Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook: Recipes for the Best Pan in Your Kitchen    by Sharon Kramis & Julie Kramis Hearne Order:  USA  Can Sasquatch Books, 2013 (2013) Softcover, e-Book      Reviewed by Bob Walch The mother-daughter team of Sharon Kramis and Julie Kramis Hearne is back in the kitchen again, whipping up some delicious and delectable recipes for their latest cookbook, Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook: Recipes for the Best Pan in Your Kitchen. This inexpensive volume with full page color illustrations and easy to follow instructions features 95 recipes that explain how to create some classic comfort foods that are sure to please family and guests alike. Using the best and freshest ingredients, you can create such savory dishes as Dungeness Crab Cakes with Tarragon Aioli or Chicken with Herbed Dumplings. For a healthy side dish, try Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, Carmelized Brussel Sprouts Hash with Crumbled Bacon, or Sauteed Green Beans with Melting Tomatoes and Pine Nuts. Can you use that skillet for preparing a scrumptious dessert? Why, of course! If a Tarte Tatin (Upside Down Apple Tart) or Cardamom-Apricot Financier (French almond cake) doesn't tickle your fancy, perhaps a Bread Pudding with Grand Marnier Sauce or a Bing Cherry Clafouti will. Updated and expanded, this new edition of the Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook is divided into six recipe sections: Breakfast & Brunch, Appetizers, Entrees, Vegetables & Sides, Outdoor Cookery, and Desserts. There's also a very informative chapter on caring for your cast iron pan. Here you'll discover some helpful tips for purchasing a cast iron pan and the ins and outs of caring for it. Perhaps most important are the instructions on how to properly season a cast iron skillet. There's information on how to deal with a used skillet that you may purchase at a yard sale or second hand store too. 'The first few times you use a newly reseasoned pan, it's best to fry bacon or other fatty foods. After these first uses, you'll find that your pan will develop a permanent nonstick surface,' write the authors. Perhaps the only downside to using a skillet is the fact that the handle does transmit heat so always have an oven mitt nearby when working with a skillet. Also remember to never place a cast iron skillet in the dishwasher or scrape it with a metal utensil. For hard to remove substances, first soak the pan and then use a nylon scouring pad or stiff bristle plastic brush if necessary. When you store the cast iron skillet do not place the lid on top. Set it elsewhere and let the air circulate around the pan. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more NonFiction books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews