It's always interesting to see folks carrying on their family legacies. I interned with the City Sun on Joralemon Street back in the day. I remember the editors holding the Thursday production so I could get in my James Baldwin obituary. Her Dad Andrew Cooper and his team were part of a long line of Afro punks, holding fast to a surrealist imagination that created openings where it seemed they ought not to be possible. Good work, Jocelyn Cooper! See you at the festival later.
Do you ever feel when you are cooking your grandmother's recipe she is right there saying 'Honey, just a pinch more salt,perfect! I'm so proud of you..! I feel that way when I recreate an heirloom recipe that has passed on to me. You feel the love and tradition with each smell. Happy memories linked to that cast iron pan and simmering chicken..seriously in this complicated world there is a reason it is called 'comfort food'! You sound like an amazing person with a rich family history. I enjoyed reading about you...now I just need that recipe!
I clean my cast-iron pan by putting it back on the stove with water in it and boiling the water, I scrape off anything that is stuck on with a wooden spatula. Rinse and repeat if necessary. Then I wipe it dry and reheat with a little oil until it smokes, cool and store. The surface stays pretty good that way.
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My most treasured piece of kitchen equipment is my grandmother's cast iron skillet. She cooked in it at least once every day for the 63 years she was married. Bacon, sausage, fried or scrambled eggs, pork chops, chicken, biscuits and cornbread. It has been smoothed and coated in the 80ish years since its purchase in the early 1930s. I clean it with warm water and kosher salt, followed by a light coat of Crisco.
Although it is used less these days, maybe 2 or 3 times a week to brown the edges of a roast or scramble eggs or cook down onions, I hope someday to pass it along to grandchildren of my own.
Although it is used less these days, maybe 2 or 3 times a week to brown the edges of a roast or scramble eggs or cook down onions, I hope someday to pass it along to grandchildren of my own.
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To anyone who may be seeking out a cast iron pan:
- Ms. Cooper is holding a #12 Lodge. Jo Jo has like a #3 (ish).
- The new cast iron pans like Lodge have a rough surface from casting. Manufacturers do not spend time machining the surface anymore. Therefore, while pans are pre-seasoned and ready to cook, they will take a long time to get to that "non-stick" feel (if ever, especially if you only use it occasionally).
- If you're going to buy new, buy Lodge --- their non-enameled line is made in the USA.
- Vintage pans are usually smooth, but you have to be careful. Find someone who will burn them down to the surface, the grey iron, and rebuild the seasoning. I bought a cast iron waffle-iron that turned out to be spray-painted. It was devilish to get it off. I had to use two pounds of lye and soak the thing for six months in my backyard.
- Do not "season" on low heat. That causes a gummy, non-durable surface. "Seasoning" is the process of carbonizing (burning) the fat so that it sticks to the pores of the iron and builds layers over time. I've had really good results with lard/Crisco over a 18,000 BTU stove (heated till red-hot), or through a series of 500-550 degree burns in my oven.
- Sizes? #12 or #11 for everyday cooking, #8 for smaller jobs, and a #5 or #6 for cornbread.
When you finally get a cast iron pan to the point where an egg slides off the pan, it's a pretty sweet feeling.
- Ms. Cooper is holding a #12 Lodge. Jo Jo has like a #3 (ish).
- The new cast iron pans like Lodge have a rough surface from casting. Manufacturers do not spend time machining the surface anymore. Therefore, while pans are pre-seasoned and ready to cook, they will take a long time to get to that "non-stick" feel (if ever, especially if you only use it occasionally).
- If you're going to buy new, buy Lodge --- their non-enameled line is made in the USA.
- Vintage pans are usually smooth, but you have to be careful. Find someone who will burn them down to the surface, the grey iron, and rebuild the seasoning. I bought a cast iron waffle-iron that turned out to be spray-painted. It was devilish to get it off. I had to use two pounds of lye and soak the thing for six months in my backyard.
- Do not "season" on low heat. That causes a gummy, non-durable surface. "Seasoning" is the process of carbonizing (burning) the fat so that it sticks to the pores of the iron and builds layers over time. I've had really good results with lard/Crisco over a 18,000 BTU stove (heated till red-hot), or through a series of 500-550 degree burns in my oven.
- Sizes? #12 or #11 for everyday cooking, #8 for smaller jobs, and a #5 or #6 for cornbread.
When you finally get a cast iron pan to the point where an egg slides off the pan, it's a pretty sweet feeling.
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I got on the cast iron bandwagon with a Wagner Ware pan I purchased at a flea marketing Connecticut in the 80s. Since then, I've added my great aunt's 11-inch Wagner Ware pan with a removable wood handle, several Griswold pans (an 8-inch pan ideal for a hamburger, and a 10-inch square skillet. Mine have been seasoned over the years and have smooth, non-stick surfaces. But lately I've also fallen in love with carbon steel, which is not unlike cast iron. Both should never be washed with soap, but an occasional use of soap will not ruin a well-seasoned surface. I use a brush and/or a plastic pot scraper if things get too stuck on (never a steel wool pad). If you find a badly beat-up cast iron pan with lots of disgusting stuff stuck to it at a flea market or a garage sale, don't pass it up. Take it home, put it in your self-cleaning oven. It will disintegrate everything that has adhered to the pan, making it like new again. Season it as if you just brought it home from your favorite kitchen shop and you've just added a superb new pan to your kitchen collection.
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In answer to Ms. Cooper's questions at the end, the crust is carbonized protein that fills the porous areas on the surface of the cast iron and creates a non-stick surface, and yes, it's good for the pan and good for you. When you use soap your remove this in an uneven way and then have to reseason the pan again. I do what other commenters have done: first wipe out the pan with paper towels and very hot water, then scrub with kosher salt with a small amount of water and then rinse with very hot water.
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Washing cast iron without soap helps create a layer of carbon that creates a non stick surface.
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I make smothered chicken in a cast iron Le Creuset that i bought in a Rome outlet store for like a 100 euro. My daughter (a serious cook) says that it is the best there is. I don't know. But what I do know is that the smothered chicken recipe from the NYT (http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016832-craig-claibornes-smothered-ch... is without question the easiest and best chicken recipe ever. Holy moly!! I get several meals from it and enjoy every last bite.
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Add me to the list of folks who use a cast iron skillet (or 2). I never stopped, ever since being introduced to them (and an old woodstove) during 2 years living with Native American Indians. I never use soap, just some hot water, a short soak, and a light scrubbing: ready to go again!
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How good it is to learn that there are so many people who still use cast-iron skillets. I thought us to be dinosaurs who should be ashamed of frying everything friable in cast-iron skillets that must be not less than 60 years old.
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I can't believe the article did not at least mention the name of the first African-American woman in Congress--the great Shirley Chisholm, who went on, in 1972, to be the first Democratic woman and the first African-American person to run for President.
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I don't get the connection. Why would the article mention Chisholm?
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"Her father, Andrew W. Cooper, . . . brought a landmark lawsuit against the federal government in 1966 that challenged Bedford-Stuyvesant’s congressional district lines, which led to the election of the first black woman to Congress. "
That's why. The article could at least have said "which led to the election of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman in Congress."
That's why. The article could at least have said "which led to the election of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman in Congress."
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Cast-iron skillets are seasoned with oil but periodically need cleaning with--yes!--salt. It periodically has to be re-seasoned with vegetable oil and put over a low flame for 30 minutes and then rubbed with a paper towel. See http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-clean-and-season-old-ru-151535
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That's what I was taught too--making usre you get the pan and the salt super-hot, then scrubbing once they cool down a bit.
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I adore my cast iron skillet! I clean it by rinsing it first with scaldingly hot water, and then scrubbing down the inside with a handful of kosher salt, which works as an abrasive cleanser and flavor-enhancer. Then another rinse with the hottest water possible, and a thin coating of vegetable oil.
Thanks for the great article and hope to see Ms. Cooper's recipe for Smothered Chicken featured soon.
Thanks for the great article and hope to see Ms. Cooper's recipe for Smothered Chicken featured soon.
