Recipes needed

[eee1313]

Specifically, recipes that can be made in an iron skillet, or that you think can be adapted for an iron skillet.

My friend Cinnamon got a deal to write a cookbook. This is what she e-mailed me about it:

...the reality of needing to write up 300+ recipes by the middle of September is settling in. This means that I'm going to be doing a lot of cooking in the next several months. A lot. I'm excited by this prospect and fearful of the amount of leftovers I could potentially waste.

...First of all, let me explain the cookbook premise. If you didn't know that I absolutely love cast iron, then I've probably never talked about cooking with you. I learned to cook using it and continue to use it almost exclusively for everything except boiling water and making small amounts of soup. Otherwise, I use my skillets all the time. This cookbook will be called "The Everything Cast Iron Cookbook" and I'm confident that I'll have no problem coming up with the recipes I need to fill it.

Do you have a favorite recipe that you'd like to share? Or do you have a dish that you'd like a recipe for? Or do you just have an idea for a recipe that you think I should have in the cookbook. You needn't worry about how to adapt the recipe for cast iron, I'm happy to do that part. But I'd love to know if you have any ideas of things that I should include.

Many thanks to all of you for your support and your presumed interest in food.

If any of you have any thoughts/suggestions/recipes that you think might help Cinnamon on her quest, I'm sure she would appreciate your input. Feel free to drop your recipes here, and I'll forward this on to Cinnamon if/when anything comes in. Thanks in advance, people!

Comments

[aj.livejournal.com]

Aw, man. I LOVE cast iron! Let me ask The Bill. He does a killer biscuits and gravy in a cast iron skillet. Mind you, I'll poke The Mother too. I don't think they even own a non-stick pan.

[tenar.livejournal.com]

i don't have any to contribute but i'll link to this post!

[taraljc.livejournal.com]

I'm a fan of peace cobbler, me...

[nmissi.livejournal.com]

Ah, the glory that is cast iron. She probably won't need any of my run-of-the-mill recipes, but IMO a good cast-iron cookery book should include recipes for well nigh everything. We all know that gravy should be made in the meat skillet, but lots of people JUST use their cast iron for that. What a terrible shame! In your friend's position, I'd be sure to include recipes for one-pot main dishes (slumgullion, for example), but also for breads (You can make more than cornbread!) and dessert (a proper Pineapple Upside Down cake MUST be made in a cast iron skillet.)

Dunno how common this is, but I tend to do a lot of beef roasts in the skillet. It's more practical than browning the meat in a skillet, Then transferring it to a roasting pan for the oven. After I brown the outside of the meat, I slide a perforated, disposable cake pan in under the meat to act as a rack. Then I roast the meat right in the skillet.

[dionneshea.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure how it's done, but iron skillet corn bread is awesomesauce.

[spicedrum.livejournal.com]

My mom makes a yummy swiss steak in her gigantor cast iron pan. I will ask her how she does it - the directions won't be quite exact, but C can figure out how to make it technical.


I make super low fat quesadillas in mine, since I don't use any oil other than what the pan's been treated with and use low fat shredded cheese. HEALTHY AND SUPER EASY CLEANUP

My favorite was my strawberry mozzarella quesadilla:

Put sliced strawberries, mozzarella, a little cinnamon, a little cilantro between two flour tortillas. Cook on each side until the tortilla is crisp, then serve with fruit salsa. I like it with a pineapple and/or mango salsa, but I'd love to find a good berry salsa recipe to try with it.

My crazy-ass roommate in California used to make a Pear quesadilla with some mild soft white cheese I never bothered to find a name for, then she'd make a dipping sauce using plain yogurt and the juice of a lime.


Obviously, I'm big on fruit in my quesadillas. They're tasty, healthy, and can be used for any meal. Also great for brunches. And like I said, super easy to clean up and very healthy. Also, cheap.


*rereads*

Good god, my brain is exhausted. But you get the idea.