Guide to Choosing a Skillet

Skillet has become an important part of every kitchen. It is a multi-purpose kitchenware with many benefits. From frying to creating sauces and baking foods in the oven, it really is a convenient tool for everyone. With so many uses, it is important to choose the right skillet for the job. What should you look for when buying a skillet?

First of all is purpose. Do you want something portable? Perhaps you want to take your skillet to the patio and avoid lingering odor in the house? What are you going to use it for? With a set of basic questions, you should have narrowed down your choices. For example, if portability is important, electric skillet is more suitable for you.

Electric skillet has become more very popular because you can use it anywhere there is an electric outlet. That means you don't have to worry about running out of burners during a family gathering or any other event. For the same reason, it is suitable for students who live in a dorm room or anyone with space issue.

Next thing is the lid feature. Glass lid enables you to check the food anytime without constantly pulling off the lid. That means it doesn't lose any heat. You will always know when it's time to add another ingredient or stir your food. Make sure the glass is heat resistant though.

Not all skillet is created with the same heating feature. Stainless steel skillets are not as good as aluminum for conducting heat. But on the bright side, they do not corrode easily and are economical. Aluminium skillets heat uniformly and quickly but you need non-stick covering to prevent reaction with acidic foods.

Teflon is popular because it is non stick and you don't have to grease the pan before cooking. Teflon skillets are also easy to clean. However, they do come with a drawback. You need to handle them with care to avoid scraping. Scraped Teflon is very toxic.

Finally, for some people, design is not something to be taken lightly. An attractive skillet allows you to prepare a meal and leave it on the dining or buffet table. Some models have storage unit or rack, so you can easily store them when it's not in use.

Online store allows you to browse for various models without leaving your chair. It does save time but care should be taken because not all sites offer the best deal. Not to mention that you cannot trust every review that you find online.

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Check Out Lodge Enamel Coated Cast-Iron Skillet, Red for $34.99

Lodge Enamel Coated Cast-Iron Skillet, Red Review

Lodge Enamel Coated Cast-Iron Skillet, Red Feature

• Superior heat distribution and retention, evenly heating bottom and sides; even, tightly fitting lid seals in moisture; knob is safe to 400°F
• 2 layers of very hard, glossy porcelain enamel are chip resistant and easy to clean; porcelain surface eliminates the need to season cast iron
• Can be used on gas, electric, ceramic and induction cook tops, and in oven; not recommended in microwaves, outdoor grills, or over open outdoor flames
• Hand wash
• UL listed; 1.75Hx11Lx15W"

Lodge Enamel Coated Cast-Iron Skillet, Red Overview

Enamel-coated cast iron flawlessly crafted to braise or saute your favorite cuts of meat. 11" diameter, 1-3/4" depth. Total weight 9 pounds. 6 Quart colored dutch oven lids fit colored 11" diameter skillets.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

Related Products

• Lodge Color Enameled Cast-Iron 6-Quart Dutch Oven, Island Spice Red
• Lodge Max Temp Handle Mitt, Black
• Lodge Cast Iron Scrubber Brush
• Lodge Enameled Cast-Iron 3-Quart Dutch Oven, Island Spice Red
• Lodge Logic 12-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet

Customer Reviews

returning mine - lovetocook - Dublin, OH USA
I love cast iron and could not imagine cooking without it. I can not use my original Lodge on my induction cooktop. I wanted a replacement and an Enameled cast iron product was a great solution. Le Creuset is the highest rated however,a very expensive choice compared to Lodge. I was excited to find a Lodge enamel at Target and purchased mine about 3 mos. ago. It began chipping alomost immediately, mostly around the handle(s) and rim. Now large chunks are coming off the bottom. It is unusable. I am going to try to take back to Target and will purchase a Le Creuset as soon as possible.



Hot spots and Sticky! - Elana Abelev - New York, NY
I bought this skillet hoping to find an alternative to Teflon covered non-stick skillets. Unfortunately, this skillet is not it. The heat distribution is very very poor. Food will burn in the middle and barely cook on the sides. I actually have to move the skillet around over the burner to heat up different areas.

And the food will stick, no matter how much oil you put in it.

I can't wait to find a better skillet and toss this in the garbage...



A Bad Example of a Bad Idea - VReality -
This pan gets a star for being kinda pretty and essentially being what it claims to be; an enamel covered, cast-iron pan. It loses two stars for falling short within its category, and two stars for the poor performance of its category, in general.


The Failings of This Specific Pan

The interior of the pan is sort of a rough, micro-textured, abrasive surface. I find that if I wipe it with a cloth or paper towel, it comes away covered in tiny cotton fibers. Not being interested in eating cotton, I have to rinse it again, and let it air dry.

The problem with this is that Lodge's cleaning instructions state, in bold letters, "DO NOT AIR DRY". I e-mailed them asking what exactly the risk in air drying is, and they said the pan may rust, "around the edges". This seems odd, considering that the point of coating the pan is to eliminate this problem. But it turns out this is a hint that Lodge does not expect the enamel coating to last.

