Five Delicious Dishes You Didn't Know You Could Make in Cast Iron

When it comes to the cast iron skillet, you’ve got the option to believe the hype.

Theyre also reasonably inexpensive and last forever, so theres really no reason not to have one.

Cheesy Dips

In terms of versatility, a fondue pot is theoppositeof a cast iron skillet.

The secret to keep everything nice and flowing?

A bit of cornstarch, which is tossed with the shredded cheese before being added to the beer.

If you dont have that book yet, giveIna Gartens baked fontina a try.

(Its basically just a skillet of melted cheese, but really, how bad can that be?)

Im an equal opportunity pizza eater.

Its also just so simple and fun to make.

The second pie is of the pan variety.

This will get your cheese all melted while reviving the crust back to its original, crispy glory.

), but this may be the easiest.

Then melt some butter.

While the pan is still hot, go ahead and drop the bird right into it.

Those toasty seasonings will stick right to the underside of the chicken.

Then season the top of the bird with the same seasonings - salt, pepper, etc.

Pop the whole thing into the oven till its done.

or to roast veggies in while you let the bird rest!

Lasagna does not have to be rectangular.

You are indeed free to make hot, cheesy, bubbly lasagna in your cast iron skillet.

Repeat until your skillet is full.

Theres also no need to limit yourself to lasagna.

choose the link above, but its pretty easy.

Just saute some garlic and chili flakes and add in some canned tomatoes to make a sauce.

Add some chicken broth and your pasta, and let boil until the pasta is just firm.

Top with cheese, and let everything get intimate in the oven until its all brown and bubbly.

For a double crusted pie, youll need to divide the dough a little differently than you usually would.

Now on to my personal obsession: the skillet cookie.

Have you ever had a skillet cookie?

They are perhaps the platonic ideal of dessert.

Warm, sticky sweet, topped with ice cream, with crispy little burnt sugar bits along the edges.

Just make your favorite cookie dough (like maybe thisOreo Pizzokie knockoff??)

smoosh it in the pan, and bake at 350 until golden brown.

Put a bunch of ice cream on it and destroy that thing.

It is however nice to know that it can be used forso much more.

If fact, you could take every other pan out of my kitchen, and Id be okay.

Itd be a steady diet of pizza and skillet cookies, but Id survive.

Photos byAdam Bahan,J.

Kenji Lopez-Alt,Laurel F., andYasmin Fahr.