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.
Love my collection-especially the one my Mom gave me when I moved away for college, along with a 2 quart Revere Ware pot and lid, and a copy of Joy of Cooking. And dutch babies are a great thing to make in them.
My cast iron skillet was my Grandma’s, then my Mom’s, now mine. I love making a batch of cornbread in it, just like I watched my Grandma do as a child.
I make really well cooked “goopy” onions to put on things. I think that’s my favorite.
Pizza – I don’t use my cast iron for much but quick tortilla pizza (food lab recipe) are a fun choice. I’d love to use my cast iron skillet for more, hope I win
Our weekly burger supper is probably my favorite….season & sear the burgers in the grill pan & finish in the oven. At the same time, stuff portabella mushrooms with chopped spinach, onion, bacon & shredded cheese & roast in my cast iron skillet. When finished, top the mushroom with a burger & serve with a side salad & home made quac. It’s what’s for supper tonight at my house!
My husband’s favorite is cabbage…..brown ground sausage until done, then add a 1/2 head of chopped cabbage, a can of tomatoes (any style/flavor) a can of sliced mushrooms, 1/2 onion diced, a cup of sliced olives, 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese. Toss well & roast at 400′ for 30 minutes. It’s on the menu for Sunday!
Is there anything better than cornbread from a cast iron skillet?! I think not!
One of my favorite ways to use a Dutch Oven is on a dessert cooked over the campfire.
What don’t I make in my cast iron?? Love making roasted salsa, upside down cakes, and cornbread in them. This cookbook sounds like fun! I’d love to try out the giant cookie. 🙂
I like to make breakfast creations, but a giant cookie would be pretty funny.
Cornbread.
I love to use my cast iron skillet to make steak, when the weather is too bad to grill. But I think my favorite has to be pizza. The crust always turns out so nicely. Yum!
I need this book! I have four skillets (used daily) and three bakeware pieces. Iron cooks into your food, so great.
Pizza – the crust comes out perfectly all the way around./
I love making cornbread!
Phyllo Spinach Pie or Pizza
I love making smashed burgers with onions in mine and of course cornbread is the best in a cast iron – pizza is pretty close too – Thanks for the giveaway.
i love making corn bread in a cast iron skillet. that’s really about the only thing i use it for – my husband, on the other hand, will cook any and everything in his beloved cast iron pans. we keep an eye out for them at estate sales and flea markets.
Grilled sandwiches are the best in cast iron.
Tamale pie is the best in a cast iron skillet. You get all the benefits of cast iron in the cornbread topping.
Bacon and eggs!
My favorite things to make in my cast iron skillet is cornbread, hands down! Thanks for the giveaway!
My Mom used to make something she called chili con carne. It was chili with cornbread batter swirled into it and baked in her cast iron dutch oven. YUM!
We also used the dutch oven for making french fries, deep fried in oil. Only started a fire once!
Pancakes!
I love to make cornbread in my cast iron pan. My other favorite is to make greens in my pan.
My favorite thing to cook in a cast iron skillet is hamburgers. I also like making cookie cakes!
There’s not much I don’t make in my cast irons. But pork chops come to mind, with shallots, basaltic vinegar, garlic and more….
I don’t use mine enough – this will give me many more ideas.
i love finding great cast iron pans at yard sales and reseasoning them. I only use cast iron for a few things so I would love even more ideas. In my home, they are used for any recipe that needs even heat. Burgers, skillet hash browns, frying up steak fries. Yum!
I have had my cast iron pan for a few years and I have never used it but wish I had some knowledge or recipes that I can make in it as I have been told that it is a great pan to cook in if you are anemic. It puts iron in your food and I suffer greatly (gluten allergies) from anemia. Everyone talks about making cornbread in the pan but is it a special recipe just for cast iron cooking I wonder. Not sure where to start so the cook book would help me a lot. Thanks for all the information that you give us and the giveaways.
I absolutely could not make cornbread without my cast iron skillet!
I just got my first cast iron pan and haven’t used it yet…would love a cookbook to help me use it to its full potential.
Cornbread, hands down.
Dutch baby, frittatas, hamburgers, cornbread – such a great pan for so many different things.Thanks for the give away – the book looks really fun!
We use at least one cast iron skillet daily and I think my favorite use is pizza! Crank the oven surreal high and the crust gets nice and crisp in the oven. We’ve (mostly) stopped eating pizza out because it’s so good!
Honestly? I hardly ever use my cast-iron skillet. I just don’t know what to do with it, even though I cook every day. (I do use my larger ceramic/iron pots daily.) I would like to change that though!
Blueberry pancakes cooked in bacon fat over a campfire! That’s my favourite thing to cool in a cast iron skillet 🙂
An oldie but simple and good-ie: pancakes and bacon. I have an extra-large skillet that gets to do bacon duty, while two of my other cast-iron pans are used for buttermilk pancakes so I can get stacks of pancakes done up in a reasonable amount of time.
Pancakes.
I love my cast iron skillets for lots of things, but I guess my favorite is corn bread. (And I’m glad I’m not the only one who hates Rafflecopter!)
I love my cast iron skillets for lots of things, but I guess my favorite is corn bread. (And I’m glad I’m not the only one who hates Rafflecopter!)
I love reading all the answers people have already given! Cornbread is a great thing to make in cast iron. But maybe Brussels Sprouts on the grill would be my favorite!
Pork chops!
Dutch baby pancakes!
Best pan for making home fries!
Fried potatoes and onions with pan seared steak!!
I love to bake a pineapple ? upside down cake! ?!
My favorite dish to make in a cast iron skillet is cornbread using 2/3 fine cornmeal.and.1/3 polenta (coarse cornmeal). Add crumbled blue cheese, freshly.ground black pepper, and chopped green onions. And if im feeling decadent, add a few slices of crisp chopped bacon.
