Wednesday, March 26, 2008
My excitement quickly dissipated
Well, a couple of weekends ago I purchased two cooking utensils that I have been eying for a while now. I found a cast iron double sided griddle and a cast iron dutch oven both for considerably less than I found elsewhere. I read all the instructions before using the griddle last night. I was so excited to try it out. Well the instructions were very limited. They detailed how to reseason the cookware should you ever need to but they didn't talk at all about tempertatures or recommended heating times or anything along those lines. So last night I began making BBQ Chicken Kabobs on our new griddle. Well things did not exactly go according to plan. First of all, the grill got very hot very quickly so the sauce that dripped off burned and smoked so much that our smoke detector went off. Then the kicker came when we finished dinner and moved the griddle we found that it had scorched our stovetop!! Uuugghh! I don't know how to get the burn marks off of our stove (we rent so this is not our property) and I don't know how to prevent this in the future. I was so thrilled about these new pans and now I am not so sure. I have been wanting cast iron cookware because I have a bunch of recipes from the Food Network shows that I watch. Paula Deen uses it all the time and many of the hosts use the stovetop griddles without any of the problems that I experienced. I am so frustrated! The food turned out really good but it just did not go smoothly. Another shining example of how I am purely a Half-assed Martha Stewart!! Geez!
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3 comments:
Oh Shan, Im sorry that happened. Cast iron can be very nice but yes they do get hotter then some other pans. Do you have an electric stove? Maybe with that, the burner was too high. There is a cleaner out there that is made for stove tops. Dont use abrasives though. A new cast iron should be seasoned real good.
To season a new iron pot, wash with mild soapy water, rinse and dry thoroughly, then coat the entire surface with oil or melted shortening, including outside and handles, and a lid if the pot has one. Once the entire surface is well-greased, place the pot in a 300° oven for about 30 minutes, with a baking sheet under it to catch any drips, then let it cool slightly; remove and wipe with paper towels. After each use, wash with mild soapy water and dry thoroughly, then add a little oil or melted fat to the pan and coat the inner surfaces completely.
The way I read the "warnings" sheet that come with smooth top electric ranges you are not supposed to use any pan that is not perfectly flat, nor should you use anything that can scratch the surface, nor should you preheat the pan, if you try to preheat there is some kindof circuit to shutoff the stove before the rejected heat damages the stove:
...Hope this helps hon, and you WILL be able to cook with this pan. Dont worry, things like this happen to everyone that doesnt have multiple helpers like Martha has....
We actually have a gas stove but it is an enamel cooktop. It is not a flat surface like Moms that is why I was surprised that it burned because the pan was raised from the surface. Oh well, last night I made stuffed pork loin and it was excellent so life goes on.
glad to hear that love, sounds yummy, come cook for me...my supper turned out lousy last night.
In my defense, we were busy up until 5,30 getting the cabinets off the truck, ect. I hurried the fish and brown rice so it didnt turn out well. Oh well, lucky for me
gramps has a sense of humor.
he does, he really does....SAy a prayer for him tonite ok? Surgery tomorrow morning....
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