The Cast Iron Skillet - Cooking At It's Best - And How To Season A Pan

Okay, so this is not a recipe. However, consider this a serious recommendation for improving your cooking. Cast iron skillets are the oldest of cookware used in our country. Some date back a hundred years or more. You can commonly find them at an auction or at most department stores.  A cast iron skillet is just that, cast iron. Heavy and durable. They will be a great addition to your kitchen.

So why cast iron? Cast iron skillets have an effect on food known as seasoning. In fact, you have to season a cast iron skillet right after purchase. (VIDEO) Seasoning means you coat the pan with oil. In fact, before you use the the pan for the first time, you will bake the pan at a temperature of 350 degrees in the oven with a thin coat of oil. After that, you clean the pan in warm soap and water (some just use water) and season the pan with a light coat of oil after drying.

The primary reason for seasoning is to prevent rust. It also serves as a coating to prevent sticking to the pan. The unique part of the using cast iron is in my opinion is that your cooking over time  becomes a part of the pans character. I know this might sound crazy, but the pan absorbs the cooking to provide a unique flavor versus conventional cookware.

Another reason to use cast iron is the fact it is non-toxic. Much of the cookware we purchase today is tested for toxicity for a reason. Chips and deep scratches slowly over time will release the chemical make up of the pan into your food. Especially non-stick cookware. Cast iron is a safer alternative for cooking. For this reason, I highly recommend you give cast iron a try. You will notice the difference.

Giambotta (Ciambotta) for breakfast!

Giambotta is traditionally made with vegetables and eggplant. I love Giambotta and often experiment with the recipe based on cleaning out the refrigerator. This is the great part of cooking with your kids. Recipes are meant to be experimented with so that everyone has fun.

Here is an easy breakfast Ciambotta I made recently I am sure you will enjoy

Olive oil
Garlic

1/4 pound fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

Breakfast sausage (Or sweet or hot as a substitute)

1

red onion, diced

8-12 Mini Sweet peppers, sliced

I small long hot or cherry pepper

3- 4medium potatoes, diced in small cubes

Eggs with 3 tbsps. of heavy cream ready for scrambling

Fresh Asiago or Romano

(Greens Optional)

In a cast iron skillet, heat a small amount of olive oil Cook the sausage as diced or crumbled . Be sure to brown the sausage. Remove the sausage. Eliminate some of the grease but save some oil. Add some garlic and all of the vegetables. Season with cracked pepper and sea salt. (I do like Louisiana Seasoning as well) Add all the remaining vegetables, season with salt and pepper. Cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes and then allow to simmer. Return the sausage to the pan.. Stir well and cover the pan. After five minutes, take off the cover, and the eggs and heavy cream

 

Greens option - Whether leftover Greens Giardino or greens cooked separately with olive oil and garlic. Greens also make a nice edition to a breakfast Ciambatto. 

 

Add the cheese at the end of any Ciambatto.

 

 

Cooking It Up With Dad Will Soon Be A Youtube Series

My sons and I are excited to let our friends and family know that out blog will soon be a youtube channel. We are going to expand the topics to encourage other fathers to get involved in their child's life. We have an open script and will explore ideas outside of cooking. Details are developing and we will keep people posted as we progress. Stay tuned!

Slap Ya Mama Pumpkin Seeds

We love carving pumpkins in the fall. And part of that tradition is to make pumpkin seeds after we carve them. Pumpkin Seeds, believe it or not have many recipes. Traditionally, most people roast them and add salt. However, the sky is the limit. You flavor pumpkin seeds any way you want.

Some people go from the pumpkin to the roasting pan. I like to clean them and boil them for about 5 minutes. It helps with the roasting if you boil them first.

Once you clean them, spread a thin layer on a cooking sheet. Line the sheet with aluminum foil for ease of cooking and removing the seeds. Lightly salt them and add the Slap Yo Mama season mix. (Any Louisiana Seasoning Mix will work) I actually like to put enough seasoning mix so that they are spread over the seeds evenly.

You want to roast the seeds at 250 - 300 degrees for about a half an hour. You can flip them and redo the seasoning mix or just continue to bake them until they are crunchy. Total cooking time is 45mins to an hr.

Let them cool and you have yourself a yummy fall treat.

The Long Hot Pepper - Oh So Good.......

The Italian Long Hot Pepper is a northeast garden tradition. It is a member of the cayenne pepper family. Not generally part of cooking around the nation. The pepper is very common in Upstate New York. Now you might wonder why this is part of a cooking blog that involves children. Well, cooking passes along traditions. My father loved long hot peppers growing up. They would have a distinctive smell when we cooked them. They are a familiar part of my heritage and I am passing it along to my children. So, I am go to provide a basic recipe and some potential uses.

Ingredients

1-2 quarts of Long Hot Peppers
I Red Onion.
3-4 cloves of garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Cracked Pepper
Course Salt

Cut the top stems off the long hot peppers. That's it. Cut the red onion up into thin slices. (Or diced)
In a cast iron skillet, coat the pan with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Heat the oil to a low/med to medium heat. Add the peppers and onions. On top of the peppers, add thinly sliced garlic, cracked pepper, and course ground salt. Cover the pan if you would like. (I cook them with the lid or or off)

The long hot pepper has a thick skin. You will cook the pepper for 5-7 min increments before you turn over the mixture in your pan. You can go a little longer if you like a blackened texture to the pepper. I tend to like them browned up and then I turn them. The pepper will slowly go from firm to flaccid. It takes a while but you will notice a texture change. At the end, I top the peppers with another layer of cracked pepper and coarse salt.

The long hot has many uses: Here are some ideas:

Greens (As in the recent Greens Giardino)
Italian Sausage Sandwich (Or as we say....sangwich)
Hot and Hamburgers are amazing with long hots on top.
Have a pizza? Add long hots or do what I do, make a pizza with long hots
Potatoes and Hash Browns
Chicken or Sausage Riggies
Egg Sandwich
Scrambled Eggs

One last tip....garden long hots can be very hot. Red ones can be as hot as some of the hottest peppers you have cooked with. You will learn over time how to determine the hotness of the pepper. Also, I will add a mild pepper such as Hungarian peppers to tone down the hotness.

The Italian Long Hot - Make it a part of your tradition.