Cast Iron Cooking has been a staple for generations.  Now a whole new generation of cooks is rediscovering Cast Iron Cooking with Olvida Nickel Impregnated Cast Iron Cookware.

Send us your favorite recipes using cast iron cookware.  Grandma's recipes, the boy scout's camping recipes, football tailgate recipes, anything you cook with cast iron. If you have a story behind the recipe, we'd enjoy that as well.

Casual Dining with Family or a Couple of Friends  Steak Fondue (or Tornados).

In a small pot or microwave-able bowl, slowly melt 1/2 stick of butter and 1/4 cup of olive oil with 5 chopped cloves of garlic without cooking the garlic or scorching the butter.  Marinate small filets or steaks to your liking.  Heat a 10" Olvida Nickel Impregnated Cast Iron Pan on medium until warm - not hot. Drop the steaks into the pan and cook them to your liking.  Remove the pan from heat; place on hot plate on table.  Pour the melted butter/oil/garlic liquid over the steaks while in the pan.  Have your favorite dipping bread available; eat the steaks and dip the bread into the liquid directly from the Olvida Pan.  Your meal stays hot and juicy. And you only have a couple of dishes to wash.
 
Cooking for One or Two?  Oven Roasted Hen or Small Turkey Breast

Prepare and place a roasting hen or small turkey breast in a 10" Olvida Nickel Impregnated Cast Iron Pan. When the meat is done, place on a plate and use the same pan with the juices from the meat to make your gravy.  Just take the Olvida Pan directly from the oven to the stove top and make your gravy in the same pan.  Easy preparation and cleanup.
 
Pita Pizza

1 Pita Bread (found in freezer section of grocery store)
Handful of Baby Spinach
1 teaspoon of Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
A tomato cut into bit size pieces
3 tablespoons of chopped onion, and a crushed small clove of garlic
3 tablespoons of black olives, or Greek Olives
1/4 cup of Feta Cheese
1/4 cup of Mozzarella Cheese
Dried Oregano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, then cut back to 350.

Place pita in 10" Olvida Skillet. Combine spinach with olive oil, be generous with the spinach. Pile on pita bread, salt and pepper. Sprinkle on the onion and garlic, then the tomatoes, a little more salt, then the olives, feta cheese, sprinkle with oregano to your taste, possibly some fresh basil, add Mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Pull from oven and cut into sections with pizza cutter - cut inside the Olvida Skillet.
 
Cinnamon-Apple-Berry Crisp


12” Dutch Oven, 16-18 coals on top, 12 coals on bottom
6 cups sliced, peeled apples (about 6 medium)
1 cup sweetened, dried cranberries
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tbs. Lemon juice
¾ cup quick oats
¾ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup softened butter
½ cup chopped walnuts

Mix apples, cranberries, cinnamon & lemon juice in glass baking dish that will fit into Dutch Oven.  Place glass dish in bottom of oven, be sure to elevate dish about 1” from bottom of oven – metal plate from mess kit works great.  In a bowl, mix remaining ingredients with fork until crumbly.  Sprinkle over fruit mixture.  Cover & bake 35-40 minutes or until apples are tender, juices bubbling and topping is golden brown.
 
Sunrise Breakfast


12” Dutch Oven, 14-16 coals on top, 8 coals on bottom
1 pound sage sausage
1 bag Oreida hashbrowns with onions & peppers
12 eggs
2 cups grated cheddar cheese

In bottom of Dutch Oven fry sausage then add potatoes & stir.  Cover and bake 15 minutes.  Break 12 eggs over top, cover & cook about 10 minutes, then sprinkle cheese over eggs and cover and cook 5 more minutes.

Roast Pork Loin with Apples


2 tbs. vegetable oil
1 (2lb) boneless center cut pork loin, trimmed & tied
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, thickly sliced
2 carrots, thickly sliced
2 stalks celery, thickly sliced
3 cloves garlic, smashed
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 sprigs fresh thyme
4 tbs. cold unsalted butter
2 apples, such as Cortland or Rome peeled, cored and cut into 8 slices
2 tbs. apple cider vinegar
1 cup apple cider
2 tbs. whole grain mustard

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In 13” Olvida skillet heat the vegetable oil over high heat.  Season the pork loin all over generously with salt & pepper.  Sear the meat until golden brown on all sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.  Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside.

Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, herb sprigs, and 2 tbs. of the butter to the skillet.  Stir until the vegetables are browned, about 8 minutes.  Stir in the sliced apples, then push the mixture to the sides and set the pork loin in the middle of the skillet along with any collected juices on the plate.  Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the loin until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat registers 140-150 degrees F, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Transfer the pork to a cutting board and cover it loosely with foil while you make the sauce.  Arrange the apples and vegetables on a serving platter and set aside.  Remove and discard the herb sprigs.  Return the skillet to a high heat and add the vinegar scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen up any browned bits.  Reduce by half then add the cider and reduce by about half again.  Pull the skillet from the heat and whisk in the mustard, and the remaining 2 tbs. of cold butter.  Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste.

Remove the strings from the roast and slice into ½” thick pieces and arrange over the apple mixture.  Drizzle some sauce over meat and serve the rest on the side. 

No-Knead Bread, Dave Paul, Boulder, Colorado

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
 
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered cast iron pot in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf. 

Cajun Blackened Meat Seasoning
Bill Eason, Little Red Pig, Marshville, NC


For about six ½” steaks, rub on steaks
Equal portions of the following:
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Black Pepper
Red Cayenne Pepper
Thyme
Oregano
Salt

Vegetable oil coat frying pan, heat iron skillet – lightly coated with oil (until searing hot – it will be smoking) do not add any oil at this time.

Marinade for steaks:
 ½ cup red wine
 2 minced cloves garlic
 ¼ cup olive oil
 dash of low sodium soy sauce

Colorado Chili – Nancy Vernon, Ft. Mill, SC
 
2-3 lb chuck roast or London broil or stew meat (if you buy London broil) make sure it is marbled)
 
1 large onion chopped
4-6 cloves fresh minced garlic
1-2 green bell peppers chopped
1-2 chili peppers chopped
28 oz diced tomatoes
15 oz tomato sauce
8 strips bacon
3-4 cans dk red kidney beans (drained and rinsed) can use dry just soak
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)

Spices:  Cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, red pepper and whatever you feel you want to use is fine too.
 
In a skillet prepare your bacon do not throw drippings out.  Cut up your roast 2 x 2 chunks.  Brown beef in bacon drippings.  Remove meat add to slow cooker, sauté veggies garlic peppers in the remaining drippings add that to the crock pot.  Add tomatoes, sauce, beans, add 1/2 can of water from the tomato can or if using fresh toms add 3/4 cup of water.  Add your seasoning mix well cover and cook all day - I cooked it the first time on low for 12 hours, the beef just pulled apart and it was so good!
 
If you don't plan on using a crock pot then I'd simmer this on a very low range setting in a nice stew pot all day as well.  I served this with the corn bread I make, of course beer to wash it all down with.  Makes for a nice meal on a cold weekend!

1 pkg jiffy corn bread/muff mix
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup sour cream
1 can creamed corn
1 can drained corn
1 egg
 
Melt the butter, beat your egg, add sour cream, the corn and the creamed corn then add the muffin mix and mix well.  Pour the mixture into your Pyrex and bake for 45 to an hour or until golden brown and the edges are sizzzzzzzzzzling.
I use a 12 x 8 or 9 x 9 Pyrex depending on how thick you want the casserole to come out.   In a preheated oven 350, bake for 45 to an hour depending on your oven, the dish should come out nicely browned on top.

Mixed Berry Cobbler

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 (16 oz.) packages frozen berries
1 cup sugar, divided
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

Place 4 tbs. butter in a 10” Olvida skillet, and put skillet in a 350 degree oven 10 minutes or until butter is melted.  Toss mixed berries with ¾ cup sugar in large bowl. Sift together 1 ½ cups flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.  Stir in milk, vanilla and remaining ¼ cup sugar. Add hot melted butter to flour mixture, and stir until blended. Pour batter evenly into skillet. Pour blackberry mixture into center of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until top is golden brown and a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve with home-made vanilla ice cream!

If you want to make this in a 13” skillet (for a larger crowd), just increase the ingredients by ½ and keep cooking time the same!!!!