Cast Iron and Pizza

It occurred to me today as I was making homemade pizza that the trick to getting my 7 year old daughter to eat it might be in my cupboard. She loves restaurant pizzas but refuses to eat our made from scratch ones. I decided to try making it in a small cast iron skillet. After oiling the skillet just a tad I spread the dough in the pan. Then, I brushed garlic butter on the crust, pre-baked it for about 3 minutes, then spread the sauce and the other ingredients. In this case, it's just a pepperoni pizza. It baked in a 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes (our oven isn't "right" and we can't rely on it - in a normal oven it might only be 10 minutes).

Success! Amanda loved her pizza!

I got to thinking about the cast iron skillets I have. They are truly a green and thrifty product. Here's why:

The cast iron holds heat much better than any other metal or aluminum with the possible exception of stoneware. Because of this heat retention, I can reduce the heat in my oven or burners by a third and get the food cooked evenly and quicker than with other products.

Because I wash my cast iron with very hot water only (NO soap), I'm not putting chemicals on my pans or in my septic. Same goes for stoneware.

I prefer the cast iron over stoneware for this one reason only: by using cast iron we're getting a bit of iron into our diets, which is a necessary mineral especially for children and women.

I hope this inspires you to give cast iron a try!