Not just any kind of frying pan.  Certainly not some temporarily smooth-coated frying pan of some unknown alloy.  No, this is a cast-iron skillet.  I’m talking 13 pounds of Lodge pre-seasoned cast-iron skillet cooking power! 

Wow, I never imagined I’d wax poetic about cookware.  But here it is.  I love cooking with these black behemoths of Kitchen-world!  Maybe it’s just me, but everything seems to cook better in them.  Sautéed baby spinach, stir-fried vegetables, eggs, any kind of meat, and even grilled cheese sandwiches on the cast-iron griddle are a favorite with the boys. 

A frying pan? Oh no - much more!

It all started last summer at the home of my in-laws, where Jan’s Mom recommended I use their cast-iron wok to cook up some chicken.  Now prior to that experience, I had only known a string of disappointments with some featherweight tin wok we had picked up at a yard sale for fifty cents.  I might as well have been cooking with ping pong paddle.  But this – this astounded me!  The chicken was done in what seemed like seconds.  Well, seeing that my In-laws are very generous people, a week or so after our  visit was a brand-new Lodge cast-iron wok on my porch via UPS.  I was sincerely touched by thought. 

I wasted no time with the gift that keeps on giving, and started to stir-fry everything I could think of.  It didn’t take long before I decided it was time to expand.  And fortunately for me, these are not items which break the bank.  For the price of an average designer pan, I was able to get a griddle, the 15” skillet seen here, an 8” skillet for smaller sautés or for eggs, and a grill press – oh and of course we went for the old-west cast iron Chuck wagon triangle dinner bell!  (…which is better than the sound of me yelling for the boys that dinner is ready!)

I just love the fact that these items are the real deal.  Just plain cast-iron.  They’ll get better with age (and proper care) and there’s no worries about what might be getting in the food.  When you use Teflon-coated pans, and after time see bits of it flaked away – you ever wonder where that’s gone?

And for one who hates cleaning, I am surprised at how easy these actually are to clean.  But to me it becomes even more than that – it becomes ritual.  I’m preparing the skillet, or griddle, or wok, for the next great tasting meal that’s going to spring forth and leave its own legacy on that great dark forge of culinary wonders.    Oops there I go again.