Recent Cast Iron Acquisitions
Last month, Kathy and I took a day trip to Tennessee, and while we were in Sevierville made the required stop for any cast iron aficionado at the Lodge Cast Iron Outlet Store. This is the second time we had been to a Lodge outlet store, with the previous visit made to the store in South Pittsburg, where Lodge is headquartered. If you’re into cast iron like us (and if you’re reading this, you probably are), you know that visiting one of these stores is akin to a religious experience.

As we went along, spending about an hour in the store, Kathy and I walked up and down every aisle, making certain we had missed nothing. We called a family member as well as a friend of the family asking them if they needed us to get them anything while we were there. They both enthusiastically gave us their “orders.” Some of the items we picked up were novelties such as a Lodge baseball cap. It’s black with the Lodge logo on the front and the words “1896 * USA” on the back. I also got one of those rust eraser sticks I’d heard about, but have not had a chance to use. I’ve got a couple of old cast iron chicken fryers that need cleaning up. I’ll be certain to write about my results with the eraser when I’ve had a chance to try it out.


I’d also been wanting a lid for our cast iron wok for quite a while. I realize you may be thinking that a lid is not customarily used with a wok, and I’d have to agree with you completely. But let me explain why I wanted one.


A few months back, I emailed customer service at Lodge asking them if they made a lid for the wok. They do not, which didn’t surprise me. However, I was told that the 14” camping dutch oven lid fits perfectly. So, while in the store, I found one of these rather large lids and carried it over to a display where a few woks were sitting. I set the lid on top of the wok, and I was delighted to see that it fits perfectly! It’s almost as if the lid was especially designed for the wok.

What you see here is almost every piece of cast iron we own. Other than what you see here, I also have my main cast iron skillet that has a permanent place on the stove top. It the first cast iron piece I got back in the nineties. It is a Lodge 10.25" skillet that I received back before they began adding the extra grip handle and before everything came pre-seasoned.
I also have Kathy’s grandmother’s chicken fryers (two) in the back room waiting for me to find the time to clean them up and get them back into normal use. I don’t yet know what brand they are, but I look forward to trying to figure that out. My only other not-pictured cast iron item is a Wagnerware cornstick pan which I will have to take that rust eraser to before I can re-season it and get it back into working order.
Finally, pictured below are a few shots of the same rack above, but slightly enlarged so that you can see some of the items we have. I’m not showing these items to show off. I know of many cast iron collectors whose inventories are larger than ours. However, I also know that true cast iron aficionados enjoy looking at other folks’ cast iron. So, enjoy and feel free to post any questions or comments in the comment selection of this post.
Feel free to leave your thoughts or ask questions in the comments below, or you can contact Rick directly at rick@cookingincastiron.com.
Queenie's Peach Cobbler/Looking at the World through Cast Iron Lenses

That is, when you go to a restaurant or perhaps to dinner at a friend’s house, do you think when the food is served, “You know, I bet this would taste even better if it were cooked in cast iron”?
I admit I do this. In fact, when I make old family recipes, I chuck the directions to use a glass dish, and I usually cook in cast iron instead. You think that green bean casserole is good in a Pyrex dish? You’ve not had green bean casserole until you’ve had it cooked in cast iron. If skillet fries taste best in cast iron, think of how good your uncle’s hash brown casserole will taste. I’ve got two cast iron pans specifically for casseroles, but if you don’t, a cast iron skillet will work just as well.
My cast iron
Of course, I should point out that I never actually ate this peach cobbler at my grandmothers house when she was alive. But my mother made it regularly and always referred to it as her “Mom’s Peach Cobbler.” In the copy of the recipe I received, which had the title just mentioned at the top of the page, the directions simply called for a “casserole” dish. But this goes back to my previously mentioned point—I was certain this would go better in cast iron!
In fact, the recipe itself isn’t all that different from the cobblers we’ve made while camping, using a dutch oven placed directly on top of live coals. One of the best features of those great campout cobblers is the crust that forms in the cast iron. Therefore, I was fairly certain that I could (forgive me for saying this!) improve on my grandmother’s recipe.
At our church, my Sunday school class has a potluck brunch every first Sunday of the month. So two weeks ago, I decided to make my grandmother’s peach cobbler, but not in a glass dish, but in cast iron! Now, my wife, Kathy, who doesn’t like peaches (odd, isn’t she?), asked if I’d also make one using apples instead. The recipe is pretty versatile, so the picture at the beginning of this post has apple on the left and peach on the right. To make the cobbler even more special, I made the original peach recipe specifically in my grandmother’s skillet that was handed down to me years ago. It is a BS&R and is at least 70 years old if not older. I used my Lodge skillet that I got in the nineties for the apple cobbler.
Needless to say, both cobblers were a hit, but the peach cobbler was completely gone when the apple cobbler was only half eaten. But by the end of our class, both pans were empty. Cast iron is definitely superior to the standard casserole dish for this recipe as you probably imagine. I encourage you to join me in looking at your world through cast iron lenses!
So, here is Queenie’s recipe for peach cobbler. It’s very easy, so very basic and so very good. Enjoy!
Queenie’s Peach Cobbler

