Well, not your mom; she probably uses those ’60’s aluminum pans. But your Grandma could probably do it. There’s a lot your grandma could do that you haven’t asked about.
Cast iron is easy to maintain, easy to cook with, and dirt cheap. If you aren’t using it it’s probably because someone has fed you a line about seasoning it and made it sound hard. What a jerk. You should read this and then go hunt them down like an animal.
Seasoning:
1) To season a cast iron pan rub it down with vegetable oil then wipe up most of the oil. If you’re feeling precious I’m sure you could find a reason to use $30/oz Koopaberry oil from the Upper-Goomba highlands. It really doesn’t matter what you use. If you don’t mind the smoke you can even use butter. (Editor: please note whether your exhaust fan works *before* attempting the aforementioned).
2) Put the pan into your oven at baking temperature ~350 and leave it in for half an hour to 45 minutes. Or an hour. It’s not like your landlord’s GE Electric stove is gonna melt it.
3-a) Turn off your oven. The pan is now 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You should reach in with both bare hands and pull it out.
3-b) Did you follow step 3a? Really? Hah! When you get back from the burn ward take all your pots and pans and expensive Williams-Sonoma gizmos and give them to the Salvation Army. At least you learned something about
yourself, right?
3-c) Leave the pan in the oven with the door closed until it has cooled down.
4) Rinse your pan, wipe it out, and start cooking.
Until you’ve got the heavy thick black coating, I’d suggest frying stuff. Bacon, falafel, long-pig, chicken. Once it’s nice and thick you can cook pretty much whatever you like though tomatoes and acidy stews or soups seem to take the coating off pretty quick.
Care and maintenence:
It’s cast iron. Seriously. People have been using this stuff for 1,500-2,500 years. If you have to stop and think about it, you’re doing it wrong.
1) Don’t wash it with soap. Use a scrubby sponge and hot water. If it’s real crusty boil water in it then scrape at it with a wooden/plastic spatula.
2) If you’ve got time, before putting it away dry it off by heating it up. Then rub an oily paper towel on it.
3) Be as rough as you like. If you leave it in the sink for a month and it all goes to hell and rusts over just scrub the **** out of it with a scouring pad and some soap until it’s clean. Then re-season.
Aluminum sucks, stainless steel sucks, Un-coated copper is bad for you, non-stick is bad for you, and all the copper core pans are ****ing expensive. Cast iron is safe, cheap, and easy to use. Just like your Grandma likes it.
Editor’s note: once you start using cast iron and talking about seasoning you will get into fights with people in the opposite use-soap-to-wash/don’t-use-soap-to-wash camp as yourself. The editor disagrees with the author on this very topic and feels that a small amount of detergent on a really cruddy pan will work wonderful de-glazing miracles.
Author’s note: APOSTATE!!!
Doctor’s Note: Some studies have shown that people who cook with cast iron have lowered chances of becoming anemic because you are getting the iron you need from your pans.
Editor’s Note: I’d rather get my daily dose of iron from my cookware rather than, say, teflon.
Author’s note: 2,000 years! Even that racist easily distracted great aunt can use this stuff. Why the over thinking?
This has been a guest blog by WRC, with editorial commentary by EJG.
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20Mar
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16Mar
Zen, Vipassana Buddhism, silent and talking meditation, Jewish Renewal, Reform Jewish, Yoga, Hindu, generic New Age, and more… When it comes to spiritual retreat centers, I’ve been to them all.
And after several hours deep in the transcendent realms, it’s amazing how much you start to focus on the one sensual pleasure that’s offered up: Food. Here we are withdrawn from the temporal world contemplating the eternal verities, and we’re all (at least I’m) going: mantra, mantra, pranayama,downward dog, inner bliss, I wonder what’s for lunch?
Most retreat centers are austere places, often financially precarious. Your bed may be a thin mattress on a wooden slab, the plumbing uncertain. But while I’m ready to accommodate physical simplicity, or even outright difficulty, I need that one link to the life of the body and physical satisfaction to stay sane.
I was just a very basic Zen center in New Mexico. On the walls were the rules of retreat: hours for prayer and work, a rule of total silence. Rule # 11: Don’t complain about the food to the Roshi. Like they completely know it gets to be an obsession on retreat. And I want to tell you, that center had fantastic food: amazing enchiladas, pasta with homemade pesto, elegant baked eggs and mushroom for breakfast, chocolate chip cookies for dinner. What’s to complain about?
But last December I was on silent retreat between Christmas and New Year’s at a place where the normal kitchen staff was on vacation. It was steamed greens and brown rice, breakfast, lunch and dinner, with some miso soup thrown in. I’m not kidding. Forget meditation, I was ready to throttle the cooks. We stopped at a convenience store to buy potato chips and sandwiches on the way to the airport. So you never know what you will encounter…although vegetarian is a given.