Sure enough, within one week of use, I began discovering chips in the enamel of both this pan and a similar Dutch oven by Lodge. And I do mean "discovering". I never dropped either item, and there were no "Bang - Whoops" moments. I just found small patches of enamel missing. This seems mostly to be happening on the bottom of the pan, where it interacts with the cooking surface, but it is not limited to that area.

An enamel coating that won't stay on the pan defeats the purpose of its own existence.

Another problem with this pan is that it is poorly balanced. Its solid iron handle causes it to list to one side on a cooking surface with any give (like most electric coils). It may also have problems sitting flat on many cooking surfaces with significant gaps (like many gas burners).


The General Failings of Cast Iron

It seems that "high end" pans tend to have thick aluminum cores. This is because aluminum "transmits heat" very efficiently. An aluminum core moves heat from the point of contact, throughout the entire pan, causing its cooking surface to be heated relatively evenly (no hot or cold spots), regardless of the location or shape of the heat source. In addition, the mass of a thick core, and the encasing steel, will store heat, so that adding cold food to the heated pan will have reduced effect on its temperature.

It may seem (as it initially did to me) that if a thick aluminum core is good, then a heavy cast iron core should be great. This is not the case. If it were, they wouldn't bother with aluminum cores in pans made of steel (which happens to be iron, infused with carbon). They go to the trouble and cost of sandwiching an aluminum core between layers of steel because it greatly improves the pan's performance.

The only thing Iron's sheer mass has going for it is a thermal stability that minimizes cooling when you add food. Unfortunately, the overkill of Iron's mass also minimizes cooling when you remove it from heat, and minimizes heating when you put it on the burner. And iron doesn't have aluminum's heat transmission properties. It is easy to get hot spots or inadvertently overheat the pan (after a long wait). The result is that, with cast iron, it takes much longer to cook, and it's very easy to burn food. In addition, due to the pan being "cast" as a single piece, it's only a matter of time until the solid iron handle burns your hand (perhaps 10 minutes after you've taken it off the heat).

Iron is very prone to rusting, and despite the reassurances of those who live with it, this, along with its maintenance needs, unwieldy weight, and heat retention, all conspire to greatly complicate the purportedly simple activity of cleaning it.

Despite all this, cast iron pans are still sold because they are relatively cheap, and under the right conditions, they have a sort of non-stick surface.


The General Failings of Enamel Coating

Coating iron pans with enamel theoretically addresses rusting and maintenance issues. Unfortunately, it also defeats both of the reasons that iron is even still being used. The enamel coating costs more than the iron pan itself, and it isn't non-stick.


Conclusion

If, in addition to the general failings of cast iron and enamel coating, you get an oddly textured and flaky coating, and an unbalanced pan, what you have is a pan that:

- takes longer to heat than it takes to cook,
- won't sit flat on the burner,
- heats unevenly, overheats, and promotes food burning,
- takes forever to cool, and will probably burn you at some point,
- can't be washed for 30 minutes after using or it may crack,
- has an oddly rough interior, making it difficult to clean and dry,
- has no non-stick properties,
- is super heavy and unwieldy (a bad combination with scalding, slick enameled handles),
- is too expensive for cast iron,
- will probably end up rusting,
- is just basically a complete disaster.


Bottom line: Don't buy this pan.




A really poor product. - Kent D. Hunt - Utah United States
This pan's enamel was cracked and broken IN THE BOX when I received it. I could not return it fast enough. I recommend buying a Cuisinart enamel coated cast iron skillet. That is what I got instead and it is great.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 18, 2010 15:15:08

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Ninja gaiden 2 Chapter 1 Master Ninja Mode Golden Costume (skillet)

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Cheese Quesadilla - Authentic Mexican Food You Can Make at Home

Choose only very fresh tortillas. If they are not soft and pliable, they are not fresh. You do not want dried out, old tortillas. Pick up the package and toss lightly in your hand, bend them back and forth. If they bend easily, they are fresher than those that crack and break.

Better yet, get a tortilla press and make your own. Just be sure to use fresh flour.

