The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook ~ Recipe Collection

Book Give Away! 

Do you own cast iron cookware? That's about all I use in the kitchen.

If you're a fan, you're gonna LOVE this cookbook. With recipes like... HOT LAVA CHOCOLATE CAKE what's not to love?

Leave a comment if you'd like to be included in the drawing for this delightful cookbook. :)

HOT LAVA CHOCOLATE CAKE
The perfect sweet ending to a campfire meal.

• 2 oz. square semisweet chocolate
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 9 teaspoons flour

Melt chocolate and butter, stir in the sugar. Add eggs; then flour. Spray a small cast iron skillet (so this delightful mess doesn't stick.) Pour in this ooey-gooey mess. Bake over hot campfire coals for 15-18 minutes. Or, in the oven at 350 (F) for approximately the same amount of time. (Use a toothpick to determine if it's done.)

Serves 4 normal people, or one uncontrollable choco-holic. {That would be me.}

Hot Tips in Cold Places

Yes, you're in my refrigerator but there's a pretty good reason for that! Do you store your green onions in water? If you do you'll hardly ever have to buy new ones. The green tops happily replenish themselves...

Roasted Chestnuts

Fresh Chestnuts, ready for the oven.

Slice an 'X' through the Chestnut shells prior to roasting. 

Skip this step and you'll be sorry...

Ever roasted chestnuts? Fresh from the oven, with a dash of sea salt, they're quite delightful.

And, pretty easy to do, if you follow directions. Last Christmas I bought a pound of fresh Chestnuts and decided to give this tradition a try. The outcome was not nearly as cozy and romantic as I expected.

They explode! In unison!

When you remove them from a hot oven and they hit the cooler air it's like 4th of July all over the kitchen. So, that was not good. But, the remnants were quite tasty.

Our jazzy Christmas table settings.

Roasting Chestnuts:

• Slice a criss cross into the shells.
• Place on a baking sheet.
• Cook in a 375 (F) oven for about 30 minutes
• The criss-crossed shells will curl back letting you know when they are done.
• As soon as they are cool enough to touch, pop them out of their shells. (It's a lot harder to remove them when they're cool.) 
• Spritz with a buttery flavored cooking spray.
• Sprinkle with sea salt.

What I've learned:
* In the mountains, try a cooler oven. Bake at 375 (F) vs. the 425 you see in directions all over the web.
** No need to soak them in salt water. That's a waste of time since the moisture and salt permeate the shells, not the chestnuts, and you're throwing the shells away.

Fun Facts to Know and Tell: 
Chestnuts are one of the healthiest nuts you can nibble. Low in calories, low in fat, rich in vitamins, minerals and protein. Nutritionally similar to brown rice with loads more flavor.

Sparklers, Sangria plus a Miracle on Bourbon St.

A Toast to the Holidays! Live, Laugh & Loaf.

I'm feeling SUPER special today because my lame cooking blog is getting some attention! A PR agency (from New York City!) sent me pics and recipes for holiday cocktails.

Sparklers!

Yeah, yeah, I'm being a little facetious. It's easy to become overly-sensitive when you live in Utah, where no booze is allowed to cross state lines. (Bye-bye free samples.) Where everyone just assumes you're a hick. Even when you're not.

I used to work in New York. Produced many a television commercial there. Not always by choice! As low woman on the totem pole, I got saddled with a December TV production project every single year. Because my boss.. and, my boss's boss... and, my boss's boss's boss much preferred to stay home for the holidays.

But, enough about that. Manhattan is a magical place at Christmas time. So, I was delighted to see these very clever uptown concoctions. Ideal for the many parties we've been invited to.

Sparklers!

• 4 oz. VOGA Sparkling Pinot Grigio
• 1 oz. Vodka
• .5 oz. Raspberry Liqueur
• .5 oz. Soho Lychee Liqueur

* It's practically impossible to substitute the unique flavor of Lychee, an exotic Asian fruit. (To get close, mimic a combo of grapes, strawberries and watermelon.)
** If you have never tried a sparkling Pinot Grigio before, you might be surprised. Less sweet than champagne. Delightful.

