I know the title of this blog may seem a bit odd, but you’ll discover, as we did, that there are so many uses for cast iron cookware that we would never think of.

We recently spent some time with a few of our rendezvous friends, and since they know about our cast iron cooking blog site, they shared a story they thought we might want to post – and they were right.

This couple owned a fairly old house and it had beautiful patterned ceramic tile on the kitchen floor.  One morning while preparing breakfast, the cook got distracted and grabbed her 15″ cast iron skillet handle without the oven mit.  Well, needless to say it was immediately ejected from her hand onto the tile floor.  The skillet happened to fall directly on the junction of 4 tiles, and all four cracked in several places.

They searched and searched for the same title pattern, but it was so old that they were unable to find an exact match.  So, the insurance company paid to have the entire floor re-tiled.  The couple would have much rather found a match to the old tile, but they were very happy with the outcome.

Of course, we don’t encourage you to use cast iron cookware in such a fashion, but you just never know how handy it can be!

It’s just about rendezvous season and we’re already thinking about the delicious desserts we will be cooking in our cast iron dutch oven.  I think I’ve already told y’all that I prefer using coals prepared from burning down hard wood, but you can prepare this, and other recipes we share, using other heat sources.

One of our favorite apple dishes is a very simple dessert baked in a dutch oven.  The size of the dutch oven required depends on the number of apples you want to prepare. 

Ingredients

• Apples – peeled and cored; this is a whole apple with the core removed
• Butter or margarine – real butter makes them more flavorful
• Powdered cinnamon
• Sugar
• Rum (optional, and you can try different liquors)

Preparation

• Dry the peeled and cored apples with a paper towel or lint-free towel.
• Spread butter over the entire surface of the apple – to include inside the hole.
• Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over the entire surface.  You can mix the cinnamon and sugar together first, then sprinkle over the apple.
• Place the  apple (s) in the dutch oven so that the hole through the apple is parallel to the bottom of the dutch oven.  This helps keep more of  the yummy stuff inside.
• Cover the bottom of the dutch oven with rum, or whatever liquor you want to use, or just use water.  The liquid is just to catch the melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon.
• Put the lid on the dutch oven and set it on one layer of coals.  Cover the entire lid with coals.  You can also place a few coals evenly around the perimeter of the dutch oven.
• Bake for 20-30 minutes – depends on how firm you like the apples.  They tend to absorb more of the flavor when cooked longer.
• Remove the apples and stir the liquid remaining in the dutch oven.
• Spoon the liquid over the apples and enjoy!

Well folks, it’s been a while since I provided you with insightful advise concerning some things you really should not do with your cast iron cookware, and as with the first two extremely helpful tips, I’m not referring to anything remotely connected to cooking.  I know these things because someone I know has either done them, or knows someone who has – and of course, I’m not speaking of my own experiences because I know better!

Tip #3: A cast iron skillet is a pretty good make-shift shovel on a camping trip if you forgot to pack the real thing.  However, the dirt and rocks will damage the seasoning and you’ll have to re-season  it.  Additionally,  if the only water available is what you carried with you, you may find the next meal you cook has a distinctive earthy flavor and texture.  Hey, but it’s good to know that your cast iron skillet really can hold up to such abuse.

We’re interested in hearing about your unique experiences using cast iron pots and pans.  Just send us an e-mail or a comment through our blog site.

Periodically, we receive questions concerning various health-related issues of using cast iron cookware.  If you own cast iron pots and pans you either already know this, or you’ve surfed the web and have read that most users of cast iron cookware don’t recommend scrubbing it with soap.    The main reason for this is that soap and/or hot water may actually breakdown the seasoning on the skillet, and that can lead to food sticking to the surface, possible iron flavor to your food (but some folks like that), and rust if you don’t dry it after washing.

If you are concerned about the health issue of not washing your cast iron cookware between uses, you can use a very small amount of soap and very lightly wash the interior surface.  If you do this, you will want to heat the pan and apply a light coat of oil after washing and it should probably be periodically re-seasoned (see blog post dated 2/24/2010).

Dusty and I will soon be heading to TN for a long camping trip but before we go we want to get some of our cast iron cookware out and select a few pieces for our trip.  We’ll need a dutch oven (for our cherry cobbler), a large skillet for eggs, sausage and home fries, one smaller skillet for pancakes, a cast iron stew pot for sauces and gravy, and definitely a kettle for my morning coffee!

We’ll be setting up our 14′ x 14′  Marquee tent, we’ll set up the 4 post bed, put down the carpet and we’ll feel like we’re staying in the Taj Mahal.  I’ve included a picture of our camp when we go rendezvousing and it will be similar when we are in TN, we just won’t be wearing 1740 attire!

The kids have decided they’re not going  with us…I guess they’ve finally outgrown us (all four of them).  Granted they are all in their twenties and have lives of their own, but Dusty and I always invite them to go camping with us.  We used to do a lot of camping together but now they like staying at the house, having their friends over, playing with the dogs, just hanging out, and sleeping as late as they can.  Ah to be young again, but guess what, that’s exactly what Dusty and I will be doing when we camp…sleeping as late as we want!

Hopefully we’ll have more recipes and pictures to share upon our return!

Everybody enjoys a delicious dessert every now and then. There’s no reason to cut desserts out of the menu just because you’re camping. Many easy dessert recipes can be made using your cast iron Dutch oven right at your campsite. Here’s a great recipe for Apple Tort to try:

Ingredients:
~ 1 ½ lbs apples
~ ½ cup butter
~ 1 cup sugar
~ 1 tsp. cinnamon
~ 2 premade piecrusts (9-inch size)

Equipment:
~ Dutch oven
~ Frying pan
~ Paring knife

Instructions:
Peel, core and slice apples, add them to a hot cast iron skillet with butter and sugar until apples start to caramelize, add cinnamon. Dish the apples into a 15″ foil-lined Dutch oven. Place both pie crusts overlapping over the top of the apples covering as much of the apples as possible. Place the Dutch oven on top of 12 live briquettes, adding 18 live briquettes on top for about 30-45 minutes, or until pie crust is golden brown. Dump onto plate, slice and serve.

Last evening my husband and I grilled a delicious steak on the outdoor grill. It was sunny and in the lower 70’s…what a treat!  It seems we’ve developed a habit of eating some form of asparagus whenever we eat red meat.  Last night was no different. We decided rather than grilling the asparagus we would steam it just enough to soften it and keep it crisp.  We steamed it in our large cast iron skillet.

It turned out great and we’re planning on sauteing some squash, zuchinni, and mushrooms with garlic tomorrow night.  This is also a very quick and easy recipe.  Slice up a zuchinni and one squash (thinly) and place in a skillet with about 1/2 inch of olive oil.  Add finely chopped garlic, stir fry the zuchinni and squash, and then add the mushrooms and let them saute for just a minute or two  and viola, you’re good to go.

Bon appetit!

In Part 1 of this mini-series we got as far as listing the alternatives for coals you can use as a heat source when baking in a cast iron dutch oven.  Just a quick review – you can use charcoal briquettes, commercially available hard wood charcoal, or coals formed from burning down hard wood, and that is my choice.

Even if you don’t have much to do around the camp site, I imagine you’re like me and want to spend as little time as possible cooking your delicious gourmet camp meals.  So, if you’re going to burn hard wood to make natural coals, you want a fire that starts fast and gets hot quickly.

I learned early on in my Boy Scout days that the best way to start a fire quickly is to build what is called a tipi fire.  Once that is going good, you can add larger pieces of wood and have a roaring fire in very short order.

• Start with a good fire starter.  I don’t recommend using gas or other liquid starters simply due to the safety hazard – especially if there are kids around.  I prefer to use the commercially available wax and sawdust type starter block.  Just a small piece is all you need.  Lay it in the bottom of the fire pit.
• Next, stack small, dry sticks in the shape of a tipi all the way around the fire starter.  Leave an access point to the starter. You can usually find plenty of kindling in the woods.  When the kids were little, we would send them out to gather kindling so they wouldn’t be in the way when we were trying to pitch camp.  If you’re camping and there are no woods around, you can bring some with you from home.  We just fill a paper bag full and that will provide enough for several fires.  Remember – you’re just starting the fire with kindling.

• Continue to stack progressively larger sticks around the fire starter.   I usually end with sticks about 3/4″-1″ in diameter.

Light the fire starter and watch it burn!  Stay tuned for Part 3.

This past weekend, Dusty and I finally had a chance to get away and stay at a beautiful B&B in Winchester, VA.  It wasn’t far from home, and was only a few miles away from a bluegrass concert we were going to attend Saturday night.   We were the only guests at the B&B so we had the opportunity to visit with, and get to know the proprietors.  They are wonderful folks, their home is beautiful, the bed was comfortable, and there was a lot to do without even leaving the house.  It was raining all weekend, so we just hung out and chatted with the owners.

Other than just getting away and spending time together, the best part about our stay was the fantastic gourmet breakfasts.  Later in our stay, the owners took us into the kitchen to show us some of their antiques, and guess what we saw on the stove and hanging on the walls – that’s right, all sorts of cast iron cookware.  We had a feeling that such good meals could only have been prepared in well-seasoned cast iron pots and pans.

There was also a huge fire place with a large cast iron swing arm to hang pots on.  I don’t know if they actually use the fire place for cooking, but it sure is nice.

There’s nothing better than a hot sandwich on a cold day. A grilled cheese sandwich and a steaming bowl of tomato soup is a classic combination. Use a cast iron sandwich iron to toast your cheese sandwich to perfection. As far as the tomato soup goes, the canned version will work just fine.

~ 2 slices sourdough bread
~1 slice American cheese
~1 slice Swiss cheese
~1 slice Provolone
~2 tbsp butter or margarine

Liberally butter one side on each piece of bread. Use the rest of the butter to coat your sandwich iron.  Place the iron over the coals or hold it over an open fire.  Toast each side until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is gooey and melted. Serve hot with a bowl of tomato soup.  Of course, if don’t happen to have a  sandwich iron in your cupboard, you can always use a cast iron skillet.