Cooper - The new cast iron cookbook : more than 200 recipes for todays kitchen

AVON, MASSACHUSETTS

Skillets. Griddles. Dutch ovens.

If you thought cast iron was old news, think again! Today, this durable cookware is making a comeback and, with The New Cast-Iron Cookbook, youll find yourself impressing your guests with delicious meals in no time.

Throughout the book, youll find more than 200 modern, mouthwatering dishes that are perfect for all occasions. From breakfast and brunch to appetizers and entres to sweets and desserts, youll learn how to cook anything you can imagine in the worlds most indestructible pots and pans. And, whether youre an experienced cast-iron cooker or have never picked up a skillet in your life, youll soon find yourself whipping up dishes like Fresh Fig Muffins, Swiss Chard and Lentil Soup, Miso-Glazed Salmon, and more with confidence and ease.

You may also be wondering how you should go about choosing a cast-iron pan in the first place. Can you restore the vintage one you found at the antique store up the street, or should you buy something new? How do you season cast-iron cookware? And, once youve cooked with these pots and pans, how do you get them clean? All these questions and more will be answered in Chapter 1, which tells you everything you need to know about the recently revived art of cast-iron cooking.

So, grab your cast-iron pots and pans and get ready to make the old new again.

You know you want to cook with cast iron, but you know theres special care involved. Youve heard that you have to season it and clean it differently than you do other cookware, but how? In this chapter, youll learn everything you need to know about how to choose and care for your cast-iron pan, the benefits of cooking with cast iron, and more!

You know cast iron is on-trend, but why? What exactly is it about these heavy pots and pans that makes them a perennial favorite for everyone whos serious about great food? Well, cast-iron cooking doesnt just bring great taste. It also brings an array of benefitssome of which may not even have crossed your mind. Lets take a look and learn what cast iron can do for you.

If you think cast-iron pots and pans are outrageously expensive, think again! New cast-iron skillets actually cost 1050 percent less than skillets made from other materials. For just $15$20 for new skillets, youll come home with a pan that will gain value with each dish you make. And, if you buy and restore those vintage pots and pans that you find at a yard sale, flea market, or estate sale, or if you inherit cast-iron cookware from someone else in your family, even that small investment can go down considerably. And, no matter what you spend (or dont spend) on your cast-iron dishes, theyre guaranteed to last a lifetimeor longerso youre sure to get your moneys worth!

Many nonstick and other lightweight pans cannot be used over high heat. Because the metal is thin and conducts heat quickly, they can get too hot and then cool off easily. But, since most cast-iron pans are manufactured from a single, solid piece of metal, you can begin the cooking process on the stovetop and finish in the oven or under a broiler, and you can even place your cast-iron cookware directly over the hot coals on a grill or over a campfire. Make sure you know your pan, though. Some enameled pans come with a tempered plastic handle, and some Dutch ovens have metal handles that wont be able to handle extreme heat.

This thick, dense metal that we discussed in the previous section absorbs and conducts heat slowly and evenly. Although a cast-iron pan takes longer to get hot after placing it on a burner, its more likely to stay hot when you add cold foods. The even heating also makes it great for cooking sauces or things that may burn easily. If the pan is made properly, it will keep almost the same temperature on the edges as it does in the center. And since cast iron retains heat so well, youll find that it makes a great serving vessel.

When cooking with cast iron, always preheat your pan if youre going to be cooking on the stove or want a crispy crust on something youre baking in the oven. This preheating step takes a few more minutes, but gives much better results.

Not everything that comes out of a cast-iron pan is going to be crispy, but if youre cooking something that should have a crispy or even crunchy exterior and a soft interior, cast iron is the best choice. The surface of the pan encourages food to brown and crisp better than even the most expensive nonstick skillet on the market. Even a brand-new, freshly seasoned skillet can give food a crispy texture.

When you first get your cast-iron cookware, you have to season it a few times before you can cook something without worrying about it sticking. But, once you have a healthy seasoning base on your cookware, which youll learn how to develop later in this chapter, youll find yourself cooking with less oil than you would in other pans. When you have a skillet with at least several months of seasoning, you can cut the oil called for in the recipe by a third to a half, and you wont have to worry about scraping stuck-on food off your pan after the fact.

Cast irons nonstick qualities give you more than just less food to scrape off your cookware, though. Most nonstick pans are coated in Teflon, a synthetic resin that has been shown to emit fumes that are dangerous to small birds when used over high heat. So even if youre lucky enough to have a typical nonstick pan that wont warp over high heat, it may release fumes that could be toxic to your family. Cast iron doesnt give off any fumes and it imparts iron into the food cooked in it, even after it is seasoned. If you tend to be anemic, you may be able to reduce your supplement intake by cooking most of your dishes in cast iron. Be sure to follow your doctors orders and get tested before changing your prescribed health plan.

Cook dishes with a high fat or oil content the first eight to ten times you use a new cast-iron skillet. As your skillet gets more seasoned, youll need less fat and oil. And because the surface and metal used in your skillet will help you create a crust on foods, you wont miss that fat. With cast iron, even your boneless, skinless chicken breasts will look like rustic, browned comfort food.

Before you start cooking with cast iron, take some time to think about what you need. To start, what kind of cast-iron pan do you actually need to buy? Youre probably familiar with and may even own a cast-iron skillet, but a skillet isnt the only pot or pan available. As you look to buy either new or vintage cast iron, consider investing in the following pots and pans, all of which are used to create the delicious cast-iron recipes found throughout the book:

• Chicken fryer
• Corn stick pan
• Dutch oven
• Griddle
• Grill pan
• Muffin pan
• Skillet
• And so many more!

In addition to this variety, when it comes to cast iron, you can choose pots and pans that are:

• New
• Used
• Enameled
• Nonenameled
• Unseasoned
• Pre-seasoned