10.25" Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients:
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 cup of flour
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 can of sliced peaches, don't drain
Melt a stick of butter in a cast iron skilet.
Mix a cup of sugar, a cup of flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, two teaspoons of baking powder, 1 cup whole milk.
Pour in 10.25" cast iron skillet and add one large can of sliced peaches (don’t drain).
Bake at 350° 30-40 minutes.
Rick plans to post more of his grandmother’s recipes in the future, so check back often. Feel free to leave your thoughts or ask questions in the comments below, or you can contact Rick directly at rick@cookingincastiron.com.
Veggie Tales II
Posted by Kathy
Mansfield
Vegetables? Yuck! That’s been my usual response when
offered vegetables for any meal, unless they were
potatoes or green beans. But, recently I’ve widened my
pallet. Rick made a semi-New Year’s resolution to eat
more vegetables, especially those he has never tried.
Since I live here, too, that meant that I would end up
having to try them, as well.
My in-laws were recently on an asparagus kick, so when
we visited them earlier this year we were served this
“new-to-us” vegetable several times. After we returned
to Kentucky, Rick found a recipe for asparagus that we
could prepare in cast iron. Although asparagus is not
my favorite dish, this
turn-her-nose-up-at-green-vegetables-girl has actually
requested this particular asparagus recipe for dinner
more than once.
PAN-GRILLED GLAZED ASPARAGUS
(adapted from "Mustard-and-Mayonnaise
Glazed Asparagus" by Nate Appleman, Food &
Wine, June, 2009)
Cast Iron
Required:
10.25” cast iron
grill pan
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup coarse grain mustard
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lb. thick asparagus, trimmed
In a shallow dish, whisk the mayonnaise with the mustard, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the asparagus and turn to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Heat a cast iron grill pan over a medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until the spears are tender and lightly blistered in spots—about 6 minutes. Serve the asparagus hot or at room temperature.
I was reluctant to try the next new vegetable Rick made. He announced proudly one day that he had bought brussels sprouts and had found a recipe to try with them. Nothing about that announcement sounded good to me. But, lo and behold, Rick found a way for me to like brussels sprouts—sautéed in cast iron! A key to this recipe for me is the fresh grated Parmesan cheese. I have always thought that most things taste better with cheese, and I’ve learned that most things taste better when cooked in cast iron. I put one tiny brussels sprout on my plate, knowing how disappointed Rick would be if I didn’t at least try one. It looked like a small cabbage. I closed my eyes and popped it in my mouth. I was pleasantly surprised! Who knew that I would start liking brussels sprouts at the age of 43?
GOLDEN-CRUSTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS
(adapted from the recipe by Heidi Swanson in her book Super Natural Cooking
Cast Iron Required:
10.25” or 12” cast iron skillet with lid
Ingredients
- 24 small brussels sprouts
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
- fine grain sea salt
- black pepper, freshly ground
- 1/2 Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Trim the stem ends of the brussels sprouts and remove any raggedy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub in olive oil, keeping it intact. Heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 10.25" or 12" cast iron skillet over medium heat. Don't overcook the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the skillet, flat side down, sprinkle with a couple of pinches of salt, cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
The bottoms of the sprouts
should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste
one of the sprouts to gauge whether they're tender
throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more
minutes.
Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook
until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized.
use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get
some browning on the rounded side. Use a spatula to
toss them once or twice to get some browning on the
rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of
pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese.
Best if served immediately.
MacGourmet users, click
image to download recipe (or simply drag image to
your MacGourmet recipe box).
A coupon book arrived in the mail the next week with a few recipes thrown in, one of which featured zucchini—another green vegetable I had never tried. This time I was going to take the lead and surprise Rick with my new find. The zucchini casserole was easy to make and featured fresh Parmesan. We were out, so I substituted Parmesano Regianno. Mmmm-mmmm, good!
SKILLET ZUCCHINI GRATIN
Cast Iron
Required:
10 1/4” Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 5-6 medium zucchini
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
- olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Heat cream in a small saucepan with garlic and thyme just until it starts to boil. Remove and set aside.
Slice zucchini in 1/8-inch thick rounds.
In a buttered 10.25" cast iron skillet, layer zucchini, salt, pepper, sprinkles of Parmesan cheese, panko bread crumbs, drizzles of heavy cream. Repeat layers until the pan is almost full. Finish the top with bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.
Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
I think I’m seeing a pattern here: cast iron plus cheese makes vegetables that will please!
For more of Kathy’s vegetable recipes, see her first Veggie Tales post from last year.
Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below, or you can contact Kathy directly at kathy@cookingincastiron.com.
Joanna Pruess on QVC Tonight
If you haven’t seen Joanna’s book, be certain to read my review. It is perhaps the best cast iron themed cookbook I’ve ever seen. We liked it so much that after we bought ours, we bought three more to give as Christmas gifts last year.
Be sure to catch Joanna on QVC tonight and if you don’t already have her book, you may want to order one.
Why Cast Iron? Five Reasons
Every now and then, someone asks me--“So what’s the big deal about cast iron?” There are plenty of other pans around. Plenty of other ways to cook. Why should someone entertain the use of cast iron cookware to begin with?
Here are a few reasons to use cast iron. Maybe you’ve been toying with the idea of cooking in cast iron for a while, and this will help to push you over.


