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I recently discovered that there are cast iron tea pots and also tea sets to be had, for example the Japanese Cast Iron Tea Set /Mochi Bamboo Green !  I can just imagine how beneficial it is for the quality of a freshly brewed to tea to be brewed in a pre-heated cast iron tea pot.  After all, it does matter hoe you brew your tea !

Via: Right Cuisine Food and Travel

By Beth Shaw

Irish Soda Bread is actually a broad term for a lot of different types of bread made in Ireland. The Irish used bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) rather than yeast as the leavening agent for their breads, thus it became known as soda bread. There are basic recipes that can be added to and modified to make all sorts of fancy breads with nuts or fruit, or just a basic hearty, healthy bread. A basic recipe for Irish Soda Bread is below.

Being from the American South, I was raised on cooking with buttermilk and in iron skillets. I’m pretty sure that Southern traditional method of cooking came from our Irish ancestors. That would seem the case when looking at how the Irish cook soda bread. Even though you can use other liquids, buttermilk is what is recommended. And even though there are several methods of cooking the bread, cooking it in an iron skillet is the preferred method.

The basic bread recipe is below. You can use different types of liquids, flour and add fruits or nuts to make it as different as you want to make it.

Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

* 3 1/2 cups flour (either cake flour or all-purpose)
* 1 teaspoon sugar (optional: I prefer it without the sugar)
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
* Between 8-10 fluid ounces milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put large cast iron skillet into oven to preheat.

Sift all dry ingredients together. Put dry ingredients into large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Pour a portion (about 3/4s) of the buttermilk (or whatever other liquid you are using) into the well.

The texture you are trying to achieve is very soft and squishy. Its okay for there to be lumps as long as they look dry and floury and are very squishy when you poke them.

Blending the dry ingredients with the liquid should be done quickly. When you feel you have a good consistency, then turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead. Don’t over-knead! You shouldn’t knead more than 15 seconds to a minute. You are just mixing the ingredients, not trying to get a smooth ball of dough. Its okay if its sticky. The more you knead, the tougher the bread will be. The less you handle the dough, the better your loaf will be.

Mold the dough into a domed circle (remembering to handle it as little as possible). Place it in the lightly floured, hot cast iron skillet. Using a very sharp knife, cut a cross in the top of the circle of dough. The cuts should go about halfway down through the sides of the circle of dough. This allows the dough of expand properly.

Place the bread into the preheated oven. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes then lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees and cook another 35 minutes.

If you want a softer crust, then wrap the cake in a clean cloth while it is still hot. For a crunchy crust, put it on a rack to cool.

Note: There are lots of variations that can be added to make this bead fit for about any occasion. Adding nuts, raisins, peppers, cheese, chocolate or fruit are just a few of the optional modifications.

Via: WKOWTV.COM

It’s Your Money: Cooking on a budget

MADISON (WKOW)–You don’t have to spend money on fancy kitchen equipment to cook healthy meals for you and your family.

“Grilling and steaming are great ways to cook healthy because you can cook fish, vegetables or meat without adding any extra fat, and you don’t need to buy any special equipment to do them,” says Paul Hope, kitchen appliances tester at the Good Housekeeping Institute.

(…)

If you want to grill healthy indoors, good housekeeping says: get a heavy cast iron skillet.

“Preheat the cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat for about three to five minutes and then add up to a teaspoon of oil. And make sure to only flip the steak once during the cooking process and remove it once its browned evenly on each side.”

And while a ridged pan provides outdoor-grill marks, in the Good Housekeeping tests, it didn’t reduce the amount of fat any more than a flat-bottomed pan.

Full Story

Via: ajc.com

By Meridith Ford Goldman

There are two things in my kitchen that I simply cannot live without: my silicone baking mats and my iron skillet. An odd pairing, I admit, but central to the core of how I cook.

(…)

At the other end of the kitchen, I doubt I would continue cooking without a cast-iron skillet. Sure, I’d love to line my shelves with copper —- it’s a better conductor of heat, and let’s face it, looks tres gorgeous, but it’s also uber pricey.

Besides, cast iron conducts heat evenly and can withstand high temperatures; I threw away my wok when I got my 12-inch skillet. Nothing is better for pan-frying. Chicken and chicken fried steak are hoppin’ good, and my smaller skillet is perfect for baking corn bread.

It takes a little work in the beginning, because the pans have to be scrubbed then seasoned with oil (or fat), but it’s worth it: Ever had pancakes made on a cast-iron skillet? French toast? Both will have wonderful soft centers and crisp edges. Looking for the perfect sunny side up egg? Cast iron is the way to get one. Plus, iron actually leaches from the pan if you’re looking for a boost to your daily dose. (If your food is sticking, the pan is not seasoned properly. Don’t blame the pan.)

