Baking a cake can be a tremendously rewarding experience. Creating a delicious desert gives you a special sense of accomplishment, and you’ll also bask in the glow of compliments friends and family are sure to offer. But before you start taking victory laps, you’ll need to make sure that you select the proper baking pan for a given recipe. Remember the general rule that a “pan” refers to a metal receptacle and a “dish” is typically made of glass.

It’s also crucial that your baking pan is the right size for the recipe. Otherwise you might end up with an overflowing desert. If your dish is too small to accommodate a recipe, don’t despair. You can pare down the ingredients and the cooking time, ending up with fewer servings but just as fulfilling of an experience. Some recipes will call for greasing your pan, but this might not be necessary if you have cast iron baking pans.

The word “fritter” can mean many things to many people. For a New Englander, a delectable apple fritter might spring to mind. In Southeast Asia, on the other hand, a scrumptious yam prepared in a wok might be more typical. In any case, fritter is a blanket term for a food that’s dipped in batter and then deep-fat fried. It goes without saying that almost any foodstuff can be made delicious via this method, although it should be used in moderation. Try the following recipe for crab fritters - it should appeal to Pacific Northwest diners as well as those with a Southern sensibility.

Ingredients:
6 ounces crab meat
1 egg, whipped with water
2 Tsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tsp. margarine
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup flour
½ cup skim milk
1 tsp. sherry
1 tsp. paprika
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
flour (additional)
bread crumbs

Directions:
1. Cook green pepper and garlic in margarine and EVOO in saucepan until tender. Add milk, stirring until thick.
2. Shred crab, adding sherry, cayenne pepper, and meat to pan. Allow 2 hours for chilling.
3. Form crab into small balls with a 1-Tsp. scoop. Roll them in flour and dip in mixture of egg and water. Roll in crumbs and refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. Fry 3 or 4 balls at a time in one of your cast iron deep fry pans until they are browned to satisfaction, and enjoy.

When people are cooking in the outdoors, they’re looking for recipes and cookware that are both effective and easy to use. That’s why cast iron is such a popular choice among avid campers. With a natural non-stick surface, it means that you won’t have to haul in additional butter, lard, fat, or oil.

Another reason people enjoy Lodge cast iron cookware on their various camping trips is because cast iron is so incredibly durable. While other pans run the risk of warping at high temperatures, this is not usually the case with cast iron. So you don’t have to worry about grilling those hot dogs over an intense campfire. Your cast iron pots and pans are sure to take it!

Here’s a delicious and simple recipe for a Southwest inspired egg omelet. In addition to the ingredients, you’ll need a hot surface, one of your cast iron pans, and a spatula.

Ingredients:

3 large eggs
½ cup grated pepper jack cheese
1 chopped jalapeno

Directions:

Crack your three eggs and place them in the nonstick cookware pan, then mix them around a bit.  Turn your hot surface to medium-high heat, and place the pan on top.  In about 2-3 minutes, the eggs should start to become hardened on the bottom.  This is when you will want to place the grated cheese and chopped jalapeno on one side of the egg.  Wait another minute, and then flip one half of the egg onto the other, creating the omelet.  Quick and easy, and a great way to kick off your day!

The best part of camping is when everyone gathers around the fire and eats whatever is served. Meals are usually made up of canned goods eaten straight from the can; not exactly a meal to look forward to. When my family goes into the wilderness for a few days, we always bring some cookware—especially some cast iron skillets—to prepare some quality meals.

With camping cookware, campers can enjoy a delicious meal outdoors. The cookware is made especially for the outdoors and is convenient and light enough to carry in a backpack. Camping cookware can make a meal cooked over a campfire taste like it was home made.

There have been huge advancements in the field of outdoor cooking. Camping cookware used to mean a small aluminum pot, a few plastic sporks, and maybe a tin cup for some black coffee. But now that campers expect a higher grade of food than hotdogs and S’mores, the camping cookware has received a similar boost. Now these cookware sets include more specialized tools such as spatulas, slotted spoons, and more.

The pots and pans, however, are where the real improvements have been made. The camping dishes available today are most often made of cast iron or some similar heavy duty material; you can even find enameled cast iron cookware. That means these dishes will not only last you for years of outdoor events, but it will also offer delicious meals. In fact, they’re such high quality that you can even take these dishes into the kitchen in your home!

With all the latest innovations in cooking gadgets that are out in the market today, it is amazing that the cast iron skillet has surpassed the test of time. Nothing seems to last as long in the kitchen as that old iron skillet. Cast iron cookware is a heat conductor, which means it heats consistently and evenly. Hence, it is the old fashioned way to cook fat-free food. In addition, investing in a complete set of cast iron cookware will not affect your budget because it is quite affordable and will last a lifetime.

A cast iron skillet can go from stove to oven, and you don’t need any special utensils to cook with it, compared to Teflon type cooking pans. They are easy to clean and don’t warp. No wonder most our grandmothers had cast iron skillets. They were usually passed down to the next generation. There are many dependable brands out there, but I prefer Old Mountain cookware.

There are few items that are essential for every American home, and a set of cookware is one of them. Everyone from college students living on their own for the first time to 100-year-old great grandparents have some form of cookware in their home. Because cookware is such a staple in every household, you should put some thought into your purchasing decision.

Since you know that you are going to be using the pots and pans for years on a daily basis, be sure to opt for durable cookware. It is worth the extra money if you don’t have to be constantly replacing items out of the set. With so many sizes of sets available, think about your particular needs before you go buy a 24-piece deluxe set for just you and your spouse.

There are several different kinds of cookware and appliances that are great for making simple and quick meals. With appliances, few can argue whether the personal griddle is here to stay. Griddles are great for all kinds of breakfast foods, and are ideal for making large quantities of food for multiple people. Griddles can be used for eggs, pancakes, hashbrowns, sausage, and much more. For those desiring ethnic foods, consider a cast iron Fajita set. The cast iron Fajita set is designed for making delicious fajitas without a lot of clean up or mess. For people who are fond of grilled sandwiches, a Panini press is a great item to have in the kitchen.

With all cast iron cookware and appliances, it’s important to season now and then to preserve the condition of the cast iron. Seasoning isn’t all that difficult, and takes about an hour with a significant amount of wait time while the object is in the oven. It’s a good idea to season at least twice pear year with most cookware, and also after extended usage in a short period of time.

In these tough economic times, people are looking to save money not just right now, but in the future. The truth is, a lot of companies that manufacture cookware make money because their product wears out over time, and the customer must then purchase a newer version. However, unlike other kinds of cookware, cast iron cookware almost never breaks down. In fact, a well tended cast iron pan can last for centuries, even through constant use. Cast iron cookware is a great investment for the future, and often it doesn’t cost much more than other kinds of cookware.

Cast iron cookware has been around for centuries, being one of the most enduring and reliable forms of cookware throughout the ages. In fact, cast iron cookware has been forgotten in attics over the decades, and reclaimed generations later in much the same condition. There are several reliable manufacturers of cast iron cookware, but as long as it’s 100% cast iron, it’s hard to get it wrong. Old Mountain cast iron cookware and Lodge cast iron cookware are two of the more renowned names.