COOKWARE

I love pots and pans! I love to cook, so it makes sense that I have my favorite pots and pans. Here are some of my favorites with the good and bad things about them. I have also included some that I would caution you against using.

#1 - CAST IRON

If I could only have one pot/skillet, it would be my cast iron skillet. People have been cooking in cast iron for millennia. Whether you are cooking on an induction stove top or over a wood fire, cast iron is fabulous. There are some things that I would never cook in anything but cast iron – cobbler, cornbread, frittata, to name a few. Cast iron just makes the crispiest, most delicious crusts on these things.

Pros:

They're affordable. You most likely can find them in your grandmother's kitchen cabinet. Antique stores and garage sales are great places to buy them.
They come in a great variety of sizes, shapes and uses – from Dutch oven...

Spring Favorites

Artichokes and asparagus are in season in the spring and I love to serve them as often as I can during this time. Here is how I like to serve them.

ARTICHOKES
4 artichokes (or as many as you need to make)
lemons
extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
Trim artichokes by cutting off about 1/3 of the artichoke. Trim off the stem. Pull of the small outer leaves.
Rub the artichokes with lemon. The artichokes cannot be done ahead of time unless you do this. They brown like apples.
In a heavy pot big enough to fit all the artichokes, put about 2 inches of water. Add the artichokes with the stems down. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Put the cut lemons in the water under the artichokes.
Bring to a boil and then lower heat to a high simmer. Cook for about an hour refilling water when necessary.
They are done when you can pull a leaf off easily.
Serve hot with Garlic Mayonnaise.

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Easter Side Dishes

Easter is April 17 and I thought I would share a couple of recipes that I always serve on Easter Sunday. It is our tradition to serve ham at Easter, but these dishes would go with any meat. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Deviled Eggs – hard-boil as many eggs as you choose. Peel and cut in half lengthwise. Take out the yolks and put in a bowl. Mash with a fork.
You will need mayonnaise, mustard, pickle relish (we like dill), salt and pepper. The amounts of each of these will depend on how many eggs you used.
Add a little mustard, as much pickle relish as your family would like, some salt and pepper. Stir and then add some mayonnaise. I don't like mine too runny so I'm careful about the mayonnaise. You use what you like.
At this point I use a ziplock bag as a piping bag. I put the mixture in the bag, cut the tip and pipe the mixture onto the egg halves. Sprinkle with paprika and you're done!

Potato Salad ...

Easy Weeknight Meals - Seafood Edition

Here are three more easy meals that can be made in 30 minutes or less.

Vietnamese Crispy Fish with Cilantro
from Hook, Line and Supper by Hank Shaw
serves 6

This dish will come together in about the same time it takes to make the steamed rice that goes along with it.

2 pounds of lean white fish, cut into 2-inch chunks
sea salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, about 3 cups, thinly sliced from root to end
1 piece ginger, about the size of your thumb, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sugar
3 to 5 jalapenos or other hot chiles, seeded and thinly sliced
4 tablespoons fish sauce
4 tablespoons water
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
juice of two limes

Sprinkle salt over the fish. Heat the oil in a large saute pan or wok and add the fish. Sear the fish in the oil so one side gets a nice, golden brown crust. Don't flip the fish; you'll finish cooking ...