There are also serious questions raised about the danger of cooking surfaces such as teflon when used at high temperatures (see MSNBC: “Teflon Chemical Cancer Risks Downplayed”). It is well known that fumes from teflon pans (and possibly other chemically treated non-stick surfaces) can cause the death of birds kept as family pets (see “The Silent Killer” by Joanie Doss).
Aluminum pans aren’t necessarily safe either. Though a definite causal relationship has not yet been established, a common factor seen in Alzheimer’s patients are aluminum strands found in the brain (see Alzheimer’s Society: “Aluminum and Alzheimer’s Disease”). Whether aluminum cookware is one of the factors in this is yet unknown, but some believe that heating foods at high heat in aluminum pans causes the metal to leech into foods. Note also that aluminum pans are almost universally used in restaurants where food is usually cooked quickly at very high temperatures.
On the other hand, cooking in cast iron negatively affects only an extremely small portion of the population--those who suffer from too much iron in the blood. This condition is referred to as hemochromatosis. This is not an issue for the average person, and for those who suffer from too much iron in the blood, I’d still recommend enameled cast iron for all the other reasons mentioned here.
Another healthy aspect of cooking in cast iron is that it is so enjoyable, you will be encouraged to cook at home more often, which is always healthier than eating out or warming up pre-packed foods in the oven.

Although cast iron is making a strong return to America’s kitchens, it never left the campsite. It was cast iron that sustained America from the earliest pilgrims to the pioneers who traveled west. Cast iron is hardy and very difficult to permanently damage unless it’s downright abused. I’ve easily used some of the same pans in my kitchen when we’ve gone camping as well. Although most campers will want to obtain dutch ovens specific to the campfire, a lot of us can confess to throwing regular dutch ovens in the fire, too, with no harm coming to them because of it.

Before we started using cast iron as our main cookware, there’s no telling how many other pans we eventually wore out and then threw out. Non-stick heating surfaces on those other pans eventually started flaking, so we’d throw them out. But after switching to cast iron a few years ago, I fully expect to be using the same pans--including my grandmother’s--for at least another three or four decades (assuming I live that long). After that, I will pass them on to others, which leads to the next benefit of cooking in cast iron...

We also have a couple of cast iron chicken fryers left to us from Kathy’s grandmother that I’m in the process of restoring. According to Kathy’s mother, her father used to often clean these pans by throwing them into a fire in the back yard!
Now think about it for a second. Do you really think that your aluminum pans, your chemically-treated non-stick pans, or your electric skillet will be in use too many years from now? Is there any chance you'd be able to will them to your family members? Would you even want to?
With cast iron, it's a different story.
When done with thought and care, the preparation and eating of meals together can be very intimate and memorable occasions. In today’s busy society, too often people don’t take the time to make a meal from scratch and sit around the table together. When I make my grandmother’s cornbread (see recipe here) in her skillet, I think of all the times I sat at her table eating her wonderful foods. That skillet is forever tied to her memory. I can’t use it without thinking of her. If I had to only keep one item in my cast iron collection, I would choose that one.
One day I will pass on my cast iron to others. I hope that when they use them, they will think of me and the good times we had sitting around the dinner table.
Perhaps you have a cast iron pan or pot from a family member who has now passed on. Take that pan down, relive some memories and create some new ones.
Feel free to leave your thoughts or ask questions in the comments below, or you can contact Rick directly at rick@cookingincastiron.com.
New to Cast Iron (A Guest Post)
[Note from Rick: Today’s post is from Chris Morin, who discovered the benefits of cast iron in recent months. Chris and I had corresponded a few times, and I asked him if he would write down some of his thoughts about being a brand new cast iron aficionado. Below he describes how his discovery of cooking on a cast iron grill led him to the discovery of the benefits of the cast iron skillet and other cookware.]