I love my cast iron. I have many faves, but #1 would be roasted pinenuts in the shell. Thanks for offering this giveaway. Looks like an awesome book.
Cast iron is the only thing I use for steak cooked indoors. Sear on the stovetop, finish in the oven. I’d love to have a cookbook that widened my repertoire.
I’ve got a skillet/lid and dutch oven that need to be cleaned and re-seasoned. I have some flax seed oil I’ll be using as it is a drying oil. I bought a brand new crepe pan I also need to season. I have to remove a layer of protective wax first and that is holding me up.
I originally wanted to make cornbread in the skillet as I’m not much of a bacon and eggs person. It would be interesting to see what other recipes are in the book.
So hard to choose….the perfect olive oil fried egg….fruit cobbler…no end it sight!
Pancakes made on a hot skillet are wonderful!
Cornbread, no other way to make it
Cornbread or a dutch baby… it’s so pretty in a skillet.
Bacon + eggs = yummy!!
My favorite is the classic eggs and bacon in my grandmother’s cast iron skillet. I’ve even done biscuits in them and they are so yummy.
I have three skillets. I recently purchased a 15 in.,hoping to mimic my grandma’s fried chicken.
I have 1 skillet and love using it to make Dutch Babies. I am hoping to make them this weekend!! I am so excited to take a class with you this July in Lancaster – a birthday gift to myself. 🙂
I can’t decide! Eggs or a fruit crumble, they’re frequent visitors to my kitchen!
My hubby makes a breakfast hash on Sunday mornings that it awesome! Turns out way better than in a nonstick skillet!
And we can’t forget the fried chicken!
My absolute favorite is homemade cornbread whether it’s for eating or for making cornbread dressing. Nothing else gives that delicious, perfect crust.
I don’t need the cookbook – I use my iron skillet for almost everything – I even toss my salad in it.
Dutch babies! Perfect puffy oven pancake for Saturday mornings!
I must admit I haven’t been very adventurous with my cast iron skillets – eggs in the small one, grilled cheese in the middle-sized one, stewy-type stuff in the big one.
Smash-burgers, caramelized onions, and bacon, of course! We use our skillets every single day without fail!
Refried beans!
Oh man. Cobblers. Cornbread! but the most extravagant looking bake in the cast iron is probably the Puffy Pancakes (or a Dutch Baby, depending on where you’re from) heating the cast iron before pouring in the batter makes for a fantastic puff!
I love making Irish Soda Bread in my cast iron skillet. I love the crispy crust it gives the bread.
How great! I love my cast iron, all acquired through thrifting. Would appreciate the chance to get ideas about how to use it more. Best new/non-traditional recipe? Tamale Pie
Dutch baby apple pancakes
Cobbler, apple
I love skillet cookies!
Pancakes, of any variety.
I don’t have a favorite recipe because I never use them. I inherited several from my MIL but they are presently stacked on the floor of the pantry. I hear good things about these pans and I am curious. This cookbook would be a good incentive to bring them back into use.
Hello. My name is Pete and I’m a cast ironware-aholic.
All kidding aside, most frequent use is for cheesy eggs & potatoes for breakfast burritos. One skillet is only used for cornbread and the occasional pineapple upside down cake. Don’t even know how many pieces we have. Skillets of all sizes. Dutch ovens of all sizes and varieties. Griddles, grills, and corn pone molds. Most of it is used occasionally.
This looks like an amazing book – uses for the ironware that does not involve a campfire!
My favorite thing to make is bacon followed by eggs. The flavor is delicious!
Peach cobbler
I use my cast iron skillet for everything both at home and on camping trips. Some of my favorites are shepherds pie and peach cobbler. I just bought a cast iron skillet for a wedding shower gift. Hope they are as excited as I would be.
My favorite thing to cook in my cast iron skillet is Teriyaki Chicken!
Andysavi.Mom@gmail.com
Love them for baking in – fruit crisps and such – but it’s also the everyday go-to for eggs at breakfast (unless i’m poaching, in which case, the cute little vintage Revere poaching set gets pulled out…).
Slomgolia – eggs, bacon, and potatoes all cooked in together in the skillet. We have it at home and camping.
homemade french fries!
Mmm it’s a toss up between fried fish or biscuts!
I love to cook everything in cast-iron,lol! What I cook the most, and love, is simple drop biscuits.
I like various things, the last thing I used mine for was a dutch baby pancake. Yummm!
Tomato Jam!
Dutch Babies have saved the day more times than I can count, and my trusty magic pan (vintage Griswold, found at a rummage sale) is the perfect thing to make them in.
All I have are cast iron skillets they are the best for cooking anything. My favorite is fried potatoes and onions.l
Cinnamon rolls and Dutch babies give our cast irons a regular workout!
Apple Pie
other than cornbread, eggs and fried chicken, i dont really know what to use it for.. i need this book lol
Cornbread of any kind.
I don’t know where to start! But I have to say, bacon and eggs are high on the list and a family favorite!
Home fries and eggs are my favorites!
Had to choose one… Steak is a favorite though I would like to try the skillet size pancake, Giant Cinnamon Bun (page 37), and Spinach and Feta Dip (page 64). Oh what fun lies ahead!
I’ve loved corned beef hash, with eggs cooked on top, from a skillet since my childhood camping days.
buttermilk biscuits!
Clafoutis is my favorite thing to make in a cast iron skillet. It’s also a fun word to say.
I roll homemade pizza dough into balls, coat them in butter, herbs, and parmesan and bake in a cast iron skillet to make delicious and easy pull-apart rolls that make a great addition to Italian dishes!