Sunday, January 28, 2007

Day 41



I know - really gross. This is my first attempt at pancakes in a cast iron pan. Okay...it's a little reenactment. I immediately tossed the mess and pulled out my good ole teflon, but quickly after doing so, I thought, "damn, I should have documented this experience." So I pulled the evidence from the garbage and staged it...scary that it looks quite close to the original disaster.

So now a new goal for Feb. By March 1st, I want to be able to make perfect pancakes in a cast iron pan.

Last night Alex made this amazing and very complicated dinner. You know, the type that basically uses all available kitchen tools, bowls, and pans. It was wonderful, but afterwards the reality settled in - DISHES! SO MANY DISHES! So we ran the full load that was already in the dishwasher, then loaded the dishwasher up with last night's dishes this morning...which are running now while all the dishes from this morning's pancake mess wait their turn...don't get me wrong...I actually don't mind doing dishes...on occasion...as a novelty....but I wonder throughout this project if I will find myself choosing food based on the amount of mess the preparation will make.

Three days left!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah Ha...dishes by hand! Hence the creation of "Crock pots", slow cookers, One dish meals..(like tuna noodle casserole" , "Shepard's pie", etc. Also have you seasoned your cast Iron?, It should come with directions if you bought it new, or it may need re-seasoned if not used in a long time or mistreated,thats VERY key and you need to use enough oil/butter/lard whatever to lube your cast iron, but if well seasoned you won't need much.
I love the comment about doing dishes as a "novelty" ! Great Chuckle! Hang in there you can do it and I am certain the pancakes will taste great!

Anonymous said...

Believe it or not - no dishwasher here - all year 'round! Not so bad for me and I cook with a lot of pans, measuring bowls, etc. You'll get the hang of it..

Anonymous said...

I have now understood because you don't answer to my e-mails.
The lady of the wine is a little crazy person, poor I marry!
Good luck and good job.
Peppe (Sicily)

Anonymous said...

I cook with cast iron pans almost every day, and I don't non-stick pans at all. (I got rid of them after learning about how they can off-gas noxious fumes if overheated.)

A properly seasoned cast iron pan will acquire it's own "non-stick" properties. To season: clean completely and dry then coat in vegetable oil and cook in your oven at around 325 F or so for an hour or so. Take out and let cool. Never scrub with soap and abrasive scrubbers - you'll remove the seasoned coating. Kosher salt is an excellent cast iron pan scrubbing material. Also, as another said, cook with enough vegetable oil or butter.

Anonymous said...

Steel wool and elbow grease were the dishwashers of the day...