Clean a Cast Iron Skillet Without Water

This is quick and simple. I don't know where I learned this trick, but it works so well I had to share it. It makes cleaning and treating your cast iron cookware simple without risking rust or removing the seasoning from the pan.

I start by wiping the big chunks out of the pan by hand. Then I use a board scraper (or a putty knife (I keep one with my camping gear just for this purpose)) to scrape the cooked on gunk out of the bottom and level the surface.

Then I pour about one tablespoon of kosher salt into the center of the pan. It acts as an abrasive.

I then dump some cooking oil into the salt, about one tablespoon. This is the lubricant that the abrasive (salt) moves around in.

The next step is to, using 3 or 4 paper towels (one at a time) go in circles around the pan from the center to the outside, rubbing hard on the bottom of the pan loosening the fried on gunk. Repeat as needed (usually takes 3 to 4 times) removing some of the salt each time.

Finally wipe the last of the salt out of the pan. Then use that lightly oiled paper tower to wipe down the outside of the pan to treat it as well.

You will be left with a perfectly coated cooking surface ready for use or storage. If you happen to miss some of the salt, that's no problem unless you are storing the cookware for 3 or more months.

National Sticky Bun Day!

It's that time of the year again! This year, National Sticky Bun Day converged with Fat Tuesday. While I was tempted to stick a plastic baby in one of the cinnamon rolls, I resisted.

Rather than spend hours redocumenting the process, Here's what I did: (from last year)

http://makerandfixerofthings.blogspot.com/2011/02/cinnamon-rolls-feb-21-is-national.html

Coming next to my kitchen, Low budget Sous-vide

Time to get back into the micro controller world. I plan on blending micro-controllers with temperature sensors, heaters and pumps to COOK!

Sous-vide

French for under vacuum. The process basically consists of vacuum packing food in a plastic bag and immersing it in water bath at a constant temperature (typically the temperature of the food when it's considered "done") for a long enough period of time to let it reach that heat all the way through and kill any possible pathogens in the food.

Most food, when cooked sous-vide requires "finishing" or a quick trip into the frying pan or under the broiler to give it the appearance of having been cooked by that method.

Two of the biggest benefits of sous-vide are that the food is extremely moist since all of the moisture is trapped in the bag with the food and the food can rest at the "done" temperature for many hours without becoming overdone, allowing for wide flexibility in serving times.

There will be much more to come on this topic.

Homemade butter

I made a little bit of butter. It's one of the simplest things to make, but also one of the most labor intensive.

I put 1 cup of heavy cream and a pinch of kosher salt in a plastic container that locks closed.

My 5 year old daughter and I took turns shaking it. It was a 5% : 95% split on the labor, but she tried her hardest.

It's amazing how it goes from liquid to foam and then, after what feels like days, suddenly it's a solid.

I hope this works!

I'm making a pumpkin pie.

As usual for me, making something straight forward never is.

The pie crust is a simple one that I first used a couple of years ago. It's very simple:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup shortening

1/2 cup water

Of course, I wanted to use some butter too so I added 4 Tbsp of butter as well. I've been happy with this recipe for some time.

It's simple, cut the shortening and butter into the flour:

add the water, blend together until it holds in a ball and chill.

Pumpkin Goo Recipe:

I never made a pumpkin pie before today. I don't have a favorite pumpkin goo recipe... so I made one up. It's a combination of 6 different recipes inspired by (and then bastardized) this vegan recipe, chiefly because I didn't have any cream/half-and-half/sweetend condensed milk.

1 can pumpkin

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

2 large eggs

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup1 cup of 2% milk

Whipped it all together in a bowl, poured into my pie crust and put in a 425° oven for 15 minutes and then turned down to 350° for 45 more.