Since the bulk of my cooking experience was outside, I started educating myself on grilling. That led us to buy a new grill. Our old Weber kettle grill was way past its prime. I purchased it used from a family member about twelve years earlier and it was already fifteen years old. I was not going to just head down to the local big box chain store and buy the first grill I saw; so it was time to do some research.
My research resulted in out purchasing a grill with cast iron grates. I read in various online forums people’s love of these grills. They raved about how well cast iron seared the meat, retained heat and was naturally non-stick. Neither my wife nor I had any experience with cast iron, but the enthusiasm of other owners sold us. We made our purchase. I had some initial trepidation with the grill as I had to season the grates. Once again, I turned to the online forums for instructions. After a few blazing fires and a few applications of oil, my grates had a deep, even black patina and the interior of the grill had a nice mahogany color. I had done my job and done it well.
We started cooking in earnest. Steaks, chops, chickens, burgers, brats and hot dogs all went on the grill. Soon, I was also raving about the virtues of cast iron. I was also paying closer attention to how I was grilling the meat. Direct heat, indirect heat, and Mesquite wood chunks soaked in water became part of our vocabulary. Now my contributions to our meals were more enjoyable. The real proof was in the comments from my family and requests for more food from outside.
That led us to consider other foods we could prepare outside using charcoal and fire. The cast iron grates got us thinking about other cast iron tools. If we were to cook things like eggs and pancakes, we needed other cooking surfaces. Once again, I turned to the Internet to research the best cast iron.
Some explanation about how I interact with my tools is in order. I am someone who needs to be as passionate about the tools I use as I am about the activity in which they are used. My work is all on computers and I am passionate about computers from Apple. I also have a passion for writing, so I am equally passionate about the pens and journals I use. My new passion for cooking required tools that would complement and not hinder that passion.
My research resulted in finding Rick Mansfield’s site Cooking in Cast Iron. There I saw he used quite a few pieces from Lodge Manufacturing. Other reading confirmed Lodge to be a quality brand of cast iron that had the bonus of being American made and environmentally friendly.
Our first purchase was a cast iron griddle. Soon, we were enjoying more than lunch and dinner prepared with charcoal and cast iron. Breakfast was even more enjoyable when prepared with these elemental tools. My wife and I have since added several pieces of cast iron to our arsenal of cookware. Old copper-bottom and artificial non-stick cookware was retired. In their place, we are discovering the added taste benefits provided by cast iron. Almost everything we make tastes better when prepared in cast iron cookware. Our family finds new enjoyment in old standby recipes. Pot roast tastes better from a cast iron Dutch oven than it did in our old aluminum pot. Cornbread is much, much better from a cast iron skillet than our non-stick cake pans. The list goes on and on.
My wife and I found an added bonus. Not only are we spending more time together cooking but also we are learning together. We ask, “What about this recipe,” or “What about that recipe?” Invariably, we just try it and discover one more meal that tastes better when prepared in cast iron. When we went on vacation to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, we took our cast iron with us. We were so excited to plan all the meals we would cook outside using only the utensils we took with us. Everything turned out wonderfully delicious.
Needless to say, my wife and I are now cast iron converts and look forward to new culinary discoveries with great anticipation.
Feel free to interact with Chris in the comments below.
Smothered Cooking in Cast Iron (Louisiana Cookin' - February, 2010)
I’m very pleased to announce that the current (Feb. 2010) issue of Louisiana Cookin’ contains an article I wrote, “Smothered Cooking in Cast Iron.” The article discusses the history and method of smothered cooking, and I also included five recipes written by myself, family, and friends.
Recipes included:
- Pointe Coupee Smothered Potatoes
- Uncle Larry’s Smothered Deer Steak
- Smothered Chicken and Andouille Sausage
- Hamburger Steak
- Queenie’s Smothered Steak
The article begins on p. 28 and concludes on p. 33. As you can see below, there are a number of very professional photographs of my recipes that accompany the article:
The February issue of Louisiana Cookin’ is now on sale at most major national book chains. If you’re visiting our website for the first time because you discovered us in Louisiana Cookin’, we hope you’ll come back regularly and visit us.
Feel free to leave your thoughts or ask questions in the comments below, or you can contact Rick directly at rick@cookingincastiron.com.






