Tuesday, March 3, 2009

As they grow so must the pans

A couple of years ago I had a conversation with a mom of 4 grown boys. We were talking about cooking and how things change as the kids get older. She mentioned that her mother in law had taken to getting her a larger cooking pot each year for Christmas. I thought that was brilliant. So far I've gotten by with my normal size cookware and I LOVE my cast iron pans. I have two.

The first is this cute little one I use for frying eggs, it's the perfect size for it and it gets daily use.





The second is a 12 inch skillet that's great for frying (like the chicken fried chicken). Though I use it mainly for potatoes.


The last couple of times I've made potatoes (seasoned cubed potatoes or hashbrowns) I've filled this guy to the brim, so full that every time I stirred some fell out the side. At dinner the potatoes were the first thing to run out. So, I've been eyeing a bigger pan. I looked on Amazon and found this one but I just wasn't up to paying $69.99 for it.

Then last night we went out to the store looking for a couple of things, cookware wasn't even a thought I had. We're walking through the store and I ended up on the kitchen aisle, actually pricing muffin pans (mine need replacing). What I found though was this guy:



A giant 17 inch cast iron skillet....exactly like I wanted! Anticipating a large price sticker, I looked down and saw $36.99, I was excited!!

But wait, I stood up and saw another sign saying they were on sale... the final price $27.99!

I bought it.

Now I can't wait to see how many potaotes I can cram in that puppy :)


























7 comments:

Duckygirl said...

I'd try washing it in the hottest water you can stand with a tiny bit of soap, drying it with a towel and then reseasoning it. They probably used the salt method of cleaning it.

Dustine said...

I love gettin new kitchen gadgets - very fun. I'd like to see your weekly menu plan some time. I pretzels once a week (my kids liked yours so much) maybe we'd glean some other ideas from seeing what you guys like.
Take Care

Miriam said...

I'm like Emily... Ooooooo... Aaaaaahhhh. We have 4, ranging from the 5" (daily used for frying eggs :P ), 7", 9" & 12". I love them :)

@ Emily - Despite what they say... (shh, what I'm about to tell you is a secret) I wash mine with soap and hot water and use a stainless steel scrubber on it if something is gunked on. The one I use every day I wash maybe twice a week unless it gets gunky sooner. I'd say give yours a good washing/scrubbing, let it air-dry really good, then reseason it. Yeah, what she said :P

Amy said...

Nice! It's always fun to get new kitchen stuff. I recently got myself an immersion blender. Plan to use it for the first time today!

Monica said...

Great find! I had one of those home parties for pots and pans years ago just to get one pan. I still use it every single day. I think I'll have to bequeath it to one of the kids in my will:)

Renata said...

So true!! Now when I cook bacon & eggs I need to use 2 frying pans. I sometimes wonder if it would just be easier to use the BBQ!!!
I like that new pan - bet you're going to have fun using it!!

TAMI said...

Cast iron is my favorite!! I've tried and been given several other kinds, but you just can't beat cast iron for results and longevity!