Category: Cooking

I really enjoy using my cast-iron cookware.  I have had plenty of cast-iron dutch ovens, the camp style, over the years.  I really like cooking outdoors with them. A few years ago, I was given two 12 inch Lodge cast-iron frying pans for my birthday.  That was the day that the cast-iron moved inside.

One of the recipes that I like to make to show off how easy cast-iron cooking is, is the Dutch Baby Pancake.  It is a German pancake that is baked in the oven.  The traditional way to serve them is with a squeeze of fresh lemon and sprinkled with powdered sugar.  My wife likes hers plain with just butter.  I like mine either traditional or with a sliced apple sauce.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 Tablespoons sugar (I like the Rock Iris vanilla sugar)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 Tablespoons butter to melt in pan

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425° F with your cast-iron pan.
2. Combine the first four ingredients together and blend until smooth.  (I use a blender.)
3. Once the oven and pan are to temperature, remove pan from the oven.
4. Melt the butter and coat the pan surface.
5. Pour the batter into the pan and return to the oven.
6. Bake at 425° F for 15 minutes or until puffy and browned.
7. Top with additional butter and powdered sugar and let the sugar heat in the oven briefly.
8. Squeeze some fresh lemon on the top and serve.

Fresh Sliced Apple Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 apple, peeled, cored & sliced
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 or 3 Tablespoons sugar (I like the Rock Iris vanilla sugar)
• 1 or 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice.

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan melt the butter.
2. Add the apple slices and lemon juice.  Saute apples until they begin to give up their juice.
3. Add the sugar and cook until the apples are tender and the syrup has reduced to a nice consistency.
4. Serve over hot Dutch Baby Pancake.

   

I was talking with my youngest daughter about comfort foods that she found while she was living in China. While we were talking about that it reminded me of a favorite comfort food.  Macaroni and Cheese.  Many times we find ourselves reaching for the blue box.  I was wanting something like that, but maybe a little more homemade and more attention to the details.

I remembered a Macaroni and Cheese recipe that I found on the Reddit cast-iron forum.  One of the features of this dish is that it is baked in a cast-iron pan to help the dish develop a crisp crust on the bottom and sides.  This crisp crust contrasts nicely with the tender pasta and the creamy sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb macaroni, cooked and drained
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 4 Tablespoons flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1/3 cup pre-cooked bacon bits
• 1 Tablespoon onion powder
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 8 to 10 ounces medium cheddar cheese, grated
• dried breadcrumbs

While cooking the macaroni, make the cheese sauce.  In a medium saucepan melt the butter and add the butter to form a roux.  Cook over a medium heat until the flour begins to turn to a golden brown.  Slowly whisk in the milk and cook over a medium heat.  Add the onion powder and cook until the mixture begins to thicken.  Add the bacon bits, 1/2 of the parmesan cheese and the grated cheddar cheese and mix until melted and combined.  Grease a cast-iron skillet and pour the drained pasta into the pan.  Mix the cheese sauce into the pasta and top with a mixture of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.  Bake in a 400° F oven for 30 minutes or until the top and edges have started to crisp.  Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

I was recently given two new Lodge cast iron skillets. They are the 12″ size and have been pre-seasoned. I like to work in my cast iron by making something fried. It tends to help build up the seasoning. For these skillets I decided to fry up some potatoes into hash browns.  Other than the normal pebbly surface of a new pan, these two skillets performed very well.  There was very minimal sticking and it all wiped out with a paper towel.

I basically cubed up some fresh potatoes and tossed them into the pans.  I had heated the pans over a medium-high flame to a point where the pan is starting to smoke.  I added 2 to 3 tablespoons of Canola Oil and let that heat for a moment.  Then the potatoes went into the hot pan.