I Love My Skillet

If you are going to do ANY Southern cooking, you need  a cast iron skillet. The skillet will become one of the things you would want if trapped on a desert island. You can make wonderful cornbread with a most delightfully crispy crust in it. You can fry everything under the sun in it. You can stir fry in it (much more awkwardly than in a wok, but it works). You can braise a cheap cut of meat in it. You can drop it on a cockroach, or use it as a weight to flatten flowers. You can season it for a non-stick finish that will not give anybody cancer or accumulate in the bloodstream of polar bears. You can scrub off said fat-based finish if it grosses you out, or starts getting sticky. If treated properly, the skillet will last your lifetime, even if it is given to you as a child and you live to be 120. Just hand wash it and keep it dry, and oil it once in a while. That is it. How many "consumer products" can we say will last your lifetime these days? Not many. So if you want to cook like Grandma, get a cast iron skillet. You'll never regret the purchase, unless you drop it on your toe. Just say the requisite expletives and cook. it'll be good.