Gluten Free Cooking Tips #5 -- Have a really good skillet

Cooking Tip#5 
Have one really good, high-quality oven safe skillet 


Back on day one, my tip was to buy a high-quality knife. As with the knife, having a durable, high-quality, oven-safe skillet will not only save you money, but will be a valuable cooking tool that could be used nearly every night of the week. Not only will heavy, high-quality skillets cook more evenly, but they withstand high cooking temperatures and heavy usage.

My favorite oven-safe skillets are cast iron. They are durable, long-lasting (the primary skillet I use was orginally my great-great grandmother’s! It’s over 100 years old!) and if you care for cast iron correctly it will develop a naturally non-stick surface. Cast iron is actually quite affordable and you can buy them anywhere from big box stores to local hardware stores. You can now also buy them pre-seasoned, so that they are nonstick from the get-go!

Cast iron skillets are excellent at evenly distributing the heat while cooking, will help to give aromatic vegetables like onions and garlic a great sear and caramelization. The cast iron surface browns meat beautifully and even adds a little bit of iron to your diet with each meal you make in it. Best of all, you can sauté your onions, brown your meat and then transfer the whole dish to the oven to finish cooking/roasting/basting, etc... And best of all? Only one dirty dish to wash!

Here are two favorite recipes we make in my great-grandmother’s skillet: Mock Cornbread, or Skillet Millet Bread, Nan's Skillet Dinner

Cleaning Tip: To safely clean your cast iron skillet, once it’s cool wipe out any excess oil or cooked food with a paper towel. Clean gently with hot, soapy water. If there is additional residue that is hard to remove, simply sprinkle table salt onto the pan and scrub with a wash cloth. The table salt will gently remove the stuck food without removing the non-stick surface. Thoroughly dry the pan completely after hand-washing to prevent from rusting.

Reader’s Tip of the Day: “If in doubt. Throw lots of stuff (meat, veggies) in a big roasting pan. Add olive or coconut oil. Some spices and roast away. Enough for brekky the next day.” – Barbara B.D.


Please visit each topic in "10 Days of Gluten Free"
From: May 7th - May 18th

• Getting Started - Linda @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker 
• Resources – Wendy @ Celiacs in the House 
• Traveling – Karen @ Gluten-Free Travel Blog 
• Eating Out – Heather @ Gluten-Free Cat 
• Frugal Tips – Janelle @ Gluten Freely Frugal 
• Baking – Jules @ Jules Gluten Free 
• Kids – Lynn @ Lynn’s Recipe Adventures 
• Lunch Boxes – Tessa @ Tessa the Domestic Diva 
• Shopping – Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry

10 Days Gluten Free GIVEAWAY!
Included with this awesome series is a giveaway on each blog once the two weeks are over! I will be giving away a brand new copy of Carol Fenster's cookbook, "100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes." This is one of my FAVORITE gluten free cookbooks with an awesome collection of Carol's absolute best recipes.

The Giveaway Nitty Gritty: 

• This giveaway is limited to U.S. residents 18 and older. 
• You are allowed one entry per "10 Days of Gluten Free" blog post for a total of 10 entries on this blog. 
• Enter by leaving a comment (WITH an email address to contact you) on this post (and other 10 Days of GF posts). 
• The giveaway begins May 7, 2012 and ends at 11:59 pm eastern time on May 18, 2012. 
• No purchase is necessary. 
• Odds of winning are based on the number of entries. 
• The winner will be randomly chosen and will be contacted by email. 
• The winner will have 48 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond, a new winner will be randomly chosen