Here’s my advice: bring several chocolate bars so you can be assured your taste buds will get a daily thrill, some salty snack (food is often undersalted tho soy sauce is usually available), and something substantial like a couple of dense power bars to give a sated feeling if the dreaded greens come around again. And if the going get rough, know that you can invariably count on terrific bread no matter what .
This is a guest blog by MHF! Thanks! -
09Feb
From Michael Ruhlman’s website, a blast at The Food Network by Anthony Bourdain. The telegenic chef takes a few potshots at the folks on the air at The Food Network. Among the highlights:PAULA DEEN: I’m reluctant to bash what seems to be a nice old lady. Even if her supporting cast is beginning to look like the Hills Have Eyes–and her food a True Buffet of Horrors. A recent Hawaii show was indistinguishable from an early John Waters film. And the food on a par with the last scene of Pink Flamingos. But I’d like to see her mad. Like her look-alike, Divine, in the classic “Female Trouble.“ Paula Deen on a Baltimore Killing Spree would be something to see. Let her get Rachael in a headlock–and it’s all over.
THAT ACE OF CAKES GUY: Hey…He’s got talent! And…he seems to be a trained chef! And he’s really making food–and selling it in a real business! I think…I like it! If I have one reservation, it’s that I have no idea if the stuff actually TASTES good. It LOOKS really creative and quirky–and I’m interested but…I mean…it’s like construction going on over there from what we’re told and shown. One suspects that the producers don’t want to waste valuable time talking about anything so technical as food–on “Food” Network.
Other than being gripped by the fear that comes from realizing that Paula Deen does indeed resemble Baltimore’s most famous transvestite, I’m amazed he didn’t comment on any of her recipes. The woman makes a bread pudding with a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts and slathers everything in a pound of butter.
She cooks like Elvis ate.
Considering that much of his blog is concerned with the food quality coming from the Food Network, I wonder why he didn’t mention a thing about her cooking.
Thanks to the USAToday’s Pop Candy blog for the catch! - 26Jan
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16Jan
For those of you who read my articles on Thai cooking and Spanish tapas-making with lust in your hearts: My oft-mentioned “Supper Club” is forming new groups in the DC area, and we’re looking for smart, fun foodies to contribute. If you’re interested in getting involved with this cooking/wining/dining organization, check us out at GourmetGirls.org.
Note from the ED- the ‘my’ here is the lovely Karen – go check it out! -
28Nov
I call this collection “Odes to a Food Allergy.”
the turkey divine
but why did somebody put
mushrooms in stuffing?
and
chop them way too small
`shrooms invisible to eye
make me Shiitake.
Of all the foods to be allergic to, it’d have to be something that can be disguised like an Eastern Bloc spy. Ugh… I practically starved during the portobella boom a few years ago.
And, just to add insult to injury, I attended a weddding Saturday where the fliet mignons were covered in a delightful steak sauce…made of mushrooms. A tell-tale bit of mushroom would have been enough to scare me away to the lemon caper salmon, but no bits of `shroom could be found.
I’m guessing I’d have been a bad Smurf. -
27Nov
After another Thanksgiving, I thought I’d ease everyone back into the daily grind with something unusual for this web site: a culinary op-ed of sorts. Recently, the people in charge of New York City have begun a debate on whether or not to ban trans-fatty acids in restaurants. In order to understand the implications of this, it is necessary to know a little bit about what trans-fatty acids are, and why officials would want to ban them.
Normally, fat comes in four types: saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and trans fatty acids. Saturated fat (such as butter, coconut oil, and palm kernel oil) is solid at room temperature, and is generally quite bad for you, in that it has been shown to be correlated with heart disease. Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature (olive, canola, soybean, corn, and vegetable oils), and while still bad for you, are less bad than saturated fats (although the fat content in your diet should come from unsaturated fats as much as possible).
The trouble is that all the flavour and goodness in various recipes comes from saturated fat. Some enterprising companies have discovered that if they add Hydrogen to an unsaturated fat like vegetable oil, it takes on properties that make it behave like a saturated fat (in terms of taste, texture, and body). These hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils (which are sold as margarine, vegetable “spreads,” oleos, and shortening) are also called trans-fatty acids (or TFA for short).
Recently, authorities have become concerned because of a link between TFA’s and a number of health problems. TFA’s have been shown to raise the level of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, while lowering the level of HDL (“good”) cholesterol, which leads to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke. Also, there seems to be a correlation between TFA consumption and obesity levels. The federal government, which is in an excellent position to enforce such a ban nationwide, has been silent on this matter, so some municipalities have started to take matters into their own hands. New York City, as the first major city to consider this, is being watched very carefully. Fast-food restaurant chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s, worried about potential drops in profit margins, have already (supposedly) started investigating alternatives for their fried foods.The proposed ban would only encompass restaurants. People would still be able to purchase margarine, shortening, etc. for home use.
