Cast Iron Cooking: 50 Gourmet-Quality Dishes from Entrees to Desserts

by Dwayne Ridgaway

The adage "everything old is new again" is proven to be true once more as evidence of the resurgence in popularity of cooking with cast iron. Celebrity chefs like Emeril, Paula Deen, Rachel Ray, and Alton Brown are touting the virtues and versatility of cast-iron cookware. Now cooking enthusiasts can learn the age-old techniques that have made cast iron cooking a perennial favorite. Cast Iron Cooking describes attributes of cast-iron pans and how best to use them; provides a review of all shapes, kinds, and brands of iron utensils; and explains what each is best suited for. It includes recipes for easy, healthy, gourmet-quality dishes from entrees to desserts made in cast-iron pans. A special chapter covers live-fire and charcoal cooking and grilling with cast iron. (Psst! Cast-iron cookware is perfect for outdoor cooking and entertaining.) Sidebars cover interesting facts about cast iron, such as its history as a chuck-wagon favorite, how to use a Dutch oven with live coals, how to prepare and maintain a natural no-stick surface (a process called "seasoning") on these pans, and more.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

Dwayne Ridgaway is a food and beverage consultant and caterer. He has worked as a chef in numerous resorts and restaurants, including San Destin Beach Resort and the Elephant Walk, both in Florida. He is the author of The Gourmet’s Guide to Cooking with Chocolate, Pizza, Sandwiches, Panini, and Wraps, and Cast-Iron Cooking.

Reviews

[Lena · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's unfair and difficult to review a cookbook without trying all the recipes and, of course, I didn't. The grilled fish with mango papaya salsa was the only thing I made and it was certainly flavourful but a bit of a hassle to try and find papaya juice. So I can only say that I was expecting more straight up cast iron recipes rather than those cooked in an enamel cast iron pot. Interchangeable with any other pot, correct? And some of the pictures were gross, raw burger, a casserole containing scallops, veggies and raw shrimp. Not really appetizing. The recipe organization was strange, I found myself flipping through the book many times trying to find something. I guess I'm simple but I like fish dishes together, desserts all together, that kind of thing.

[Loren · Rating 1 out of 5]

If its a book on cooking with cast iron then don't ask me to grab another skillet or pot for some sort of side show. What crappy product plugs to make over complicated simple dishes with esoteric ingredients.