Cooking with Lodge Cast Iron

Never ever, not in a million years, trust a Southern cook that doesn’t own a cast iron skillet. With qualities that don’t come easy, cast iron cookware is literally a must-have for even the most novice of cooks. No other cookware does what cast iron can do. Naturally nonstick, ready for a killer sear at all times, cast iron is comfortably at home both on the stovetop and the oven.

It’s not often that I look forward to the specific date a cookbook is released. The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook had me checking my calendar and nearly marking off the days like a schoolgirl waiting for summer vacation. The cast iron skillet is the one piece of equipment that bonds all Southern cooks together. We all have one (in my case, several) and most of us list it near the top of our most treasured possessions. Lodge Manufacturing has been supplying cooks with cast iron for over four generations.
Most people cook just a few recipes in their cast iron and are missing out on so much of the fun. Now, thanks to this companion for the trusted cookware, the possibilities are endless. Cooking without Lodge is as silly as spending a Sunday morning on the back pew in a church with no preacher.

Pimento Cheese Panini Sandwich

Nothing is simpler to make for a quick dinner than a delicious sandwich served with a salad or a bowl of soup. This recipe from Gourmet Gadget Gal blogger Jane Gaither twists together two classic southern sandwiches, the pimento cheese and the BLT, and presses them into an oozy melt sure to please your family. If you don’t own a panini press, you can always use a smaller preheated cast iron skillet to press the sandwich down. This recipe makes enough pimento cheese for eight sandwiches but it will keep in your refrigerator for two weeks.

Makes 1 sandwich

Pimento Cheese Spread:

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

One 4-ounce jar diced pimentos, drained

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

A few grinds of black pepper

6 tablespoons mayonnaise (Jane likes to use Dukes)

Panini:

2 slices (1/3-inch-thick) bread cut from a dense loaf

Softened butter

2 strips thick-sliced bacon (Jane uses Benton’s from Vonore, Tennessee), cooked until crisp

1 ripe tomato, sliced

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the ingredients for the Pimento Cheese Spread. 

2. Butter each slice of bread on one side.

3. Heat a 12-inch Lodge Grill Pan and Panini Press over medium-high heat.

4. Place 1 slice of bread, butter side down, on the hot grill pan. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the Pimento Cheese Spread onto the bread and spread it to the edges. Add the bacon and sliced tomato, then the second slice of bread with the butter side facing up.

4. Take the hot panini press and place it on top of the bread for 2 minutes, pressing gently to flatten the sandwich.

5. Remove the press, then remove the sandwich to a plate. Enjoy!

Vidalia Cornbread

Vidalia onions grow only in south Georgia and are available from late April until mid-September. They can be found in most grocery stores during these months. Carolyn Gonce LeRoy has had this recipe for over forty years and makes it often.

Serves 8

2 cups white self-rising cornmeal

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large egg, slightly beaten

2 cups finely chopped Vidalia onions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch cast iron skillet.

2. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, milk, oil, and egg until well blended (the batter will be thin). Stir in the onions, mixing well.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared skillet and bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Recipes and images courtesy of The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook (Oxmoor House, 2012)
Copyright © 2012 Rebecca Lang Cooks, LLC. All rights reserved. 

I was supplied a free review copy of The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook from Lodge Manufacturing.

Sparkle on Valentine’s Day with Champagne Cocktails

Valentine's Day is not complete without a very girly, pink, bubbly and romantic cocktail. No matter how you celebrate this year, with friends, a significant other, or a quiet night alone, make the holiday sparkle with a glass that instantly adds fun.

Cranberry Splash

Serves 12

6 cups red cranberry juice

1 (750-milliliter) bottle champagne

Pour cranberry juice into Champagne glasses, filling half of glass.  Slowly pour Champagne over cranberry juice until glass is filled.  

 

Strawberry Kiss

Serves 8 to 10

1 pound fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed

1 (750-milliliter) bottle Champagne

Remove the stems from the strawberries and place the berries in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until pureed. Pour the Champagne into glasses, leaving about 1 inch at the top of each glass. Add 2 tablespoons pureed strawberries to each glass.

Raspberry Bubbly

Serves 8

1/2 cup blackberry schnapps

1 (750-milliliter) bottle Champagne

Raspberry sorbet

Pour 1 tablespoon blackberry schnapps into the bottom of each of 8 champagne glasses. Top each with Champagne, leaving at least 1 inch at the top of the glass. Using a melon baller or a small scoop, drop one small ball of sorbet into each glass.

