Ashley L. Jones

Skilletheads by Ashley L. Jones is NonFiction and is a Guide to Collecting, care, use, and Restoring Cast-Iron Cookware. When I saw the title I was immediately intrigued. Are there really people who love iron skillets like I do? Wow! Apparently there are people who actually collect them. While I’m not a collector, I admit to having a few too many iron skillets. I’m not sure I could cook without my iron skillets. Skilletheads is a book for everyone who loves to cook, collectors, antique lovers, history lovers, cast iron reference, and people like me who only cook with cast iron. Loved it!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. 5 Stars… (lisätietoja)

Somehow my review for this book didn't get posted back in 2020. Sorry for that.

I think this is a great book. Ashley Jones has a thing for cast iron and she shares her enthusiasm with us in this comprehensive book.

Here we find everything we might want to know on caring for our cast iron pans including how to clean and reseason them if needed. Then we are treated to recipes that demonstrate a wide range of cooking techniques.

What more could we want?

I received a review copy of this book from Red Lightning Books through NetGalley.com.… (lisätietoja)

This book will be of great interest to people who are interested in cast iron cookware as an artefact. Readers who are more interested in recipes and techniques for cast iron cooking will be happier with Ashley Jones' cookbook "Modern Cast Iron".

This book is a deep dive into the history of cast iron cookware in the USA. Ashley Jones interviews professional iron restorers and contemporary casters and consults a wide range of sources to provide a good technical overview of cast iron history, production, and restoration. The earlier book provides more information on daily care aimed at cooks.

If you are interested in the topic, the book is full of fun facts of the "who would have thought??" kind. We all know Lodge cast iron, and maybe we have noted the octagon shape and coiled metal handle of FINEX ware in high end catalogs, but I, for one, never imagined that we had artisanal iron foundries in the USA today. I would not have thought that there were professional iron restorers either. Who knew?

As a chemist I enjoyed reading details of cleaning and restoring rusty old pans we might find in the dump. As a cook, I enjoyed reading the recipes contributed to the book by the iron restorers.

So I recommend this book highly to the narrow group of readers who care about stuff like this.

I received a review copy of this book from Red Lightning Books through NetGalley.com.… (lisätietoja)

This book isn't quite sure what it wants to be, tries to be everything and flails about while doing so. While there are helpful tips for adapting to cast iron in some of the recipes and a useful guide for restoring that old pan you found in grandma's basement, it feels sort of like a primer for people who don't know how to cook in any pan.
There's a recipe for sautéed asparagus, for example. There's a three paragraph explainer about why she likes asparagus and then here's the recipe:
1. Place a small skillet over low-medium heat.
2. Add olive oil and asparagus to the pan. Season to taste. Turn periodically while cooking. The asparagus is done when it's the consistency you prefer.

If you would like to spend two pages on recipes like this, this is the book for you. (Learn how to make a grilled cheese!)

At the beginning, it feels for a while like the author is going on some sort of weird wellness spiel, talking about how bad every other kind of pan is because of things she found out while researching pans, I guess. But there are zero sources. So we're just supposed to believe that she, a home cook and blogger, is the ultimate source for complicated chemical and food studies. Listen, I love cast iron and use it all the time, but you can't just make statements like this without backing them up. (Clearly, she can. It got published.)
The best part of the book is when she goes to the Lodge manufacturing facility and talks about the process (with photos!) of making the pans.


Side note:
There's also an inset where she talks about this special big pan that was used to cook for Confederate soldiers... who went on to win the battle! Oh good, I'm glad you're proud of helping Confederates win some battles.… (lisätietoja)