Kitchen Stuff: The Cast Iron Skillet

In a small kitchen, you don’t need a lot of equipment to cook great food. Still, you do need some pots, pans, utensils, and dishes-obviously. In the BGSK book, you’ll find a bare bones list of necessary equipment, but I’ve long wanted to bring you a similar resource on the web.

So here’s my idea: we’ll go one by one, stocking up our virtual pantries and maybe our real ones too.

First up: the cast-iron skillet. I own a Lodge Cast Iron Skillet and I keep it on my stove for all times. Cast iron is a material that retains heat really well-you’ll want it to get a good sear on dishes from steak to grilled cheese or to slow-cook onions til they caramelize. Best of all, cast iron pans are inexpensive and last forever, as long as you treat them well. (Here’s TheKitchn’s guide to caring for your cast-iron.)

Below, a few of the many dishes you’ll make in your cast-iron pan (pictured above, left to right):

• Cilantro Chicken Milanese
• Creamy Chorizo-Chicken Casserole
• Crispy Potatoes with Baked Eggs and Pesto Yogurt