The Champagne will fizz with the sorbet.

Copyright © 2012 Rebecca Lang Cooks, LLC. All rights reserved. 

www.rebeccalangcooks.com

The Day Our Skillet Went Cold

I first posted this tribute to Tom one year ago today, on the 8th anniversary of her death. It is in her memory that I am re-posting my tribute to her.

It was on this day, only 9 years ago, that our family lost my beloved grandmother, Tom. I’ve never written about that day. In fact, I don’t know that I’ve spoken of it with more than a handful of people. There are three days in my life that each and every detail live on so vividly in my mind and this is one of them. I was with her on the exact moment she no longer was on this Earth. It is equally as precious as the minutes when my children were born.

Tom was healthy her entire life, much more so than any other person I’ve known. She cooked daily until she was 100, never had a problem with arthritis, and often wore Nike running shoes the last few years of her life. Only weeks before her death, she was confined to a hospital bed, but still, uttered not one single complaint. Just like always, she never missed a moment to say, “I love you,” or to hold our hands.

I have always felt that Tom and I were connected on an even deeper level than that of a grandchild and grandparent. Our pure love of the kitchen bound us like nothing else could. It was her cast iron skillet filled with fried chicken that first taught me how comfort and love could be tasted and shared without saying a word.

For years, we cooked together, ate together, and talked for countless hours about recipes, cookbooks, and our loves of fat back, Coke in bottles, and Nathalie Dupree. One of her finest days was when Mama brought her to cook with Nathalie and me in the very kitchen she’d seen on television so many times. Simply by sharing a stove, she taught me how imperative the act of cooking can be to a state of real happiness. Being blessed with the gift of sharing the moment when her soul went Home seemed natural and was the ultimate last chapter in our long story together.

My parents and I were with her all day, talking of everything we could think to say. We tried to fill the empty air with subjects that would keep all of our minds off the fact that her death was eminent. We talked about food, work, family, friends, and memories of days gone by. The nurses kept coming in and out, checking Tom’s pulse and blood pressure, which of course reminded us of why we were all there.

A family friend, Jane Knowles, came in to visit Tom one last time. She held Tom’s hand, stroked her hair, and sang Holy Ground with a voice that was nothing short of an angel’s. It was during this magnificent song that Tom left us and went on to meet the Lord she so dearly loved. It’s as if she waited for Jane and her hymn to say goodbye to all of us. Recalling these few minutes of witnessing my Tom drift away leaves me short on words and overflowing with tears.

In memory of Tom and her life so very well lived, I share her fried chicken recipe that has brought me comfort hundreds of times. It is with her skillet that I cook on and never forget.

Tom’s Fried Chicken

1 (3.5 pound) cut-up whole chicken

1/4 cup salt

1 1/2 cups vegetable shortening

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour

Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup salt and cover with cold water. Soak the chicken for 45 minutes. 

Remove the chicken from the salt water and drain on paper towels.

Heat the shortening in an 8-inch cast iron skillet or a large deep skillet to about 360 degrees.

Sprinkle the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper.  Coat each piece completely with flour, shake off the excess and gently place the chicken in the hot shortening.  Fry 10 to 12 minutes per side or until golden brown, about 25 minutes total. Fry chicken in batches to prevent the skillet from becoming crowded. 

Check the temperature of the oil occasionally.  If the oil is too hot, the chicken will be too brown on the outside but not fully cooked through.

Drain fried chicken on a cooling rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet.

Serves 4 to 6

 

The Cook and the Camera

This New Year's weekend was my seventh trip to Sapelo Island, Georgia for the Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count. It's a family affair. My dad is the compiler and I'm the cook for the group. The first night we feasted on hearty chicken casseroles, yeast rolls with herb butter, Bacon Vinaigrette with Salad Greens and 10 layer chocolate cake. On Saturday, the famished birders came in to my mama's incredible spaghetti, French bread with caramelized onion butter, and candied pecan salad. We ended the night on another 10 layer cake and a champagne toast to the New Year.
I cook ahead so I can spend a great deal of my time on the breathtaking island outside.When I wasn't in the kitchen, I was roaming around with my camera.

