annieb123
Written on Jul 12, 2020
Cast-Iron Cookbook for Beginners is a tutorial and resource guide plus recipe collection by Elena Rosemond-Hoerr. Due out 14th July 2020 from Callisto on their Rockridge Press imprint, it's 251 pages (for the ebook copy) and available in paperback and ebook formats (ebook is available now). It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.
The book begins with an introduction and short history of cast iron cookware (and the mighty skillet), and iron's suitability as a material with regard to durability. There's a tutorial for choosing and what styles and weights are commonly available. There's a good tutorial on conditioning and caring for the cookware followed by a really sensible guide to cast-iron dos and don'ts.
The recipes are arranged by category: Breakfast & Brunch, Breads, Skillet Sides, Vegetarian Mains, Seafood & Poultry, Meat, and Desserts. I really appreciated the inclusion of plant based dishes. These are -hearty- mains that even my meat loving family really devoured (without complaining).
The recipes are given with English (American) measurements. There is a very minimal conversion table included at the back of the book with metric equivalents which is nice, but readers would be as well off with google conversion. It's a nice gesture, though. The ingredients are listed in sidebar format along with special info in the headers like: vegetarian, quick & easy, one skillet meal etc.
There are a lot of different cuisines represented here, most with a southern USA twist. There are very few (none, really) which require difficult to source ingredients.
We're definitely going to try more of these recipes. Well written book, tasty recipes. I've dinged half a star for the near-total lack of photographs. For cooks who -need- photographs for serving ideas, this will be a disappointment.
Four and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.