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I just scrub and rinse the skillet with hot water and wipe it dry with paper towel. When it is extra greasy, I do use some dishwashing soap.
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I also scrub out my cast iron with soap and water, as opposed to those people who say you should only wipe them out. I'm not going to eat out of something I don't wash, and my cast iron pieces are in fine shape. Like Ms. Cooper, I do cook with olive oil. However, I oil my cast iron with Crisco only. I think it works better.
Congratulations to Ms. Cooper on her admirable accomplishments, including her cooking. I enjoyed hearing about her. Thank you.
Congratulations to Ms. Cooper on her admirable accomplishments, including her cooking. I enjoyed hearing about her. Thank you.
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Where's the recipe for smothered chicken?
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I, too, was hoping Ms. Cooper would share her recipe for "Smothered Chicken".
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Irma Robinson Cooper’s Smothered Chicken remixed by Jocelyn Cooper
Ingredients
1 (3- to 4-pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
1 small grated onion
2 teaspoons of homemade seasoning salt (salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, sugar and a pinch of garlic powder) or Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1 1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Boiling water – at least 2 cups
Preparation
Cut chicken into 8 pieces removing the back. Place chicken pieces in a shallow dish, grate onion and sprinkle chicken with seasoning salt and pepper. Cover and chill at least an hour.
Remove chicken from the shallow pan and dredge chicken in flour with paprika added in a bowl or brown paper bag. It’s OK for the grated onion to stick to the chicken. Keep remaining onion and flour.
Heat oven to 375 and pour oil into a cast iron skillet. Add chicken pieces skin side down into the hot skillet and bake for 35 minutes, turning when skin side is browned. Boil water in a kettle on top of the stove. Removed chicken from the oven, remove chicken on to a plate. Put the grated onion and a tablespoon of the raw seasoned flour back into the pan and brown slightly. Pour boiling water into the pan to make a loose gravy, then place chicken pieces into the pan so that they are covered by the water. Stir to remove lumps and the gravy will thicken. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
Serve with Carolina rice, fresh cut corn and collard greens.
This recipe has not been tested by The New York Times.
Ingredients
1 (3- to 4-pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
1 small grated onion
2 teaspoons of homemade seasoning salt (salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, sugar and a pinch of garlic powder) or Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1 1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Boiling water – at least 2 cups
Preparation
Cut chicken into 8 pieces removing the back. Place chicken pieces in a shallow dish, grate onion and sprinkle chicken with seasoning salt and pepper. Cover and chill at least an hour.
Remove chicken from the shallow pan and dredge chicken in flour with paprika added in a bowl or brown paper bag. It’s OK for the grated onion to stick to the chicken. Keep remaining onion and flour.
Heat oven to 375 and pour oil into a cast iron skillet. Add chicken pieces skin side down into the hot skillet and bake for 35 minutes, turning when skin side is browned. Boil water in a kettle on top of the stove. Removed chicken from the oven, remove chicken on to a plate. Put the grated onion and a tablespoon of the raw seasoned flour back into the pan and brown slightly. Pour boiling water into the pan to make a loose gravy, then place chicken pieces into the pan so that they are covered by the water. Stir to remove lumps and the gravy will thicken. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
Serve with Carolina rice, fresh cut corn and collard greens.
This recipe has not been tested by The New York Times.
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Need her Carolina rice, stewed okra and tomatoes, tapioca pudding and 1-2-3 cake recipes. NYT publishes these inspiring stories of tools but no recipes. Yes, I got the smothered chicken part.
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You don't really need a recipe for stewed okra and tomatoes. Heat a pan (great time to use your cast iron skillet) with a little oil and add sliced onions. Take fresh okra, slice it and lightly brown it. Let cook for a few minutes and add a can of diced tomatoes (or fresh) salt and pepper and cover until okra is tender.
My husband and I were given a cast iron skillet for our wedding. We've been using it practically every day for over twenty-six years. A couple of weeks ago I was making french toast that had a whiff of the garlic in the stir fry I made the night before.
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I love the iron pots and skillets. You must have an iron skillet for fried chicken. For spoonbread, and an iron grill for pancakes, for corn bread too!
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