“Keeper of the King’s Storehouse” and Cast Iron Cookware

In 1714 Louis Antoine Juchereau de St. Denis navigated up the Red River on his trade mission from what is now Mobile, Alabama to Mexico. Because of a massive log jam St. Denis had to leave the river and continue overland. He landed near a village of the Natchitoches (nak-a-tish) Indians. St. Denis continued on to Mexico but left a few men to guard their provisions and trade with the Native Americans.Their rustic huts became Fort St. Jean Baptiste, the oldest continuous European settlement in the entire Louisiana Purchase Territory. Francois Dion Duprez d’Herbonne (Derbonne), Barbara’s ninth generation grandfather was commissioned in 1716 by King Louis XV of France “Keeper of the King’s Store House and Paymaster of the Militia” at Fort St. Jean Baptiste.

Barbara Bailey, partner with her husband Doyle, operates Cast Iron Cookware Shop in Natchitoches. Family history shows that her grandfather Francois Dion Duprez d’Herbonne (9 generations ago) also was a merchant who dealt with cast iron cookware in the store at Ft. St. Jean Baptiste. Barbara’s grandfather’s stewardship as “Keeper of the King’s Storehouse” involved the management of cast iron cookware. It must run in the family for Barbara loves cast iron cookware. She cooks with it every day and loves to talk about it with others.

Cast Iron Cookware has been around a long time. Start your collection or add to your collection of cast iron cookware and you will have family heirlooms you can pass to your children and grandchildren. In the mean time you will enjoy meals that let you “taste the food and not the cookware“.

For more on the French Colonial History of Natchitoches, the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase, visit Barbara’s Blog. http://www.tournatchitocheswithbarbara.storeblogs.com

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“ONE” Thing Your Lover May Be Waiting “TWO” Hear Could Be “THREE” Little Words. Cast Iron Cookware

How often do you say something to your “significant other” that they may have been waiting for some time to hear? They may not just burst out with “cast iron cookware”. You might have to drop a few hints. Try “even heat retention“, “truly non-stick“, “great value” low cost“, “versatility” or “family heirloom“.

If they still do not take the hint, go go on and tell them Cast Iron Cookware is not just a purchase. It is an investment. It has been in use for centuries. It is relatively low cost. Cast Iron Cookware meets all your cooking needs. Castiron is a heavy duty product that heats evenly and retains heat longer than other cookware. These dutch ovens, fry pans and griddles are made of iron alloys that give them additional strength. It is more versatile than other products. Fry, saute, brown, bake, grill, broil or stew. Use it in your home kitchen, travel kitchen or over your camp fire. The cast iron roasters and casseroles, along with all cast iron products, will go from stove top to oven to table trivet. The enamel paella pan and sauce pan, the pre-seasoned cornbread stick pan and biscuit pan as well as the camping dutch oven add variety to your Cast Iron Cookware selection. Invest in an heirloom. Pass it down to your children and grandchildren.You can’t afford not to invest in cast iron cookware!

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About Us At Cast Iron Cookware

Castironcookwareshop.com is an online business designed to make your Pre-seasoned and Enameled Cast Iron Cookware shopping quick, easy and affordable.

Our mission is to:
Provide you a quality and durable
cast iron cook ware product at a fair price.

Enable you to cook meals that your family
will enjoy both in your kitchen and in the
great outdoors
THE CAST IRON WAY.

Allow you to TASTE THE FOOD,
NOT THE COOKWARE.

Make your shopping safe, secure and
satisfactory.

Our emphasis is on quality and value, backed up by long-term product warranties. Our Enameled and Pre-seasoned castiron cookware products are designed and constructed with a full understanding of the product’s use.

Our cookware design draws on decades of experience
in providing cook ware that is both durable and elegant
at an affordable price.

WHY SHOP WITH US?

We love cast iron cookware.
We cook with cast iron.
We have a secure web-site.
We answer our phone personally.
We listen.
We will search for a product not in our Shop.
We regard you as a valuable customer and resource.
We respect you.
We are always friendly.
We want your ideas.
Cast iron cookware adds quality to your life.

The cornbread in the picture was baked by me to go with my homemade soup at dinner tonight. The cornbread pan is the one I used to bake the cornbread. And the missing piece? You might have guessed it. I ate it while I was writing this post. Don’t you hate crumbs on your keyboard?

Cast Iron Cookware Allows you to Taste the Food Not the Cookware

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Cast Iron Cookware Helps You Serve-Up Tasty, Golden Cornbread

This 13″ x 5 1/2″ 7-Stick Cornbread Pan by Universal serves up cornbread for the whole family. Each stick has its own delicious crispy crust. Cornbread is not cornbread if it’s not made in Cast Iron. This Cornbread Pan cooks evenly and can be used for other cast Iron bread baking as well.

