Griswold and Wagner Cast Iron Cookbook: Delicious and Simple Comfort Food [Hardcover]

Joanna Pruess (Author), Battman (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2009

A cast iron cookbook as original as its namesake: Griswold.

Cast iron is an original material that evenly holds even heat and lasts virtually forever. Yet there has not been a cookbook that lives up to cast iron’s versatility and timeless appeal. Until now. With this gorgeous, colorful entry into the field, Griswold and Wagner Cast Iron Cookbook combines the best of modern day cooking with the wonderful old-time feel of the Griswold cooking line of the 1800s. Recipes for and illustrations of collectible pans, from aebleskiver (Danish apple pans) to golfball, combined with fresh takes on the best in American cooking, make this an instant classic of a cookbook.

We’re spending an unprecedented amount of time in our kitchens these days, and readers want simple cooking that they can use everyday on a familiar pan. Cast iron cooking is versatile, healthy, and above all, easy. Here, are traditional recipes that have a modern twist, such as three pepper frittata, rosemary-garlic cornbread, barbecue shrimp and white beans, caramel apple tartine, and much more. Branded with the venerable Griswold name, this book is poised to make all other cast iron cookbooks obsolete. 100 color photographs

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though the Griswold company has been making top-of-the-line cast iron cookware since the 1800s, this is their first commissioned cookbook. The recipes, compiled by food writer and cookbook author Pruess (Seduced by Bacon) fittingly mirror the company's century-plus history, combining cast-iron classics like peach cobbler and fried chicken with modern, upscale fare like Duck with Apples, Oranges and Cider, Moroccan Lamb-Stuffed Peppers, and Panko-Macadamia-Crusted Salmon. Pruess also shows readers how to use their skillets to create comfort food favorites like macaroni and cheese, oven-roasted chicken with gravy, deep-dish pizza and croque monsieur sandwiches, as well as luscious desserts like rich and silky clafoutis. Hampered only by a rambling introduction (more than made up for by crucial tips on iron cookware care and maintenance), this collection of everyday recipes will give cooks a new appreciation for this sturdy, too-often overlooked piece of equipment.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“If you thought cast iron cooking just pertained to stews, you're in for a delightful treat!” (Library Journal )

“This collection of everyday recipes will give cooks a new appreciation for this sturdy, too-often overlooked piece of equipment.” (Publishers Weekly )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (November 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602398038
• ISBN-13: 978-1602398030
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 8.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sets a New Standard for Cast Iron-Related Cookbooks, November 14, 2009

By 

Richard Mansfield (Simpsonville, Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Griswold and Wagner Cast Iron Cookbook: Delicious and Simple Comfort Food (Hardcover)

I first heard of Joanna Pruess' new book, The Griswold and Wagner Cast Iron Cookbook, about two weeks ago. While it's always questionable as to whether we need yet another cookbook around our house, this one seemed too good to resist, so I ordered it here from Amazon. And I was right. I have a number of cast iron related cookbooks, and this one may already be my favorite.

This volume is a really nice, high quality hardbound book with a stitched spine. It lays flat on the counter which makes using it while cooking very easy. You can't begin to imagine the quality of the pictures until you see them. They were taken right in Pruess' home by a professional photographer as she prepared the recipes. These full color photographs occur on almost every other page. This is one of those cookbooks that's simply fun to sit down with and go through page by page.

The book is simply gorgeous. It can just as easily sit on a coffee table as it could sit on a kitchen counter. One of the elements of this cookbook that really rings true to me are the pans Pruess used in the pictures. When I see, for instance, the picture of the skillet in the oven on p. 88, I notice the pan has carbonization building up on the inside. In other words, this is a pan that gets regular use and has been used for quite a while. I can relate to it because it looks like my primary cast iron skillet. This is really in contrast to some cast iron books I've seen in which a marketing department simply went and bought pre-seasoned pans from the store and prepared a few of the recipes in them. I can even think of one cast iron book that actually has food sitting in a gun-metal gray unseasoned cast iron Dutch oven. That's definitely not the case with this book as page after page contains pictures of Pruess' own "much used pans."

If you click on the "Look Inside" image of the book on the top of the Amazon page, check out p. 33 which contains "Mom's Mac and Cheese with Bacon." The recipe is an adaption of Pruess' mother's recipe. Of course, all proper mac and cheese recipes should be baked in an oven, but what really makes it nice is the topping made from a combination of cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiono cheeses and panko bread crumbs. This was the first recipe we tried and it's absolutely delicious. It may just be better than the recipe we've made for years that's our previous favorite. We've also made the Clam-and-Corn Fritters (p. 52) which were quite tasty. Simply looking at the selections and pictures makes me want to systematically walk through this cookbook over the next few months trying out most, if not all, of the recipes.

Pruess also provides lots of tips about cleaning, maintaining, and even restoring cast iron. There are plenty of historical vignettes as well as older Griswold and Wagner advertisements including tips from Griswold's "Aunt Ellen" from nearly a century ago.

Get this book for yourself or as a gift for friends during the holidays. It's a winner.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mouth Watering Recipes, December 30, 2009

By 

Deb Lape - See all my reviews

This review is from: Griswold and Wagner Cast Iron Cookbook: Delicious and Simple Comfort Food (Hardcover)

This is a find! I inherited many cast iron pots and skillets from my mother and grandmother, without any working knowledge of how to use them. Years and years ago, I watched my grandmother make home fries (yes - complete with lard), then wipe the pan "clean" and return it to the warming oven above her old stove. But that was the problem - how to use these old pots in a contemporary kitchen? Voila! Joanna Pruess' cookbook does just that, providing mouth watering classic recipes perfect for my vintage cast iron!

I love "Mammy Lape's Roast Beef" recipe which produced succulent roast beef that is fork-tender and much like the well-loved Amish version. This recipe has already become a family favorite. "Mom's Mac and Cheese with Bacon" is a home run recipe - unbelievably fragrant and bubbly when cooking - my version looked as delicious as the photographs in the book, which incidentally are one of the things I really appreciate about this cookbook.

Great recipes, great photos, great tips and a great chance to continue a family tradition that most of us remember with pleasure - cooking with cast iron!

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of usable recipes, November 20, 2009

By 

Lori Hinkle "Emerald" (Dongola, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Griswold and Wagner Cast Iron Cookbook: Delicious and Simple Comfort Food (Hardcover)

In my experience with cast iron cookbooks, you get one of two things: either basic recipes that any moderately experienced cook could come up with on their own without the use of a cookbook or gourmet recipes that require all sorts of exotic difficult to find ingredients & long drawn out instructions & prep time. This book has a nice mix of usable recipes. Two other cast iron cookbooks I recommend are Cooking In Cast Iron by Mara Reid Rogers and The Cast Iron Skillet by Sharon Kramis.