Bacon Vinaigrette with Salad Greens

Serves 8

6 slices bacon, chopped (about 6 ounces)

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup chopped Vidalia onion

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Vegetable oil (about 1/4 cup)

2 (5-ounce) packages mixed salad greens

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until it is crisp.

Meanwhile, combine the honey, mustard, onion, vinegar, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until the liquid is smooth.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve the drippings. When cooled slightly, pour the drippings into a 1-cup measuring cup.

Add enough vegetable oil to the bacon drippings to make 1/2 cup.

With the food processor running, slowing add the drippings and the oil in a steady stream.

Add 2 tablespoons crisp bacon and pulse 3 times.

Drizzle the dressing over the salad greens. Serve the remaining bacon over the salad.

Store any remaining dressing in the fridge for up to one week.

Recipe from Quick-Fix Southern (Andrews McMeel 2011)

Copyright © 2011 Rebecca Lang Cooks, LLC. All rights reserved. 

www.rebeccalangcooks.com

Goat Stuffed Pig and a Cook's Christmas Wish List

After receiving over a dozen emails last week asking me to recommend the best cooking gifts, I decided to make an official list that can be passed directly on to Santa. I chose my favorite things, with a wide range in price and size (to fit in a stocking or in a box), that make cooking a lot easier and much more fun. 

It wouldn't be a proper Christmas list without a cookbook. We all know no one can have too many cookbooks, so a good book is always an easy choice for putting under the tree. Wrap up my friend Libbie Summers’ fabulous new book, The Whole Hog Cookbook. The book is breathtakingly beautiful and is a real education in all things pig. Libbie is not only Paula Deen's culinary producer and senior food editor, but is also a gifted story teller and teacher in her own right.  She knows her subject well. It's no surprise since Libbie was learning to butcher hogs while other children her age were playing games. Her knowledge and realness shows on each pretty page and in every recipe. Buy it, wrap it up, and become the best gift-giver in your family.

Read on for Libbie's recipe for Goat Stuffed Pig, a goat cheese stuffed pork tenderloin with a pear gravy that practically screams Christmas dinner.

Lodge Enameled Cast-Iron Covered Casserole

Thermapen

Magnetic Measuring Spoons

 

Oxo Good Grips Meat Pounder

 

Goat Stuffed Pig

(with Pear Pan Gravy)

serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin

Photo by Chia Chong

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 ripe pears, peeled and diced

1/2 cup chopped dried pears

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 ounces goat cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

2 firm pears, thickly sliced (skin on)

1 1/2 cups pork stock, divided (can substitute chicken stock)

1/4 cup pear brandy (can substitute apple brandy)

1 cup apple cider

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced

2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400º F.

To butterfly tenderloin, use a sharp knife and make a cut (lengthwise) down the center of the pork tenderloin to within 1/2 inch of the bottom. Open the cut meat and lay flat between two pieces of plastic wrap.

Pound the meat until it is of even thickness. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap. Lightly salt and pepper uncovered side of tenderloin.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together diced ripe pears, dried pears, garlic, goat cheese, parsley and pecans. Spread mixture over the top of the butterflied roast to within 1" of the edges. Roll up log side, removing plastic wrap. Tie with butcher's twine every 2 inches to secure. Salt and pepper lightly.

Place tenderloin in a shallow roasting pan along with sliced pears and 1/2 cup pork stock. Roast until internal temperature reaches 155º F (approximately 12 to 18 minutes).

Remove from oven and allow tenderloin to rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before removing butcher's twine and slicing into thick slices. Serve warm with Pear Pan Gravy.

For Pear Pan Gravy: makes 2 cups

With a slotted spoon, transfer the pears in the roasting pan to a bowl and keep warm. Pour off any fat from the roasting pan, leaving the meat juices on the bottom. Put pan over medium-high heat, add apple brandy and deglaze pan allowing the alcohol to burn off and being sure to scrape up all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan (approximately 1 minute) . Transfer mixture to a medium saucepan. Whisk in remaining stock, apple cider and thyme. Increase heat to high and bring liquid to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half. Stir in cream and simmer for another 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and stir in butter and pears. Serve warm, poured over Goat Stuffed Pig.

Recipe courtesy of Libbie Summers and The Whole Hog Cookbook, (Rizzoli 2011)

Copyright © 2011 Rebecca Lang Cooks, LLC. All rights reserved. 

www.rebeccalangcooks.com