Great Recipes and Useful Advice on Cooking with Cast Iron
Cooking with cast iron is different than cooking with stainless steel or with aluminum. Cast iron requires different care and it heats up and retains heat differently. A lot of recipes that are written for general cookware work fine in cast iron. That said, recipes that are developed and written specifically for cast iron seem to just work better. I like cooking with cast iron cookware and I am always looking for good recipes to try in the cast iron cookware that I have. I found this book on a book stack and decided to give it a try, and so far it has definitely met my expectations and given me more ideas for the kitchen.<br /><br />The introduction starts off with a short but interesting background of cast iron cooking and focuses specifically on Wagner Ware and Griswold cast iron (page 29 makes this very clear - this is a brand-name cookbook). Ultimately the brand is not really all that important unless you have a sentimental connection to a specific manufacturer or have had bad experiences with a brand in the past. The history is interesting material and is truly worth the read.<br /><br />As with most other cast iron cookbooks I have seen, this one includes a section on proper care and maintenance of cast iron. Most of the information is straightforward and common-sense stuff, but there are a few informational items that I did not know before, specifically regarding self-cleaning ovens and open flames.<br /><br />At several points in this cookbook there is mention of someone named Aunt Ellen. At first I thought this was a relative of the book's author and that this was simply a tribute to a favorite aunt, but I finally discovered an explanation of Aunt Ellen and who she was, on page 27. The anecdotes and various sayings by Aunt Ellen come from an industrious and knowledgeable woman who worked for Griswold and shared recipes, tips and advice regarding cast iron cookware.<br /><br />There are four main sections in this cookbook: Luncheon and other Nibbles, Vegetables and other Sides, Main Courses (which is subdivided into Poultry, Meat and Seafood), and finally Desserts. I have not tried a lot of these recipes yet but I have one that I tried in particular that turned out memorably well - Mom's Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon, which is the very first recipe in the book. Made in a cast iron Dutch oven, it turned out entirely different than that made in a stoneware crock or casserole dish, but it was a big hit with the family and is getting made again this evening.<br /><br />Most recipes (not quite all) have gorgeous, full-color pictures with the finished dish. The majority of these show the dish still in the cast iron cookware used to prepare them. I very much like the formatting and layout of this cookbook.<br /><br />If I could change one thing about this cookbook, I would add an indicator with the recipe, either directly under the title or in the narrative introduction, a statement about what kind of pan, pot or griddle is needed to prepare it. This is a small thing and adding it would have made this cookbook even better.<br /><br />This is a fine book for anyone who likes cast iron cookware and wants a good collection of recipes that are geared specifically for cooking with cast iron. There is a little bit of everything in this cookbook, there are some great stories and lots of advice from Aunt Ellen's archives. At the current price (about $10) this book is a bargain.