Cast iron: a cautionary tale

tools 5 Comments

Want to know what happens if you let your cast iron sit around, unused, with a lid fused to the skillet? Allow me to show you.

Please to remember: I have a love of cast iron. A serious, deep, and abiding love. And the pretty, shiny skillets to prove it:

See how pretty and shiny and glossy they are? Teflon has nothing on these. Nothing.

Now, here is a skillet and lid that someone gave me recently. Oy.

This. Is. Not. Good.

I feared the worst, but tried to attack it on my own. I put the skillet and lid in the oven and turned on the self-cleaning cycle. This baked off all the gunky, sticky seasoning and left me with just rust. But a lot of rust. Fine-grade sandpaper is no match for this.

Next step: finding someone with a sandblaster. Seriously. See?

This has become quite the project.

Honestly, I’m giggling a bit at the mental image of moseying into a body shop wielding a cast iron skillet.  Will I look like a woman scorned coming to seek revenge on someone? “No, don’t run! I just want to make bacon!”

Say hello to my little friend

tools 3 Comments

I’d like you to meet my BFF in the spice cabinet: Miracle Blend.

Why do they call it that? Well, because it is indeed a miracle. For reals. It is the fastest, easiest way to transform anything with a single spice (that makes it sound a little bit like Superman). I use it on:

  • corn
  • pasta salad
  • croutons
  • salad
  • green beans
  • broccoli
  • cauliflower
  • chicken
  • steak
  • popcorn
  • potatoes

The list could go on and on, but you get the idea.

Mine is in that cute little shaker because I buy it by the pound. It’s that good. I’ve actually been to their little place in Michigan (on a trip to see The Yankee’s family) and it’s ADORABLE. And they let The Kiddo eat a ridiculous amount of their crackers, which he actually liked (that’s another miracle).

So get some! Go now! The Yankee loves their Char Broil It for steaks, and I love the Lemon Pepper on chicken. But the Miracle Blend, people. Can’t live without it.

Pasta salad

lunch 8 Comments

We go through a lot of this in the summer. It’s so good, so quick, and so easy to change it up with whatever you have on hand. For this batch I used:

Boil the pasta and drain but do not rinse; you want all that starch to say on there so the dressing sticks to the pasta. Let the pasta cool a bit, then add everything but the cheese. Cover and put in the fridge till it’s cold, then add the cheese. I usually add more dressing at this point too because a lot of the first addition has absorbed, and I like a lot of dressing on it. Then just toss and serve!

To shake things up a bit you could add:

  • Feta cheese
  • Gorgonzola cheese
  • Chopped peppers
  • Lemon juice
  • Chopped tomatoes
  • Olives

Go crazy with it! This travels really well, so it’s a no-brainer for taking to parties in the summer — just be sure to bring some extra dressing with you so you can add and toss just before serving.

Pain de Mie

baking, tools 3 Comments

Do we all remember my Pain de Mie fail? Cute, right? Well this is what happens when you actually have a pain de mie pan:

Square bready goodness.

Following this recipe from King Arthur Flour (I know, you’re shocked), I let the bread rise to within about 1/2 inch of the top of the pan, then slid the lid on:

And it came out great! The Kiddo loves it (that’s huge) for cinnamon toast in the morning, and Sunbutter sandwiches for “wunch.”

I cut the loaf in two and froze half; the other half goes in our breadbox or the bread bag, where I slice as needed. Honestly, I’m not totally sold on a whole bread storage system. What do you do with homemade bread? Slice it all then freeze? Freeze a solid half loaf? Nom it all so fast there isn’t any to freeze? Or…?

My favorite new organizational tool

tools 7 Comments

Curtain rods! How great is this?

I saw this in a magazine and it’s flipping brilliant. Two little tension curtain rods from Target for about $6 (for the pair) and I don’t have to fear an avalanche of cookie sheets when I open the cabinet. Score!

Your turn! What are your favorite tips for an organized kitchen? Organizing does not come naturally to me (zip it, Yankee — and I say that with love 😉 ), so I’m always on the lookout for ideas — especially cheap and easy ones like this. Lay ’em on me!