Showing Off the Iron
October/29/2008 10:58 PM Filed in: Miscellaneous
Posted by Kathy Mansfield
Where, oh where, do I store all of this cast iron? That is certainly the question that has plagued our household over the past year. We’ve owned various cast iron pieces over the past years, but after a trip to the Lodge Store in South Pittsburgh, Tennessee, we faced the dilemma of where to put the 17 new pieces of cast iron!
Rick and I already had a wrought iron baker’s rack from Ashley Furniture that showcased our cookbook collection, so we decided a matching baker’s rack would be the perfect partner piece to display our cast iron cookware. Although some assembly was required (by Rick, not me!), we are quite pleased with our new means of highlighting our cast iron in our home.
As you can see in the pictures, our heaviest pieces (dutch ovens) are on the bottom rack. We have smaller pieces such as fajita pans and loaf pans on the middle two shelves. The top shelf is reserved for cookbooks specific to cast iron aficionados. I was even able to find wrought iron book holders at Wal-Mart to help spotlight our favorite cookbooks.
Will another baker’s rack be in our future? Well, one more trip to Lodge just might do it!
Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below, or you can contact Kathy directly at kathy@cookingincastiron.com.
Where, oh where, do I store all of this cast iron? That is certainly the question that has plagued our household over the past year. We’ve owned various cast iron pieces over the past years, but after a trip to the Lodge Store in South Pittsburgh, Tennessee, we faced the dilemma of where to put the 17 new pieces of cast iron!
Rick and I already had a wrought iron baker’s rack from Ashley Furniture that showcased our cookbook collection, so we decided a matching baker’s rack would be the perfect partner piece to display our cast iron cookware. Although some assembly was required (by Rick, not me!), we are quite pleased with our new means of highlighting our cast iron in our home.
As you can see in the pictures, our heaviest pieces (dutch ovens) are on the bottom rack. We have smaller pieces such as fajita pans and loaf pans on the middle two shelves. The top shelf is reserved for cookbooks specific to cast iron aficionados. I was even able to find wrought iron book holders at Wal-Mart to help spotlight our favorite cookbooks.
Will another baker’s rack be in our future? Well, one more trip to Lodge just might do it!
Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below, or you can contact Kathy directly at kathy@cookingincastiron.com.
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Cast Iron Accessories
Posted by Kathy Mansfield
What girl doesn't enjoy accessorizing? Well,
I've discovered ways to do just that with my cast
iron cookware. I think my first cast iron accessory
was a simple potholder to fit over the handle of our
skillets. I was forever burning my fingers when
grabbing onto the handle of a skillet while cooking
bacon or eggs. I happened to see handle covers while
shopping one day, and my worries were over. We now
have 5 or 6 of the handy pads, and I keep them on my
main skillets on top of the stove. We've recently
purchased a couple of fajita pans that came with pads
decorated with hot peppers. The Lodge Outlet store in
Tennessee has many designs available, but I've seen
the handle covers in most cooking stores. It is an
invaluable resource to me.
Another accessory I came upon recently was
cookware protectors from Pampered Chef. These are
fabulous! Since trapped moisture can cause cast iron
to rust, it’s very important to keep at least a
minimal amount of air flow between a lid and a pan or
pot when not in use. My husband would place old
towels between our dutch ovens and their lids. Since
we display most of our cast iron, this was not
acceptable to me! The cookware protectors from
Pampered Chef come in two sizes: 16" diameter and 20"
diameter. Each size fits nicely on our dutch ovens.
Last, but not least, is another Pampered Chef
product. It's not quite an accessory, but more like a
necessity -- a nylon pan scraper. These were
originally marketed through Pampered Chef to use as
scrapers for their baking stones, but we've
discovered they work great on our cast iron because
even the best seasoned cast iron can occasionally
have stuck on food. We keep one handy on the sink at
all times. A package of 3 only cost a few dollars.
They are dishwasher safe and fairly indestructible.
No, I don't sell Pampered Chef, but I sure am pleased with the great products I've discovered through that company to help keep our cast iron looking fabulous in every season!
Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below, or you can contact Kathy directly at kathy@cookingincastiron.com.
No, I don't sell Pampered Chef, but I sure am pleased with the great products I've discovered through that company to help keep our cast iron looking fabulous in every season!
Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below, or you can contact Kathy directly at kathy@cookingincastiron.com.