Sangria

Sangria!

• 2 bottles VOGA Merlot (Or, try an old vine Zinfandel)
• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• 1/3 cup Triple Sec (orange-flavored liqueur)
• 1 blood orange (cut into sections)
• 1 very tart apple (cut into sections)
• 1 cup of cherries
• 1/4 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick

Let this percolate in your refrigerator overnight, allowing plenty of time for the fruit flavors to blend.

Miracle on Bourbon Street

• 1 sugar cube
• 4 dashes of angostura bitters
• 1/2 shot of bourbon
• Top up with VOGA Premium Sparkling Pinot Grigio

Midnight Kiss

Midnight Kiss

• 2 oz. VOGA Italia Sparkling
• 1 oz. apple cider
• .5 oz. ginger vodka
• Juice from ½ lemon
• 1 apple (sliced)

VOGA is a collection of Italian wines, very reasonably priced, all quite tasty. Bottled as such to attract attention. Will it work? I dunno. Especially with the name VOGA, which sounds like vodka... and a bottle that looks like vodka. Well, I'm stumped. And, slightly relieved I don't have to produce their t.v. commercials.

But, who cares? Wow your buds with some clever uptown libations. 'Tis the season.

Skier, Snowboarder Bodacious Breakfast

Here's a best kept secret about skiing and snowboarding.. the pros recommend a high carb breakfast to give you the energy to play this hard all day long. (You'll burn 1,700+ calories and you won't even notice.)

Think about it! Just how often in our healthy-eating-obsessed US of A do we get permission to dive headfirst into a high carb meal??

Well, today you get to do just that! Provided you can prove you bought yourself a lift ticket.

Ski Bum Bodacious Breakfast:
* This is a great 'weekender' breakfast for house guests, prior to hitting the slopes. Serves 8 normal people or 4 Lindsey Vonn wannabes.

• 4 cups, uncooked, hash browns*
• 8 eggs
• 2 cups chopped ham, or cooked bacon, crumbled
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 cup lite sour cream
• 1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese 
• Add a little oomph with 1/2 c. cheddar and 1/2 c. pepper jack cheese.
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots 
• 2 chopped green onions, tops and all
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Rounded bottom glass or coffee cup. (More on that, later.)

How To:
*Sighs heard 'round the world* With this recipe, you really do have to follow directions.

1. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish, press a very thin layer of hash browns (about 1 cup) into the dish.
2. Bake @ 350 (F) for about 10 minutes, until the hash browns are crisp. (This is your crust. :)
3. Melt the butter, brown the shallots, turn off the heat. If you use a very large pan, this warm pan can double as your mixing bowl when you stir up the rest of the goodies. 
4. Mix in hash browns, ham, milk, sour cream, green onions and cheese. 
5. Pour this mixture over the crispy hash browns in your baking dish.
6. Grab that rounded bottom drinking glass and make 8 depressions into this delightful mess. Crack 1 fresh egg into each of the 8 depressions.
7. Pop it in the oven. Bake @ 350 F for 30-40 minutes.

1 full ski day burns 1700 calories!

Hash Browns:
I use the refrigerated grocery store brands, to save time. Shredding your own is great. Buying dehydrated or frozen works okay, too. Refrigerated or shredding your own, of course, provides the most nutritional value.

Ham and Bacon:
There is much ado these days about nitrate-free meats. A BETTER BET is to simply purchase low sodium products.
~ No bacon or ham brand is nitrite-free, no matter what the label suggests. (Sorry to burst your bubble, but this also includes Whole Paycheck Whole Foods.)
~ Nitrite is toxic to microbes, including the bacteria that causes botulism, so it's an important preservative that hasn't caused a true health risk since the 1970's (after which nitrate levels were drastically re-formulated.)