Ingredients Needed:

* Soft and fresh 8" flour tortillas (Mission or Chi-Chi's are usually good or make your own)
* Pace picante sauce or salsa of choice (we prefer medium and hot salsa)
* Hot jalapeno pepper slices (optional)
* white American cheese (available in your gourmet cheese section or deli)
* pepper jack cheese (Monterey jack with jalapeno peppers)
* Sargento or Kraft shredded Mexican cheese blend (comes shredded in a plastic bag)
* Olive oil spray
* 1-2 Tablespoons butter
* Optional: frosted beer mugs, ice cold Corona, and fresh lime wedges

Instructions:

1. Shred the white American and pepper jack cheeses. The finer the shred, the better the melt. Zyliss rotary shredders like those used at Olive Garden are great to have as a kitchen accessory; they shred chocolate, too. If you don't have one, a standard cheese shredder will work fine.
2. Allocate a plate for each individual diner.
3. Put a fresh and pliable tortilla on each plate.
4. Add shredded cheese, including all three varieties. Don't be stingy with the cheese, but don't get carried away, either.
5. Do not put all the cheese in the center. Distribute it evenly on the tortilla to within about 1/8-1/4 inch from the edge.
6. Distribute jalapeno slices on the quesadilla.
7. Add a tortilla on top, forming a "sandwich."
8. Spray non-stick skillet with olive oil spray.
9. Place butter in skillet and heat to medium/medium high.
10. Add quesadilla.
11. Don't start flipping it too soon. Give it time to cook. Some cooks are bad about that, getting impatient and flipping repeatedly.
12. Using a plastic spatula, lightly "mash down" on the top layer.
13. When cheese starts melting, give it a minute or so, then lift the edge to see if bottom is browning.
14. You don't want to burn the bottom, but you want it to have a nice golden underside. You can use more butter if needed, but don't over do it.
15. When bottom is golden brown, carefully lift the quesadilla, add some more butter to skillet, and flip over to cook the other side.
16. Watch it closely so butter does not burn.
17. When bottom side is brown, remove to dinner plate. Cover with foil or place in oven on very low heat if you have several more to prepare.
18. Slice into pie shaped wedges before serving.
19. Serve tableside with guacamole, sour cream, and Pace picante sauce or other salsa.
20. You can also serve tortilla chips (Tostitos are good) along with salsa or white cheese queso dip.
21. For a real authentic Mexican experience (adults only), serve ice cold Corona beer in a frosted beer mug along with a wedge of lime to squeeze in the beer.

That's all there is to it. I hope you enjoy your authentic Mexican food cheese quesadilla, right at home.

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7 Easy Slow Cooker Soup and Chili Recipes

For an easy to prepare meal using your slow cooker, try these delicious soup and chili recipes. They are quick to put together and can cook while you are away from home.

Slow Cooker Chicken Stew

Ingredients:

4 to 5 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 large can whole tomatoes, undrained
2 to 3 large potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
1 medium yellow squash or zucchini, thickly sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 can creamed corn
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup barbeque sauce
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preperation:

Combine chicken, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, onion and pepper in cooker. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 5 to 7 hours, until potatoes are tender.

Add ketchup, barbeque sauce and corn, mixing well until combined. Cover and cook on HIGH setting for another 30 minutes.

Slow Cooker Three-Bean Chili

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 large can dices tomatoes, undrained
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 can chopped green chilies
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

Preperation:

Cook ground beef and onion in a skillet until ground beef is browned and onion is tender. Drain well. Place beef mixture in cooker.

Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and cook on HIGH setting 6 to 8 hours.

Slow Cooker Navy Bean with Ham Soup

Ingredients:

6 cups water
5 cups dried navy beans, soaked overnight and drained
1 pound ham, cubed
1 can corn
1 large onion, diced
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preperation:

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Cover and cook on LOW setting 7 to 10 hours, or until beans are tender.

Slow Cooker Chicken Chowder

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 1/2 pounds chicken, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
2 cups fresh or frozen corn
2 cans cream of potato soup
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup cream

Preperation:

Melt butter or margarine in skillet. Add chicken and cook until browned.

Add chicken, onion, celery, carrots, cream of potato soup, chicken broth and pepper to slow cooker. Mix well. Cover and cook on LOW setting 3 to 4 hours, or until chicken in cooked through and vegetables are tender.

Turn off heat. Stir in cream and allow to heat through, 5 to 10 minutes.

Slow Cooker Easy Turkey Soup

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground turkey, cooked and drained
1 large can whole tomatoes, undrained
2 cans beef broth
1 16 ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 cup dry barley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preperation:

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and mix well. Add water to just cover ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH setting 3 to 4 hours or on LOW setting 6 to 8 hours until vegetables are tender.

Best Bean Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

6 ounces bacon, diced
8 to 10 cups chicken broth
3 cans Great Northern beans or Navy beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 large onion, chopped
1 package frozen carrots
2 teaspoons dried minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preperation:

Cook bacon in skillet until just cooked. Drain and place in slow cooker.

Add remaining ingredients to slow cooker, mixing well.

Cover and cook on LOW setting 6 to 8 hours, or until beans are tender.

Slow Cooker Chunky Chili

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons chili powder
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans chili beans or kidney beans
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preperatiion:

In a skillet cook ground been and onion until beef is browned and onion is tender. Drain well. Add to slow cooker.

Add all remaining ingredients, and mixing well. Cover and cook on LOW setting 5 to 6 hours.

Sprinkle with shredded cheese when serving, if desired.

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