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UNDERSTAND YOUR SKILLETS AND PANS

Skillet versus sauté pan. A skillet or

frying pan is shallow, with slanted sides

that flare out. A sauté pan has taller,

straight sides, with more surface area at

the bottom. Throughout this cookbook,

you will mainly “see” me using a stainless

steel sauté pan, because it is cleaner

(less sloshing over the side) and because

I think it can do everything a skillet can

do. However, if you already own a small

and a large skillet, don’t feel that you

need to get sauté pans as well. Your

skillets should work just fine.

Cast-iron skillets. A different animal

altogether, these classic heavy pans are

a great investment. They don’t cost a lot

and they get better with age, if properly

taken care of. Cast-iron takes a little

while to get hot, but it gets screaming

hot and has excellent heat retention. I

use my cast-iron skillet when I want to

make sure that the dish is cooked evenly

through, such as my Pesto Chicken &

Spinach Frittata (page 137) or Summer Peach & Blueberry Crumble with Coconut Cashew Cream (page 323). I also use it for nonstick cooking, like with my Customizable Oat Johnnycakes with 20-Minute Chia Berry Jam (page 118). “Seasoning” your cast-iron skillet protects it from heat and makes it durable.

To season cast-iron: Preheat oven to

325° F. Wipe down skillet with a wet cloth

and dry thoroughly. Apply a thin coat of

any oil of choice to the skillet (I use olive

oil). Place skillet upside down on center

oven rack, and place a sheet of aluminum

foil on bottom rack to catch dripping oil.

Bake for an hour, turn off oven heat, and

allow skillet to remain until completely

cooled. You’ll know you need to re-

season your skillet when it is no longer

smooth and shiny.

To clean your cast-iron skillet. Do not

wash with soap or scrub with a metal

brush or sponge; this will damage it.

Wash under hot water with a textured

sponge as soon as possible after cooking.

If this doesn’t clean it completely, add a

few tablespoons of sea salt and scrub the

salt into the skillet with a paper towel or

dish rag. Rinse thoroughly.

Green nonstick pan. Traditional nonstick

pans/skillets have been shown to release

toxic gases at high temperatures, making

them an unsafe option. However, some

companies are now making “green”

nonstick ceramic skillets that purport to

eliminate health concerns. I have one grill

pan from a company called GreenPan,

and I’ve used it successfully. If you would

prefer not to invest in a cast-iron skillet,

you can look into “green” or “eco” pans

to determine how you feel about them.