As a professional chef, I am opposed to this sort of regulation for two reasons. First is because it’s badly written legislation that unfairly targets restaurants. Only restaurants would be subject to a ban on ingredients that are otherwise perfectly legal to use. Restaurants generally use a shortening in their deep fryers because it’s cheaper to use, and it doesn’t have to be changed as often as oil (and believe me, changing the oil in a commercial deep-fryer is not trivial). As such, the practical implication of this ban would be to quadruple the cost of anything fried.
The second reason I am opposed to this ban is because I really believe that it is not for a government to regulate what I eat. I am an adult, and I should decide what level of risk I’m comfortable with. I understand that there is a large amount of obesity in our society, but at the end of the day, people are responsible for their own diets, and for their level of activity (or lack thereof). What will happen if this ban comes to pass is that restaurants will most likely revert to using saturated fats such as butter, which is why the American Heart Association does not support the ban as it is currently written.
This sort of regulation first started in the late 1970’s when officials were concerned about Peking duck (which requires that the duck is hung to dry for half a day). It then moved to artisanal sausages and salumerias, and now to TFA’s. As a result, a lot of old-style artisan work is being lost. I admire the New York City government’s intentions, however the practical implications would be to shield people from one danger, while exposing people to another. Where does this end? If they come after Five Guys next, then my friends, the terrorists have truly won.
Got an opinion? Post a comment, or send an e-mail to dcfud.writers@gmail.com. For more information on TFA’s and their health implications, check out the American Heart Association’s web site. -
18Nov
As I mentioned before, the boy and I attended a “Cooking for Two” class at L’Academie de Cuisine recently, which was my anniversary present. (He’s good, huh? Make your girlfriend a) squeal with excitement AND b) a better cook!) I chose the seafood-themed class, as I am a sucker for …well, anything with suckers, and the menu looked unbeatable: clams casino, honey-cured grilled salmon steaks, and a crab and corn chowder. Oh, and FLAN, because fish belongs everywhere except dessert. Yes, you can quote me on that.
Now, L’Academie runs a professional school, but we had signed up for the recreational one, so we stroll in to the chem-labish classroom at the Bethesda location right at the appointed time, expecting a relaxed evening of chopping and stirring and savoring lovely smells like we do at home. FYI for anyone planning to sign up for a class there: “recreational” is not the same as “relaxing.” Oh, no.
Don’t get me wrong. You will absolutely love it, but you’ll be lucky to keep up with the instructor for the first hour of the three-hour class. She will show you how to stuff a clam (with the aforementioned compound butter), and you had better do it NOW, because soon as she’s done, she’s showing your partner how to “walk” a knife through an onion. Not that she was rude about it; she just worked fast and wanted us to learn as much as we could. (One small problem–if you don’t do exactly as the instructor says, an assistant may come over and do it for you. I practically had to wrestle my knife out the hands of a very sweet woman who started out showing me how big the pieces of celeriac should be, and then tried to chop all my root vegetables for me.)
After the first hour or so everything slows down, the assistants pour the wine, and THEN you get to relax and savor lovely smells (for awhile, until the next big rush). They will do some things for you, but these were all small things that would have been impractical in large groups but easy enough in your own kitchen (for instance, we didn’t get to mix our own marinades for the salmon steaks). Everything else is done at your workstation by you and your partner, including, of course, the eating. I think that was most people’s favorite part, but mine was all the actual cooking, with the boy, of course. Chop! Stuff! Grill! Roast! Do dates get any better than this? I doubt it. (Unless you stuff them with gorgonzola.) -
08Nov
Jew Food! It ain’t just matzo balls and …more matzoh! And while that doesn’t discount the possibility that it may be just latkes, Claudia Roden thinks otherwise. And to prove it, she’s speaking (and possibly demo-ing?) at the DC JCC about her latest book Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon.
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of her lovely “The Book of Jewish Food” when I moved into my first apartment. I still get all faklempt thinking about it. So.
Claudia Roden on Cuisine and Culture
Tuesday, November 14th, 7:30pm
Washington DCJCC (16th and Q st., NW)
For tickets, see nextbook.org or call 888-219-5222. -
07Nov
Chatting one day with Baylen Linnekin, founder of the painfully irreverent blog To The People, we discovered our mutual admiration for chef-writer-traveller extraordinaire Anthony Bourdain. Baylen immediately began to make an impassioned case that Bourdain is the best popular example of someone living a libertarian lifestyle today. It made sense. Bourdain is a libertine who supports open borders, praises globalization, and advocates personal choice whether it comes to tobacco, fois gras, or pot. Now I understood why I liked Bourdain so much.
“Baylen,” I said, “you should write an article on this. Heck, Bourdain’s on book tour–shouldn’t be to hard to score an interview with him.” At that my friend’s fanboy eyes widened. Fast-forward three months and here’s Baylen’s piece (along with audio of their 40-minute conversation) in the new issue of Doublethink, a D.C.-based print quarterly I work with.
The verdict? Like a lot of folks, Bourdain’s a libertarian even if he doesn’t know it yet.
This post is by Guest Blogger Jerry Brito. Thanks!
Have any of your recent menus contained these words: