My grandma Bunny was devoted to her cast iron skillets. They sat in a graduated stack on her stovetop, always ready to be pressed into service. She kept them seasoned through regular use and claimed that nothing was better for restoring their glossy black finish than cooking up a batch of bacon.
Bunny’s collection of cast iron remains in her hillside California home, where my aunt, uncle, and cousins now live. I’ve had to amass my own heap of skillets, and have done so through thrifting, eBay (my beloved square skillet, used almost exclusively for eggs), Kickstarter, and inheritance.
Despite having a hearty collection, I confess that I rarely do anything truly exciting with my skillets. However, thanks to Dan Shumski’s new book, Will It Skillet, that all changes now. He’s got me seeing my cast iron skillet as the ideal vessel for so much more than just eggs, bacon, burgers, flat broiled chicken, and the world’s most perfectly burnished roasted potato cubes.
There is so much in this book that speaks to me, but here are a few that are on my immediate wish list. Giant Cinnamon Bun (page 37). Spinach and Feta Dip (page 64). Mac and Cheese – you make the whole thing in the skillet! (page 106). Giant Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie (page 153). Are you hungry yet?
I have one copy of this tasty book to give away this week and we’re doing it the old fashioned way (I know that there are those among you who hate Rafflecopter, so this is for you!).
The winner of the giveaway is #196/Barb. Many thanks to all who took the time to enter!
- Leave a comment on this post and tell me about your favorite thing to make in a cast iron skillet.
- Comments will close at 12 noon eastern time on Sunday, May 21, 2017. A winner will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog later that day.
- Giveaway open to all. Void where prohibited.
- One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post.
Disclosure: Workman Press sent me two copies of this book at no cost to me. One was for review and photography purposes and the other was to give away.
Since we got ducks and they started laying every day, I invested in (another) small cast iron skillet. They are the only pans than aren’t a complete PITA to clean after a scramble.
I was inspired by his book Will it Waffle. Best title ever. I like potatoes, onions and peppers with black beans and melted cheddar cheese on top.
Crab cakes are the best when cooked in cast iron. Makes a nice crust!
Fried potatoes to go with soup beans. Thanks for the chance.
I make a killer jalapeno cheddar cornbread in my iron skillet! Cut it into pie shaped wedges and serve it up with lots of softened butter, and it’s a hit every time!
Oh Marisa,
Don’t get me started on my cast iron. I’m 62 and started my collection as a teenage boy scout mesmerized by the baking power of a campfire style dutch oven…but if I have to boil it down to skillet use…on the sweet side “clafoutis” the french country dessert…on the savory side “cornbread” or a grilled cheese sandwich. May have to make a grilled cheese sandwich tonight…I know my wife won’t care. She hates to lift my cast iron, but she sure likes the results of using them.
Marshall
My favorite thing to make is Alton brown’s corn bread.
Fried chicken of course!!
When I pulled out my beautiful 12 incher at a family reunion, my daughters and sister all moaned. They said they had “pan envy”! I use my cast iron pans every day, but my favorite thing to make is probably my grandmother’s cornbread recipe.
What a fun concept for a cookbook! It’s hard to decide what’s my favorite thing to cook in a cast iron skillet… probably a Spanish tortilla.
We’ve been living in a wonderful yet tiny house in England where kitchen space was limited (loved how it always looked clean because there as no room for clutter). I used my skillet for everything from toasting an English muffin at breakfast to roasting a chicken for dinner. My favorite meal was slow cooking a pork roast overnight to make pulled pork the next day. This was my “go to” meal when we had people over on a Sunday afternoon.
One of my favorite things to cook in cast iron is cornbread. That, with a pot of pinto beans and ham hocks, is eating memories of growing up.
I love cooking a pan of biscuits in a cast iron skillet. thank you!
PIzza! I made it last night. Everything about cast iron pizza is delicious, particularly the crispy crust. Nothing compares to it, not even my pizza stone. I’m a cast iron pizza evangelist 😛
I have a great chocolate chip cookie recipe. It’s fantastically chewy without drying out. Mmm.
I think fried potatoes turn out better in cast iron. But it is a tie for my peach galette!
Fried potatoes for breakfast!
A dutch baby of course, cornbread, and fried potatoes!
