Cast Iron Skillet Big Flavors (8 page)

1 teaspoon Urfa biber or ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 pound frozen jumbo white shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), headless, shells on

1 tablespoon Pernod (anise-flavored liqueur)

⅓ cup heavy cream

¼ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped parsley, for garnish

baked jalapeño oysters

This is an oyster dish for those who aren’t fans of raw oysters. The jalapeños add a little spice to this long-time favorite oyster recipe.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

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  Preheat the oven to 425°F.

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  Fill a 12-inch cast iron skillet with ½ inch of coarse rock salt. Place in the oven to heat.

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  Carefully shell the oysters; reserve the bottom (boat-shaped) half of each shell with the oyster liquor and the oyster. Arrange the shells on the hot rock salt. Top each oyster with a piece of bacon, 1 teaspoon cocktail sauce, 1 jalapeño slice, and 1 tablespoon cheese.

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  Bake in the oven until the cheese is melted, 3 to 4 minutes. (You may need bake the oysters in two batches.) Serve immediately.

Coarse rock salt

24 oysters in their shells

6 slices bacon, cut crosswise into thick strips and cooked until crisp

½ cup cocktail sauce

4 jalapeño peppers, cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick circles, seeds removed

1½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

skillet of roasted artichokes

Springtime brings the meatiest artichokes to the market. Serve with roast chicken or bowls of fresh cracked crab. Roasting in the skillet adds more flavor than steaming.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

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  Preheat the oven to 400°F.

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  Trim the stems off the artichokes. Cut each one lengthwise into quarters. With a small paring knife, remove the fuzzy inner choke. Arrange in a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Add the lemon slices and drizzle with the olive oil. Add the water, cover, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn over each wedge. Drizzle with a little more oil and return to the oven, uncovered. Bake until tender, 20 to 25 minutes more. Serve with melted butter for dipping.

3 large globe artichokes

1 lemon, sliced

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup water

½ cup unsalted butter, melted, for serving

grilled chicken skewers with spicy peanut sauce

The cast iron grill pan makes it easy to serve these chicken skewers year-round. The peanut sauce is multiflavored-sour, sweet, salty, hot—and also a good dip for fresh vegetables. The lettuce leaves form a simple, colorful wrapper. Spread each leaf with a little peanut sauce and then place the cooked chicken on top.

MAKES 10 SKEWERS

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  To prepare the peanut sauce, in a medium saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the peanut butter, brown sugar, fish sauce, and coconut milk. Cook, stirring, until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Stir in the molasses, sriracha sauce, and lime juice and remove from the heat. Serve at room temperature. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.

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  To prepare the spice rub, combine all the ingredients until well blended.

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  To prepare the chicken skewers, thread the chicken strips onto the bamboo skewers. Brush with the olive oil and sprinkle lightly with the spice rub on both sides. Warm the grill pan over medium heat. When the grill is hot, brush generously with vegetable oil. Place 5 of the chicken skewers on the grill and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Serve with peanut sauce and lettuce leaves.

PEANUT SAUCE

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons minced shallots

½ cup smooth peanut butter

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 (13.5-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk

2 tablespoons light molasses

2 teaspoons sriracha sauce

Freshly squeezed juice of 2 limes

SPICE RUB

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 tablespoon Garam Masala (see page 56)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground coriander

CHICKEN SKEWERS

2 (8-ounce) chicken breasts, sliced at an angle into 1-by-6-inch-thick slices

10 (8-inch) bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Vegetable oil, for grilling

Green leaf lettuce leaves

roasted poblano and crab hush puppies with green goddess dipping sauce

If you’re looking for another use for your cast iron ebelskiver pan, here it is! These hush puppies are an easy-to-make, fun party appetizer. We like to serve them at a Cinco de Mayo party, but they are great anytime. Using the ebelskiver pan helps to brown them on all sides without all the oil used for traditional hush puppies. They are crispy on the outside, tender and flavorful on the inside. If you don’t have time to roast a poblano pepper, you can use El Paso green Hatch chiles; use only 3 tablespoons and dry slightly on paper towels before adding. The dipping sauce is easy to whip up while the hush puppies cook.

MAKES 24 HUSH PUPPIES

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  On an open flame of a gas burner, on a barbecue, or on a baking sheet under the broiler, roast the pepper until charred on that side. Rotate until charred all over. Transfer with tongs to a brown paper bag and close. Let the pepper steam for 5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel, seed, stem, and finely chop.

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  Meanwhile, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, pepper, baking powder, and baking soda and mix well. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, poblano pepper, green onion, and crab (or shrimp). Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined. Do not overmix.

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  Over medium heat, place your ebelskiver pan on the burner and allow to warm up. Add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil to each well. Once hot, add heaping tablespoons of the batter to each well. Cook until they are golden and release easily, about 4 minutes, then flip with a skewer or fork. Cook for another 4 to 5 minutes, then plop all of them out onto a platter. Your guests will gobble them up as quickly as you make them. Continue until you have used up all the batter. Serve with Green Goddess Dipping Sauce. You can also freeze the cooked hush puppies and thaw when needed, then reheat in the ebelskiver pan.

1 poblano pepper

1½ cups yellow cornmeal, finely ground

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon baking powder

⅔ teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs, beaten

1 cup buttermilk

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

3 tablespoons finely chopped green onion

½ pound fresh crab or shrimp (if using shrimp, roughly chop)

¼ cup vegetable oil

Green Goddess Dipping Sauce (recipe follows), for serving

 green goddess dipping sauce 

This versatile sauce or dressing goes perfectly with seafood, and we love it on lamb sandwiches. This recipe is inspired by one of our favorite chefs, Jerry Traunfeld.