Skillet Love

August 5, 2019
Byrn (The Cake Mix Doctor) salutes the cast-iron skillet in this eye-opening and tasty collection. Calling it “the only pan you’ll ever need,” Byrn offers instructions for using it to sear, caramelize, roast, and bake. She presents a top-notch variety of recipes for small plates, salads, and vegetables, such as potato-onion latkes with cucumber raita; peppers stuffed with quinoa, raisins, green olives, and zucchini; and pan-roasted beets with spinach, cherries, and candied pecans. Her brunch and main dish offerings are less inspired, with more commonplace recipes including blueberry pancakes and chicken pot pie. Where Byrn really shines is in her chapters on desserts and breads, biscuits, and buns, where she showcases appealing items not traditionally made in a skillet: pound cake, a cranberry and almond tart, Irish soda bread with drunk raisins, and skillet Yorkshire pudding. For those looking to learn about cast-iron skillet cooking, Byrn is an astute teacher, and this collection showcases new and appealing ways to create delicious meals using a kitchen mainstay.

September 6, 2019

Byrn (American Cake) shares her appreciation and recipes for cooking with a cast iron skillet. More affordable than copper and naturally nonstick, these pans are a good option for searing, stir-frying, and dry roasting. After a short historical overview, Byrn covers skillet care and seasoning. Pommes frites, my grandmother's spoonbread, and New England spider cake are a few of the surprising recipes presented that range from small plates through desserts. Other dishes include skillet mac and cheese, New Orleans beignets and croque monsieur. For a main course, there's seared rib eye steak with red wine pan sauce and old-fashioned shepherd's pie. The "Sweets" chapter features Mississippi mud cake with chocolate fudge icing, classic cherry clafoutis, and little fried hand pies. Color photos enhance the appealing fare. The "Pantry" section offers storable ideas such as homemade croutons and bourbon peach preserves. VERDICT This is a strong addition to the cookbook section at any public library. Byrn makes a solid case for the multipurpose appliance along with many mouthwatering recipes.--Barbara Kundanis, Longmont P.L., CO

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2019
The one-container-recipe collection is popular again, though of late it's veered toward the sheet pan. By resurrecting a centuries-old implement, Byrn, author of several cookbooks including American Cookie (2018) and the Cake Mix Doctor series, reminds cooks of the almost infinite versatility of the cast-iron skillet. She avoids the one and done syndrome, which concentrates on easy recipes that will accommodate the tool, and instead details the skillet's 10 best uses, from hot searing to cooking with residual heat, and applies them to world cuisines, different culinary techniques, and a mix of familiar and foreign dishes. Preceding the 160 recipes are directions for general care and use, covering history, selection, and seasoning, among other tips. Further inspiring home cooks, Byrn helpfully identifies specific dishes as blueprints?skillet pizza and Dutch baby pancakes, for two?that can easily accept variations. No gimmicks here, just great recipes. The enthralling options include Irish soda bread, beignets, shakshuka, sticky chicken thighs with ginger and garlic, and prune and rye cake with buttermilk glaze.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)