taking the time right after you are done cooking and while the skillet is still warm is a great time to clean it. Using warm water and a brush, gently brush any crusted food particles that are on the pan. Rinse. Dry with paper towels. Put a drop or two of CANOLA oil in pan and rub in and let pan completely dry out before putting away.

· Cleaning with soap may be necessary if you have a particularly nasty, stuck on piece of food. I try very hard not to use soap, but at times it is necessary to use ONE DROP of liquid dish soap. Quickly scrub with your brush and it should come right out.

Cooking in a Cast Iron Skillet

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Cleaning a Cast Iron Skillet

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There is a reason that these pans have been around for generations. If you have not used cast iron before because of lack of knowledge or fear that it may be too daunting I hope this may give you some aid wanting to pull out that pan and give it a go. Everything will cook quicker, have a lovely crisp edge to it and the clean up is a wiz.

How to Pound Meat and Poultery without Making a Mess

Often when I’m making a meat or poultry dish I choose to pound it out, for a variety of reasons. Many times it is because I want it to be thinner so it will cook evenly and quickly. Other times it is because I want the meat to become more tender. No matter the reason I have often become frustrated over the MESS it can cause on my counter. I really do not like working with meat all that much . . .

Not long ago I read a comment in a Cooks Illustrated magazine from a reader about the way she had solved the problem. It’s brilliant.

Inside a box of cereal or crackers the product is usually inside a bag. The bag is tuff as nails and hard to open. Turns out they make great bags for pounding meat in. It works like a charm.

· Prepare all meat by trimming and washing if necessary

· Place one piece of meat inside of empty cereal bag

· Fold open edge under or place a small strip of plastic wrap on the edge to seal it

· Pound meat with hammer until the meat is at the desired thickness for your recipe

· Remove it from the bag, set on prepared cutting board or plate and repeat with additional pieces of meat until you have finished them all

The cereal bags that I have used have held up for up to 12 chicken breasts each or more. That is one tuff bag. I have pounded more than I need for the recipe at hand, placed the extras in between butcher paper and then in a freezer zip lock bag and frozen it for later use. It’s a wonderful time saver.

We just don’t really eat much cereal and few if any crackers so my bags are precious (who thought I would ever be saying that!).

If you have any extra bags, send them my way.

Pumpkin Pie Brioche and Ebelskivers, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes A Day

I am a member of the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day google group, and the first bonus assignment was to make this fabulous seasonal brioche- the deadline has passed, but I decided to go ahead and make it anyway and I'm glad I did. You may want to make this delicious bread for your table as well, Pumpkin Pie Brioche.

The Pumpkin Pie Brioche recipe was available on the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day web site, but has now be removed. You can access it from Michelle's blog {Big Black Dog} who has permission from the authors of HBinFive, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. The changes I made in the original recipe were made because I live at a high altitude. I took the suggestions that were made in the book -- they worked beautifully. Here are the changes: 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon yeast, 1 rounded tablespoon kosher salt, and 2 rounded tablespoons vital wheat gluten.

The dough has a wonderful consistency and I found it easy to work with. I absolutely had to make a brioche, which will find it's self turned into french toast in the morning, but decided that pumpkin ebelskivers would be just the thing to best use this flavorful dough and they worked like a charm.

Christmas brunch at my house finds me making ebelskivers, it's been a tradition as long as any of my children can remember. These delicate puff pancakes can be quite delicious but unfortunately a bit of a time eater as well. This Pumpkin Pie Brioche dough worked out famously to cut down in the time area because I was able to make the pinch balls and set them out to rise and then cook them up quickly. I may have to think about mixing this into my menu this year. It is a winner recipe served with nutmeg syrup and orange butter.

When I make ebelskivers I use a cast iron pan. I love cast iron. It cooks these cute little pancakes evenly and perfectly light brown. I put the cast iron in a hot oven for about 15 minutes before I'm ready to cook to get the pan nice and hot. Once it's hot, place it on the stove top on a low setting. Put a little canola oil in the bottom of each round cup and place one of the risen pinched balls carefully into each hole. Watch them attentively until you get an idea of how quickly they will cook. You need to have a tool to turn with, I've used everything from a bamboo skewer to tongs. This year I have a set of new tools that I picked up at Williams-Sonoma made by Littledeer. They made quick work of lifting and flipping the delicate little babies. They were a bargain at $12. Once the ebelskivers are done, sprinkle them with powder sugar, serve and and watch them disappear.

Pocket Pies for the Breakfast Club

Saturday morning was an escapade of The Breakfast Club. We met to make hand held pies, or pocket pies as Williams-Sonoma has chosen to market them. Because it was for breakfast, we wanted to have a filling that would be conducive to that time of day. We ended up with a savory filling of eggs, potatoes, veggies and cheeses that was a knock out. And for the sweet tooth we made some simple ones out of homemade raspberry and peach jam (we didn't have any trouble giving those away either). All in all we had a great time being together and learning how to use these wonderful little tools. You would not need to have the gadgets that we used, it would be very easy to use a large cookie cutter and go through the same process. The video on the Williams-Sonoma sight is helpful to watch before you make these pies, with or without theirpocket pie molds.

On Sunday I tried my hand a second time at these cute little pies with a jar of pre-made homemade apple pie filling (recipe coming later). It was a one pint jar and I made 8 pies with 1/2 of a recipe of pastry dough. They turned out quite nice and having done the hand held pies twice now I have learned a few things.

1. The pastry dough should be rolled out thin, as thin as possible ( you are getting more than a regular amount of pastry in these little pies, so thin is a good idea unless you have double the time to spend at the gym).
2. Putting the egg wash around the edge of the inside of the pie to seal the two pieces is pretty much mandatory in keeping them together if you want the filling inside the pie.
3. Fillings should be cut into tiny pieces.
4. Brushing the egg wash on top should be put on the center of the pie, but not necessarily on the crimped edge (it gets a little over done).
5. These hand held pies are somewhat time consuming to make, plan on more time than you would to make a regular pie or playing the Tom Sawyer game and gathering others around you to help.

One addition to the recipe for these Veggie Cheese Scrambles- we did cook the shredded potatoes and asparagus in a frying pan with some olive oil for a few minutes before we mixed them in with the other ingredients. This allowed the pies to cook quickly in the oven.

Let me know if you try making these cute little babies and how they turn out for you!

Praise to the Nylon Bag

Necessity is the mother of invention, or so I've been told.  About ten years ago I started putting Reynolds Oven Bags in my crock pot before cooking anything mainly because I was tired of cleaning up the mess and I loved the ease of throwing away the cooking bag for other meals and thought it would work for the crock pot and it did.  The second useful reason I used the cooking bag in my crock pot was because I could be assured that the ingredients would stay in the pot when I tied it up- rather than sloshing out.  I realize that many cooks now have the newer versions of slow cookers that have fixed the problem of transporting meals- but if you don't, you might want to try a large size bag to keep your stew inside the pot rather than on your car carpet!   

I wasn't surprised when Reynolds came out with their own version of Slow Cooker Liners.  I still choose to use the bags, maybe it's just an old habit,  or it might be because I pinch pennies and there are five bags instead of four in a package (40 cents each).  Or, it might be the aversion to scrubbing. 

Cast Iron Skillet, It's All in the Pan, German Oven Pancake

If you haven't made this old favorite in a cast iron skillet, you've been missing out. It gives the pancake a wonderful crust without overcooking the inside pancake. I'm sure the German cook that actually first developed this recipe did so in a well worn skillet made out of iron. There are several reasons I call the cast iron skillet the miracle pan--two of them are the things cook even and quick. This recipe is a perfect example of those qualities. Don't be afraid to break out that cast iron skillet and try German Pancakes for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Let me know if your family loves it as much as mine does.

Hundreds of Blades on One Tool

TOOL:  Microplaner

PRICE RANGE: $15

PURCHASED AT: 

Bed, Bath and Beyond

One of my favorite tools is the Microplaner.  It can be used as a zester to take off just the right amount of peel off of a lemon, lime or orange.  It can be used as a grater to make quick work of hard cheeses such as parmesan or asiago.  It can also be used to grate such things as ginger - and it smells so good while you're doing it!  It can be used to beautify the top of a frosted cup cake by shaving a piece of fine chocolate over the top!  

And, it is fun to use.  I have had more joy showing kids how to use this tool than probably any other kitchen gadget.  You do have to instruct them carefully about the sharp blades, but they love being able to help grate cheese over their dinner, it becomes oh so much tastier if they have added their own touch to their meal. 

Check it out:

• Dishwasher safe
• Comes with a plastic cover for safety (mine is an older vintage and didn't come with the plastic cover so I still have the cardboard sleeve to keep all those little blades covered)
• Can be used for multiple culinary uses- your imagination is your only limit
• Great gift

UPCOMING CLASSES

My next teaching opportunities will be at a wonderful new store that has opened up in Gardner Village called Lorken

Food Finery. The classes coming up are on roll making and how to use a cast iron skillet. You can sign up by accessing their web site or calling them at 801 938-1982 www.lorkenfoodfinery.com/.

On Thursday, March 5^th I'll be teaching one of my most requested classes, Tricks of the Trade- How to Make Homemade Rolls. We'll discuss everything from how to purchase the right kind of flour to making sure that your yeast actually makes it live into the dough. I'll show you busy cooks how to cut your time in half by using the "micro-rise" method as well as discuss the principles behind freezing your dough for later use. You'll go home with a firm recipe for dinner rolls and a variety of ways to shape them, as well as recipes for cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting and orange craisin swirls. You'll find yourself intoxicated with the smell of homemade rolls and plan on tasting everything we make. Your friends, family and coworkers will love you for taking this class!

Thursday, March 12 is a night of learning how to use a basic pan that every complete kitchen should have to be complete, and is why everyone will go home with a skillet as part of the price of the class. The Miracle Pan- Cast Iron Skillet (8 inch pan) is all about learning how to use cast iron. If you haven't tried cooking with cast iron, or if you have and been unsuccessful- here is your chance to begin anew. In this class we will be doing the best scrambled eggs you'll ever have- and in 45 seconds or less, simple omelets, baking traditional corn bread, and making chocolate applesauce snack'n cake. The best part is you will go home with the feeling of confidence that you too can use your pan, take care of it and it will be in your family for several generations. After all, it is The Miracle Pan.

Please feel free to email me (Cristie) at thetablerunner@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Dial or Digital?

TOOL: Digital Thermometer

PRICE RANGE:  $15

PURCHASED AT: Sur la Table

I was helping a friend with a lamb demonstration at the State Fair and she asked me to bring my meat thermometer and explain how it works and all the benefits of using it.  At this point I had to confess to her that I was still using my old dial thermometer - she was shocked!  On the way to the fair we stopped at our local Sur la Table and I picked one up for $15.  It has been the best gift I've gotten myself in a long time.  In fact, at this point I can't imagine life without it.  If you haven't already added this to your kitchen tools and gadgets,  you might want to think about it.

Check it out:

• Easy to read large digital display that gives INSTANT  TEMPERATURE  READINGS!
• Measures between -40 and 450 degrees (can be used for candy making)
• Waterproof
• Great price
• Pro Accurate Waterproof Pocket Digital Thermometer (it's a mouth full)