Full Story

Via: blogs.creativeloafing.com

Make your favorite Chili’s entree at home.
by Leslie Green

When my husband was building our house 10 years ago, we lived here and there during construction. So needless to say I didn’t have a kitchen to cook in. We ate out 2-3 times a day (crazy, I know). I got extremely familiar with the menus from just about every restaurant known to man.

This dinner is my take on Monterey Chicken from Chili’s. And to be honest it tastes better, because its not some mass produced this and that delivered from Sysco, mindlessly cooked and slapped on a plate.

Recipe after the jump:

CHEESY BBQ CHICKEN BAKE
Serves 4

4 boneless, skinless organic chicken breasts
8 slices of bacon, cut in half
1 onion, caramelized
1 bottle of BBQ sauce (or similar amount of homemade)
Cheese (I used the cheddar and colby jack shredded cheese blend)

1. Place chicken breasts in large zip lock bag and pour enough BBQ sauce in bag to cover the chicken. Marinate them in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to broil HI, with rack four inches from heat
3. In a large oven proof skillet (I used my trusty cast iron skillet), over medium heat, saute chicken until mostly done, about four minutes per side.
4. Cover chicken is BBQ sauce, onions, cheese and bacon (amounts are up to you, just make sure bacon is on top).
5. Place pan in the oven and broil until the bacon has crisped up, about 5 minutes, or until the chicken reads 165 on an instant read thermometer.

No need to go out to eat. Just make it yourself. No gas, no bitchy waitress, no spit in your food, nothing floating in your drink, no tipping. Oh wait, that gives me a great idea. I think I am going to put a tip jar in my kitchen.

Via: canada.com

Apples are available year round but the new crop of fall apples, in the stores right now, are especially delicious — juicy, crisp and at their peak in flavour.

After a trip to the market, we were inspired to create some simple-to-make apple dishes. In both these recipes, we employed the use of calvados, a dry apple brandy, hailing originally from Normandy, in northern France. You can easily substitute fresh-pressed apple juice but you won’t have that warm wonderful taste that only a good brandy can provide.

PUFFED APPLE PANCAKE

MAPLE BAKED-APPLES

Both recipes and how to make these yummy dishes you can find here

Via: NutritionData.com

Q. I enjoy using cast-iron cookware and I have heard that it can increase the iron content of some foods during cooking. Is this a safe source of iron and are there any foods that I shouldn’t be cooking in cast-iron?

A. It’s true! Acidic foods like tomatoes can react with the metal in a cast-iron skillet and actually absorb some of the iron molecules. This is a safe and effective way to increase your iron intake.

So, how much of a difference does this make in the iron content of foods? Potentially, a lot.

Researchers cooked several foods in new cast iron skillets and found, for example, that the amount of iron in spaghetti sauce increased from less than a milligram to almost 6 mg per serving. Applesauce absorbed even more, going from 0.35 mg to 7.3 mg per 100g serving. Scrambling eggs in a new iron skillet increased the iron content from 1.5 mg to almost 5mg. (Brittin HC, Nossaman CE. Iron content of food cooked in iron utensils. J Am Diet Assoc. 1986;86:897–901.)

Full Story

Via: Dothan Eagle

The hardest part about cooking with a Dutch oven? Boiling water.

“You can cook anything in a Dutch oven you can cook in your oven at home,” said Laura Batchelor.

She should know. A Dutch oven enthusiast, Batchelor teaches Boy Scout leaders how to cook with a Dutch oven so they can then teach the Boy Scouts in their troops. Batchelor has always enjoyed cooking, and using Dutch ovens became a hobby years ago.

Dutch ovens are typically made of cast iron and are associated with campfire cooking. Dutch ovens were used when Americans moved west. They were a common cooking pot for cowboys and in kitchens of grandmothers all over.

On a recent weekend, Batchelor gathered on a farm near Ashford with troop leaders and Boy Scouts to practice a little Dutch oven cooking. The menu for the day included an Italian casserole, a Native American casserole and a Black Forest dump cake for dessert. Batchelor’s 17-year-old son, Matt, even cooked a pizza on a Dutch oven lid. Later in the day, Laura Batchelor planned a roast with potatoes and carrots.

“It’s like an old-fashioned crock pot,” she said.

Full Story

Here is a little bit about the history of cast iron cookware…  If you read the whole article, you will find an apple pecan cobbler recipe at the bottom.  If you don’t know much about cooking with cast iron cookware, you also might want to have a look at Cooking in Cast Iron: Yesterday’s Flavors for Today’s Kitchen to get some ideas.

Via: HoumaToday.com

(…)

Cast iron is basically iron that is poured into a mold to create some useful implement. Cast-iron pots and pans are made in this way. Pots and cauldrons were originally made from brass because iron could not be worked, until furnaces creating heat enough to melt it were invented (about 513 B.C. in China and not until 1100 A.D. or so in England).

At this point, pots could be made by making molds out of sand and pouring molting metal into the mold.

The original cooking pots generally had three legs because they were designed to be used over an open fire. Cooking in the home was done in the hearth or fireplace. Stoves with tops for cooking did not come into common usage until the 1700s. This allowed tremendous advancement in cookware, especially cast-iron cooking when pots and pans began to be made in mass quantities.

By 1776, Adam Smith, in his book, “The Wealth of Nations”, could note that the actual wealth of the nation was not its gold, but in its manufacture of pots and pans. Cast-iron cookware was highly valued in the 18th century. George Washington’s mother thought so much of her cookware she made special note to bequeath her cast iron in her will. In their expedition to the Louisiana Territory in 1804, Lewis and Clark indicated that their cast-iron Dutch oven was one of their most important pieces of equipment.

In the 1800s, cast-iron cookware enjoyed tremendous popularity. Manufacturers that arose during that time include Wagner, Lodge, Griswold and John Wright. Some of these manufacturers are extinct today. In the late 1800s, enameled cast-iron cookware became popular and is still commonly used for Dutch ovens. In the 1900s, cookware made from other materials began to become popular, stainless steel, aluminum and pans with Teflon coatings. Today, cast-iron cookware, because of its many qualities and questions about the health effects of other metals, is experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Cooking in cast iron is known to greatly increase the dietary source of iron.

This is especially true when cooking foods high in acid, such as tomato-based sauces. There is less of an effect for foods that are quickly fried in the skillet. As you might expect frequent stirring of food also will increase the amount of iron. Cooking in cast iron can often provide all of this element that a body needs.
HOW TO SEASON CAST-IRON COOKWARE

Seasoning is the process of allowing oil to be absorbed into the iron, creating a nonstick, rustproof finish.

* Wash with hot, soapy water and a stiff brush. Rinse and dry completely.

* Oil the cookware (inside and out) with melted solid vegetable shortening.

* Turn upside down on the top rack of a 350-degree pre-heated oven.

* Put aluminum foil on the bottom rack to catch any excess drippings.

* Bake the cookware for one hour at 350 degrees.

* Let the cookware cool slowly in the oven.

* Store, uncovered, in a dry place when cooled.

Read the whole article

Via: Kalamazoo Gazette Extra

Grease it: First wash it and dry it completely. Then apply a thin layer of shortening or oil over the entire surface, inside and out, including the lid. Just don’t use butter or any other fat with a low smoke point. If you want to be a geek about it, corn and soy oils are the best at bonding and creating that hard layer.

Bake it: Put the cookware upside down in a preheated 350-degree oven for an hour. (First, place some foil on the bottom of the oven to catch any drips.) You don’t want an excess of oil sitting in your pot because any oil not absorbed will turn rancid and ruin the taste of your food. Be patient; let these thin layers build up slowly over time.
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• Caring for cast iron: Treat it with love and it will repay you forever

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Use it: The more you use the cookware, the better it gets. Each time you heat up some oil for cooking, you’re essentially seasoning the pot again. But don’t store food in the pot unless you like the taste of metal — cast iron isn’t nonreactive. Besides, the acids in the food can break down the seasoning if left in contact with it for too long.

Clean it: Real cast-iron aficionados say hot water and a nylon brush are all it takes to clean a pot. Truly rustic types rub it with salt rather than a brush to scour away stuck-on food. However, those of us who get nervous about washing without suds can use a mild soap. But dishwashers, metal utensils and harsh scouring pads are expressly forbidden.

Store it: Pots that don’t get a lot of use should be wiped with a very thin layer of oil before they get put away, especially those washed with soap. Don’t use anything that goes rancid quickly, like olive or nut oils. Store pots with the lid off or put a paper towel between the lid and the pot to keep moisture from building up inside and causing rust. If the pot does get some rust, it’s not a lost cause. Just scour off the rust and reseason the pan.

Tips for enameled pots and pan

Enamel coatings eliminate the need for seasoning your cast-iron pot or pan. But they do have their own quirks.

They can scratch: Use wooden, plastic or nylon utensils and scouring pads instead of metal.

They can stain: Particularly lighter colors. To remove stains, soak the pots for several hours in a solution of 1 teaspoon bleach to 1 pint of water.

They can chip: Dropping and banging pots are obvious culprits, but excessive heat or temperature change can also cause chipping of the enamel. Don’t leave an empty pot on heat, don’t put it directly in a campfire and don’t plunge a hot pot into cold water.

Handles shouldn’t get too hot: The handles on enameled pots are usually made of heat-resistant metal or plastic, but they should still not be heated above 450 degrees.

Some may go in the dishwasher: But think twice before putting a Staub pot in the dishwasher. The black matte enamel that Staub uses is porous, so it gets seasoned with each use. Although it can be treated like regular enamel, heavy use of the dishwasher may cause the coating to develop some white marks. It will also remove the enamel’s seasoning. This won’t ruin the pot, but if you want a supremely nonstick surface, wash it with hot water or mild soap to keep the seasoning intact.

Edges can rust: The edges of the pots and lids are often not enameled. To protect them from rust, apply a thin layer of vegetable oil before storing them.

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