• Marcia ~

    If you do a Google search for how to take care of a cast iron skillet, I bet you’re going to be instructed to “wash” it. Wrong!! My dad was a wizard at the culinary arts and, trust me, he babied his kitchen tools to keep them in top-performing condition. So, if anyone ever asks ….. never, ever, ever wash a cast iron skillet! 🙂

    Melanie

  • Melanie! I NEVER knew that about cast iron skillets, and maybe that’s why I hate the one I got from my mom – I WASH it! Everything sticks to it, it’s just awful. It’s amazing that detail escaped me – either Mom forgot to tell me or she didn’t know either. Or I’m a bad listener!

    Anyway, I had to read this post because I read the follow-up post first. Love the story! And the dad cook.
    Marcia
    .-= Marcia Hoeck´s last blog ..My 5 Commitments, & the End of the 30-Day Blogging Challenge =-.

  • You won’t believe this, Heather, but I wrote this post on a “whim” – really had something else in mind. But then I got to thinking about my Dad and how much I miss standing in the kitchen with him watching him work his magic! I still can’t duplicate his spaghetti sauce recipe no matter how hard I try. I think he must have kept an ingredient or two a secret from me!

    And who would have thought a little “kitchen table” talk would have gotten such a wonderful response! 🙂

    Yes, I will definitely add a sequel. And now you’ve got my wheels turning about maybe doing a whole series. You’re the best!

    Love,
    Melanie

  • Wow – Melanie, a great metaphor – you really got me thinking about this one. I love watching great craftsmen at work using their best tools and keeping them sharp. These tools last them for years and years and can be trusted and relied upon time and time again.
    What a great way to look at business and a wonderful way to build on solid foundations.
    Yes – you must add a sequel – or maybe a whole series. There may be a course here – who knows where it will lead.
    Lovely to read your words
    Hxx
    .-= Heather Bestel´s last blog ..I was part of something special today! =-.

  • Gwen and Martha ~

    It’s great to see you lovely ladies strolling by to drop a line or two about cast iron skillets (well, actually biz-building tools) 😉

    Martha – I KNOW what you mean about Southerners and their skillets!

    Bobbye, yourself, and a few others have asked me to consider “expounding” on this topic a bit more. So, before the blogging challenge ends, be on the lookout for the “sequel”!

    Melanie

  • Being a southerner, you KNOW we pass those cast iron skillets down through our families! They are the BEST! Would like to know what internet marketing tools you think are the best. Are there certain ones that you pull out and use daily? Thanks for the tips 🙂
    .-= Martha Giffen´s last blog ..Sunday Night Blues =-.

  • You gotta love those skillets. I have a friend who just bought her first one a few weeks ago. I’m guessing her parents never used one (she’s a non-stick kind of lady) and she keeps saying “the food tastes so good!” I tell her “well, duh.” LOL Kinda sad to see people never knew about the cast iron pots.

    Not really sure what my cast iron secret is just yet…
    .-= Gwen Tanner´s last blog ..How To Find Current Chatter About Your Topic =-.

  • Thanks for your comment, Joyce, and it’s great to see you here! Appreciate you stopping by.

    Yes, “tried and true” – that’s the ticket! Willy-nilly, wishy-washy, and iffy just won’t do.

    Melanie

  • Good advice Melanie on both levels. I have four different size iron skillets that I cook with. It’s always good to use the basics that provide tried and true performance.

  • Melanie,
    Thanks for the great reminder. Hope you will expand on this soon. What are some of your favorite and most productive biz skillets to keep well-seasoned? (We do some great skillet cooking here in Chgo too!)
    Thanks.
    Bobbye Middendorf
    The Write Synergies Guru
    .-= Bobbye Middendorf´s last blog ..Create and Implement =-.

  • Good day to you, Phila ~

    Your Grandma had a THREE-piece set AND a dutch oven?! She must have done some serious cooking! Well, good for you – you got your hands on a great find. 🙂

    You’re right about business values and skills that “just don’t go away” … IF properly maintained. As in cast iron skillets, that’s the key!

  • Great point, Melanie! There are some tools (and skills, and business values) that just don’t go away if properly maintained. I just discovered my grandmother’s cast-iron 3-skillet set plus Dutch oven – definitely the worse for wear – and I’m looking for ways to re-season them…