An entire breakfast: charred cherry tomatoes, polenta, turkey bacon and eggs over easy
Roasted scalloped potatoes is one of my favs. Ready to explore! I am sure there are endless possibilities!
I like to make yorkshire pudding in the skillet—it always turns out beautifully.
I have one exclusively for cornbread and my next favorite thing to cook in an iron skillet is steak. I get the outside nice and crusty and then pop in in the oven. Just like the steakhouse.
Daniel’s book looks like a winner – if I don’t win it, I need to buy it!
We have a collection of 10 cast iron pans. Some were bought new and some collected at thrift stores and tag sales. We use them all the time to cook and bake in and on the weekends we use them outside to grill on the fire pit.
My favorite has to be Saturday morning breakfast which is a refrigerator clean out out omelet. I fill it up with any veggies and leftover meats from the week and usually throw shredded cheese on top. Delicious!
I am about to get my first skillet – hopefully to make rhubarb cake!
I love to roast chicken on a bed of potatoes in my cast iron skillet.
(Thank you for the occasional “old-fashioned style” of giveaway. ?)
I use my skillet almost everyday to cook something, but Hubby luvs when I make cornbread in mine!
We love our cast iron skillets and use one almost daily! It’s really hard to pick a favorite thing that we make. Probably my husband’s bacon cornbread. It’s amazing!
I have not made anything in my cast iron skillet – yet! This would be a great reason to start trying things.
I remember my mom cooking in her cast iron skillet all the time and I made sure to get one of my own soon after setting up my own kitchen. I love cooking with mine, but still wish I had hers! Lol! Two of my favorite things to make in my skillet are skillet cornbread in which I toss whatever I’m in the mood for or have on hand – canned corn, onion, cheese, sour cream or plain yogurt, and herbs. The second thing I’ve made in my skillet and loved was focaccia bread. And of course there are the skillet cookies, blueberry buckles, and Dutch babies. Yummmm!
My dad gave me a large iron skillet in 1959 when I first married and we didn’t have one to successfully pan fry a good steak. I use it for many things but beef hash is a crispy winner! A grandson recently commented how beautifully seasoned it was and his needs serious help!
Fried potatoes with sauteed onions! the best and the crispest!
But I also agree with Kristen- chocolate chip cookie bars are a close second!
I have several heritage skillets, from both sides of the family
My favorite thing to cook is cornbread, but I use my 10″ for just about everything!
It’s probably a tie between pear upside down cake (the cake has lots of spice, esp cardamom) and chicken pot pie, which is especially good when we are short on time and use puff pastry as the crust! Thanks for the chance; looks like a great book.
Giant chocolate chip cookie for sure!
Favorite skillet dish. Hard to say. Don’t think there is enough room for me to list them all here but I do make a lot of deep dish pizzas in my skillets as well as cobblers and roasted chicken.
Skillet cookies! Chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin, even better if all the ingredients can be mixed up right in the pan.
I love my cast iron! I have to restrain myself from buying any and every new piece of case iron I find when shopping thrift stores. So.Hard. My favorite everyday thing to make in my case iron skillet is frittata. However, there’s something magical about taking the top off my cast iron dutch oven to see the oven spring in my weekly sourdough bake. It’s wrapped up in so much anticipatory hope and fear, and ultimately wonder.
Cornbread – a recipe I got years ago in Williamsburg, VA. Delish
Fried potatoes. They fry up so-oooo crisp.
Deep dish pizza. So good!
I love making omelets in mine, a little butter, and they never stick.
Cornbread, regular or with blueberries.
I’ve recently gotten into making pizza in my cast iron skillet. Works great!
We usually use ours for eggs and bacon but I remember my grandmother using it for fried chicken which was to do pie floor. I’ve tried to recreate the recipe but it never tastes the same. I think her cast iron pan was well seasoned compared to mine.
Well, that’s simple: bacon
Fried leftover spaghetti with meat sauce and Parmesan. Teflon pans may be easier to clean, but nothing beats the crispy achievable in a cast iron skillet ?
Simple, but: skillet fried eggs are my favorite!
Berry cobbler.
I absolutely love cornbread in a cast iron skillet. I melt the butter in the skillet in the oven while it’s heating then pour the batter into the hot, slightly browned butter. It almost fries the outside and it’s so so good!
I don’t have a cast iron skillet, but if I won, I’d definitely get one!