Follow @Kate_HAGardens

Moderation is Overrated: Sublime Crab Dip

It was touch and go for awhile there but we did manage to pull off a simply fabulous Thanksgiving dinner.

The biggest mess occurred when I was too busy watching t.v. to notice that the Pomegranate Molasses something or other [that goes on top the turkey] was boiling over on top the stove.

In spite of it being a crispy, crunchy mess it added a terrific bit of fruity flavor to an otherwise ho-hum main course.

We went whole hog on the turkey this year. Buying a free range bird that cost a princely sum.

And, I hate to even type this... but IMHO it wasn't worth the money. Didn't taste all that great.

However! I think that might be us and not the bird. This family has never had a turkey that wasn't mass (read: mean) produced and injected with all sorts of flavor enhancers... We'll continue down this organic path and hope to get it right next year.

It may not look all that pretty but it was 2 die 4.

Our most mouth-watering delicacy of the day was conjured up by daughter, L. She concocted a super tasty and oh, so Zesty Crab Dip. (That's crab with a 'C' not a 'K', the moniker for faux crab.)

L calls this her Cheesy Gut Bomb. I refined the title to have appetite appeal for blog visitors! (If I ever get some.)

Moderation is Overrated Crab Dip
* Bake this in a 350 (F) oven until it's all ooey gooey.

• 1 pound real deal Blue Swimming crab
• 1 cup Mozarella cheese
• 1 cup Pepper Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup Asiago cheese
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise (Yes, light! Gotta trim calories somewhere!)
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Wasabi
• 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
• 4 tablespoons roasted garlic (the kind that comes in the jars.)
• A dash of Worcestershire
• A spritz of lemon juice

Scoop up this delightful mess on toasted Baguette slices, dripping with melted Parmesan cheese.

* Might as well butter the bread before you toast it. I mean... if we'z gonna die of a fat-induced coma, let us go out with a bang!

Here's hoping you had a simply marvelous Turkey Day. And, 3 cheers to you, if you found a way to wiggle outta doin' the dishes.

Overnight Breakfast Casserole

Living in a ski resort makes me super popular. The local hotels are ridiculously over-priced, prompting phone calls from people I haven't spoken to in years. They're hoping to score free lodging and I always say yes. Even when I don't want to. :)

'Twas all these overnight guests that inspired me to become a pro at breakfast casseroles. Egg bakes are a great skier's breakfast and super easy on the cook. (That would be me.) Just toss it in the oven and sip coffee until it's done.

That is... IF it ever gets done.

Egg casseroles, baked the normal way ~ in traditional metal or glass pans ~ don't behave very well. The edges cook way too fast. The center cooks way too slow.

That used to drive me nuts until I figured out that baking egg dishes in a bundt pan works like a charm. Evenly distributes the heat. Speeds up the whole baking process. House guests think you're a rock star. Which is great! Unless, of course, you don't want them to return.

Overnight Breakfast Casserole
* You can mix this up in a jiffy, but it should be refrigerated overnight.

• 1 package Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage crumbles (this stuff is fully cooked.)
• 1 package zesty Italian croutons (I use Pepperidge Farms.)
• 1 cup asparagus tips
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 tablespoon sweet basil
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 2 cups liquid eggs (like Better 'n Eggs or Eggbeaters.) Or, a dozen shell eggs.
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup Mozzarella cheese

Stir all these goodies together. Spray the bundt pan with buttery flavored (fat-free) cooking spray. Pour this delightful mess into the bundt pan and refrigerate overnight. Bake @ 350° (F) for 40 to 50 minutes.

* If you're in a hurry, you can buy ingredients that are good to go and prep this in about 5 minutes. The turkey sausage crumbles I listed are fully cooked, which saves a lot of time.  The liquid eggs are not as messy, plus they're half the calories of shell eggs. (So you can add more cheese! :)