Cast iron heaven

Allen's grandmother recently passed on some of her cast iron that she's not using/doesn't have room for anymore, and I'm in cook's paradise with them. I don't know what it is that makes using cast iron so enjoyable. Maybe it makes me feel more in touch with my past; maybe cast iron is just more fun. I couldn't really say. It's certainly more picturesque. Last night I sauteed up some shitake mushrooms with green onions, garlic, and lots of butter to go with Allen's steak, and those mushrooms surely did look wonderful resting in that small black skillet with a wooden spoon poised ready to serve. Almost made me want to eat some too. lol. I'm not a mushroom purist. They're wonderful with cube steak simmered in gravy or in marinara sauce but not so much alone.

I'm still getting used to how cast iron cooks though. It holds and tranfers heat differently from stainless steel. I found that out while cooking some steaks on my griddle pan last night. Since I was tired of making a mess of my everyday pan I decided to go ahead and try my griddle. First, I've smoked up the apartment more than once, but that perfectly seared surface is still barely eluding me. Second, what might be medium rare in a stainless steel pan is more like medium well on a cast iron griddle. If you're good you're supposed to be able to tell doneness by the resistence when you poke the surface of the meat, but I'm not quite there yet. I still tend to go by the clock. Hint, if your cast iron pan is smoking hot, 1min 30sec per side is a tad long for medium rare steaks. They were still good though thanks to a little help from Jaden at Steamy Kitchen and her wonderful instructions for turning cheap steaks into outstanding steaks. Yummy. I can't wait to do some more practicing in the upcoming weeks.