We definitely need more cooking posts from you, i’ve been meaning to try out some new things. :P

I don’t know if you have Cracker Barrel out there, we have them here and they sell some nice looking cast iron pans in the store part of the restaraunts.

As much as I love to cook I will be honest I have never used cast iron but I want to and was tempted to buy a pan or two there but I wasn’t sure of the proper way to use them so I held back.

Maybe you could give me some good pointers and I will go back and buy a pan or two :-)

When you first met your wife, She was the Master Shopper and you were the apprentice.

Now You are the master.

Obi-Wan never told you who your “Mother” was… Whoz Your Mama?!

Question: Is Amazon making money yet?

Question: Is Amazon making money yet?

I believe they started turning profit in 2002 and continued to do since.  It’s been said that they still haven’t broken even from losing money for the first five or six years though.  So overall, no profit, but since 2002, yearly profits have increased.  They’ll be even soon I’m sure, they make around a half-billion a year in profit these days.

I found the following a bit of a comment on why brick & mortar is ultimately doomed.  It will take a long time, mainly due to Wal-Mart’s power.  But brick & mortar will die.

I was completely lost until the third paragraph. My first thought was “What will they use, aluminum siding?”

Trust me, it was funnier thinking it than re-reading it.

I don’t know that they’re doomed, precisely. Just doomed to a somewhat lesser role, probably having to cut back.

Online shopping is great and a replacement for a lot of stuff, I’m definitely with you there. But I think there’s a certain appeal to being able to walk into a store, pick up what you’re buying and look at it, turn it around in your hands, and be able to walk out and use it pretty much immediately upon arriving home that will never die.

But I think there’s a certain appeal to being able to walk into a store, pick up what you’re buying and look at it, turn it around in your hands, and be able to walk out and use it pretty much immediately upon arriving home that will never die.

In that case, I revise my prediction:

Online shopping and Wal-Marts everywhere.  That’s all that will survive in 30 years or so.  :)

Maybe you could give me some good pointers and I will go back and buy a pan or two :-)

Well, first of all a 10” frying pan is the default and probably the most useful.  These things weigh a ton, so you want to use the smallest size that will serve your needs.  That also helps with getting it hot - all cast iron is great for heat retention and smooth, even cooking, but obviously the smaller the pan the less your stove has to work to heat it up. And the less you have to lift.  When I was a kid we had a 20” cast iron pan that I couldn’t even carry.  I swear it weight 50 pounds.  :)

To season a raw pan - they look grey and very rough when raw - rub it with peanut oil (some swear by lard - actual lard made from animal fats) and put it in a 300 degree oven.  wait 20 minutes or so, then take it out and pour off any loose oil.  Then bake it for 2 hours.

Do that three or four times before you use it and you will probably have a great start.  Nothing beats using it to season it, juts be prepared for a bit of sticking for the first couple of months.  Once it’s fully seasoned, NEVER WASH IT! 

Seriously, never wash it with soap or in the dishwasher.  After you use it - and do this fast so the pan stays hot - drain any fat or oil into some container for disposal.  Run the hot water in your sink, and stick the pan under the hot water.  Most everything should come off.  If any little bits stick behind, I have used a nylon or plastic spatula to scrape them off...never metal.  Metal will scrape off your awesome seasoning!

You’ll know it’s right when the pan is black inside.  Black is good.  :)

It’s a lot easier than it sounds...once it’s clean, wipe it out with a dab of any old oil and a paper towel.  Just a drop of oil, enough to coat the surface so the iron doesn’t rust.

If you scratch or scrape it or it rusts a little on you, just hit it with steel wool and start over again.  You have to leave one of these things out in the rain for a year before you can really ruin them.

Online shopping and Wal-Marts everywhere.  That’s all that will survive in 30 years or so.  :)

I’d definitely say that’s so. And to be perfectly honest, I’d probably love that. I love shopping at Wal-Mart. When you’re broke, you don’t really care about the socioeconomic considerations of the fact that something they charge ninety-seven cents for is three bucks somewhere else.

Online shopping is great and a replacement for a lot of stuff, I’m definitely with you there. But I think there’s a certain appeal to being able to walk into a store, pick up what you’re buying and look at it, turn it around in your hands, and be able to walk out and use it pretty much immediately upon arriving home that will never die.

Not to mention being able to buy something and not have to wonder if they’ll be delivering it when no one is home.

Cooking hamburgers is a great way to get your skillet fully seasoned.  Once it’s seasoned you can cook more delicate stuff in it.

A well seasoned cast iron skillet is the only way to fry potatoes, or to cook cornbread in. Cornbread baked in a cast iron skillet is absolute heaven.

Online shopping and Wal-Marts everywhere.  That’s all that will survive in 30 years or so.

Living in the boonies, those are my only options. Its a 2 hour drive to any major store, and online shopping makes that so much easier to do. Christmas shopping online is the only way to shop.

I love people who whine about Wal-mart.  Usually these idiots live in large, metropolitan areas with lots of choices. If it wasn’t for Wal-mart, those of us in rural areas would have absolutely no where to go for not just the basics of life, but things like Books, or Cd’s or Dvd’s, or even bedding and house furnishings.

I’m not a Wal-Mart hater.  I think they pull some slightly-less-than-ethical tricks like forcing full time employees to stay an hour under the number at which they would be forced to offer medical care...wait, that’s the ONLY thing they do that I think is wrong.  Aggressive with vendors?  Good.  Lower prices.  Drives small business away?  Sorry - it sucks, sure, but compete or die.  Huge, sprawling stores?  Ok, that kinda sucks...walking through your average Wal-Mart can take like two hours.  :)

I say if someone else can do what Wal-Mart does with prices and availability and somehow appease the Wal-Mart haters - let ‘em try.