Cornbread Recipe

Creamed Corn Cornbread
2 cans cream style corn

1 c jiffy cornbread mix
(I use the whole box, not too much difference)

1 2oz.chopped and drained pimento (in small jar)
4 beaten eggs
1/3 c oil
1 c grated cheddar cheese (I use more)
1 tsp garlic powder (we use more)

Combine all except cheese, pour into sprayed casserole dish, top with cheese. Bake 45 min. at 325.
Jenny in Ky

Firecracker Cornbread
New Orleans Seafood Cookbook
by Ralph Brennan
A New Year’s Day feast in New Orleans often centers around blackeyed peas, eaten to bring luck during the coming 12 months. This well seasoned, spicy hot and colorful cornbread would be a great accompaniment to the peas, as well as many other Southern-style dishes. The flavor is deliciously enhanced by the addition of fresh corn to the batter.
For one 9-inch round loaf or 6 to 8 servings

Note: The cornbread may be prepared up to three hours ahead and kept uncovered at room temperature.

Ingredients
• 2 ears sweet corn in the husk, each 8 to 9 inches long
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut in 1/4-inch cubes, plus butter or bacon fat to grease the baking pan
• 1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup finely sliced green onions, green parts only
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh jalapenos with seeds, or more to taste*
• 2 yolks from large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk

* If your jalapenos are fairly mild, use 3 tablespoons minced, being sure to include the seeds, which contain much of the heat of the peppers.

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Soak the ears of corn in the husk in a pan of water for 30 minutes. Drain and bake uncovered on a baking sheet until corn is just cooked, about 35 minutes. Let the corn cool, then strip off the husks and silk, and cut the kernels from the ears. You should have about 1 1/4 cups.

3. Increase the oven setting to 400°F.

4. Generously butter or grease a 9-inch glass or metal pie pan and set it aside.

5. In a large mixing bowl thoroughly combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, kosher salt and baking powder. Add the reserved corn kernels, and the green onions and jalapenos, mixing well.

6. Add the butter cubes and egg yolks, mixing well with your hands until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Add the milk, mixing just until large lumps are broken up and the milk is blended in. Do not over-mix.

7. Spoon the batter into the prepared pie pan and smooth the top with the back of the spoon. Tap the pan solidly on a counter three or four times to expel air bubbles.

8. Bake the cornbread until it is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the thickest part comes out clean, 20 to 30 minutes, depending on whether your pan is glass or metal. Remove from oven and let sit 30 minutes before cutting into wedges for serving.

Serving Suggestion: If prepared in advance, reheat in a microwave oven or covered in a conventional oven.

Cast Iron Cookware help you serve up tasty, golden brown cornbread.

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Cast Iron Cookware: Lose the Fat Not the Flavor

My Mother was never concerned about fat. She cooked with lard, shortening and bacon grease. She did not know that stuff can kill you and it did. By the time my Mother and Dad were in their mid-nineties they both were dead! They must have worked off any ill effects for they both were very active and worked hard.

Old-fashioned comfort food — the stuff that reminds you of Mom’s
cooking and wonderful-smelling kitchen or other pleasant memories is a not always the best for our waist lines. Fat adds flavor without a doubt. The good news however, is that you can still have flavor without endangering your life.

Modify Recipes:

For example, with “Cheese and Macaroni“, do not add salt. There is already salt in the ingredients.

When you make “meat loaf“, do not use the ground beef that is 80% lean and 20% fat. Substitute the 90% lean and 10% fat ground beef.

You can also use “ground turkey” but make sure it is all breast meat.

Cast Iron Cookware can help. Cast Iron Cookware, when properly seasoned and cared for, is the truly non-stick cookware. It will allow you to cook with less fat. Use a bit of non-stick spray or a little bit of oil.

Use veggies to increase both flavor and nutrition.

A 5 qt. Round Dutch Oven by Kinetic, the great grandmother of all Castiron Cookware, now in Color Cast Enamel. Make your best Soups, Stews, Chilies or a variety of other great recipes in this colorful Cast Iron Pot. This Cookware can go from stove top to oven to table trivet. It adds interest to your table setting. Your family will enjoy your Dutch Oven meals and the added flavor that Cast Iron preserves. You can make true soul food, comfort food, that is healthy.

Black Enamel Interior
Blue Exterior

MACARONI, CHEESE AND TOMATO BAKE

8 ounces corkscrew pasta

2 tablespoons margarine (Here I would substitute cooking spray)

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt (try leaving this out or use a sodium substitute)

1 1/2 cups nonfat milk

8 ounces Velveeta Light cheese, chopped (Note: we use soy cheese and like it)

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes, with liquid (about 2 cups)

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Melt margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour
and salt
until blended. Gradually stir in milk and cook until thickened,
stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; stir in cheese and hot
pepper sauce until cheese is melted.

Place drained pasta in 8-inch square baking dish. Gently toss
in tomatoes (with liquid). Pour cheese mixture over pasta. Bake
30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serves 6.

– Recipe from University of Nevada Cooperative Extension

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Cast Iron Cookware Shows What An Oven’s Best Use Can Be

My grandfather felt that “canned biscuits have ruined many a good woman”. My friend, who wants to hide something from his wife, hides it in their oven. He claims she has never discovered anything yet. I have not become so cynical nor do I feel it is a woman’s job to make biscuits for a man. Maybe that is why I learned to cook. If I want something, I make it. I do not want to be dependent upon a woman or anyone else. However, I agree with Kirk Douglas who said: “If my wife ever leaves me, I am going with her”.

“Biscuit” literally means cooked twice. But you will get it right the first time with your Lodge Logic pre-seasoned drop biscuit pan. Use your favorite recipe for buttermilk drop biscuits, spoon yeast rolls, individual pineapple upside down cakes, corn muffins, souffle and more. The Pan measures 12 3/4 inches x 11 3/16 x 1 1/8.There are 7 impressions. You may need two for family or guests. Lodge.for over 100 years has been making and improving their line of cast iron cookware. If you start or add to your collection of Lodge cast iron cookware with this cast iron drop biscuit pan, you will discover or re-discover what you oven was really designed to do. Your biggest problem may be choosing between garlic cheese or cheddar bacon biscuits.

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Cast Iron Cookware You Do Not Have to Pronounce To Enjoy

Thank goodness you do not have to pronounce “aebleskiver” to enjoy them. In Danish, “aebleskiver” means apple slices. This Danish holiday breakfast treat is a round pancake usually filled with apples or other fruit and can be sprinkled with powdered sugar. Your Lodge Pro-Logic cast iron aebleskiver pan will soon be a family favorite. It measures 16 5/8 inches in length and 9 inches in diameter. The 7 impressions are 2 inches in diameter and 1 inch deep. You will wonder why you did not get your pan sooner. It is made by Lodge in the USA and has a life- time warranty.

Preparation

The batter for aebleskiver normally will include wheat flour, mixed with buttermilk, milk or cream, eggs, sugar and a pinch of salt. Some recipes call for butter, cardamom and lemon zest to improve taste, and a leavening agent, usually baking powder, but sometimes yeast, to aerate the batter.

Pour batter into the oiled indentations of your cast iron aebleskiver pan and as the aebleskiver begin to cook, turn them with a knitting needle, skewer or fork to give the cakes their characteristic spherical shape. They were traditionally cooked with bits of apple (aeble) or applesauce inside but these ingredients are very rarely included in modern Danish forms of the dish. Aeblekiver are not sweet but traditionally have been served dipped in raspberry, strawberry, lingonberry or blackberry jam and sprinkled with powdered sugar. You may have trouble saying it but you and your family will have no difficulty savoring it.

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Cast Iron Cookware and the “Little Pan That Can”

What’s wrong with this picture? There are several things that you would have no way of knowing. First of all, the little hot pad that reads “Barbara’s Kitchen” is not entirely correct. It would be if she were here instead of in New Mexico with 8 women friends having a blast without the benefit of adult supervision. But this is not a “whine and cheese party“. Do I miss her? Yes. Can I cook in her kitchen. Yes.

The second thing is also not obvious. The little six inch skillet is a Wagner.We do not sell them at Cast Iron Cookware Shop but I like this “little pan that can“.

What can it do? I am so happy you asked.

1. Last night is cooked a very tasty Spanish omelet (modestly speaking).
2. The omelet slid right out of the well-seasoned cast iron pan without sticking. I am convinced that cast iron cookware is the true non-stick cookware.
3. I set it aside to cool. When it was time to clean the pan it was a snap. Using a little hot water and a plastic “scrubbie” it came clean easily. I dried it and put it where it could continue to dry on a dish towel. Never put cast iron cookware in a dishwasher and if you need to use soap make sure it is a mild soap.

Cast Iron Enamel Fry Pan

This enamel blue cast iron pan can do it all as well.The Round 10 inch Fry Pan by Kinetic is made with Quantum 2 Non-Stick Coating which makes your Fry Pan even more durable and abrasion resistant. Use it to saute or pan fry your favorite recipes. Cornbread “pone” or Pineapple Up-Side-Down Cake, it’s all delicious with Cast Iron. Pour Spouts on Each Side make for safe easy handling for left handed as well as right handed cooks.
Black Enamel Interior
Blue Exterior

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Don’t Spend Too Much “Bread” to Bake Your Bread. Use Cast Iron Cookware

July 22nd, 2009

Lodge Logic Cornbread Wedge Pan

If you are not careful, you can easily spend too much “bread” to bake your bread. Cast Iron Cookware to the rescue!

Cook your favorite cornbread recipe in this Cast Iron 8 impression pan by Lodge. Each piece leaves the pan with a delicious crispy crust. Scones or other breads are equally easy to bake in this non-stick cornbread skillet. This wedge baking pan is heavy duty,versatile and clean up is quick and easy. Clean with warm water. Use a nylon scrubber and a little dish washing soap if needed.

About as “corny” as you can get, this corn stick cornbread pan produces 5 corn sticks shaped like ears of corn. Your children, grandchildren, or other family will be delighted with your tasty, crusty “ears of corn”. The pan measures 8 1/2 inches by 5 1/2 inches.Your corn sticks will measure 5 inches L x 1 inch W x 1 inch H. Since 1896 Lodge has manufactured quality cast iron cookware that lasts for generations. Continue or begin a family tradition with your selection. Double your fun with two pans and ensure that no one misses out on your corn sticks.

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