Cookware debate, Pampered Chef vs Lodge cast iron

[IndyDave1776]

Success!

Tonight I finally had the occasion to put that #3 Griswold to use for its intended purpose. It was quiet the adventure. Having had a less than sedentary lifestyle for quite a number of years, after firming up the recipe, I found myself preparing the meatloaf only for it to finally cross my mind that it has been every day of 30 years since the last time I made a meat loaf!

After the prescribed hour in the over, it came out just right, with a good texture, good flavor, done enough, not too done, and none of that hard nasty crust that I have encountered on more other meatloaves than I care to remember. I don't mind a little crispness, but the bottom of the loaf should not be cooked into its own serving dish!

All said and done, the Griswold was $260 well spent. Now, I just need to find a trivet!

 

[JettaKnight]

Well done, my friend.

When's the INGO dinner party?

 

[IndyDave1776]

Well done, my friend.

When's the INGO dinner party?

Definitely no dinner party until I get well. I am back up to just above where I bottomed out before the last stupid driver attack and got worse than I had been to date. Of course, I have another week to week and a half of being left alone as my brother has both drivers far enough away and busy enough that there isn't any reasonable chance that they are going to screw up anything I will have to get out in the weather to straighten up.

As for the meatloaf, it amazes me how time gets away. Now that I have been thinking about it, I still can't believe that I haven't made a meatloaf since I was 11 or 12, but it is still so. I haven't devised a way to test this theory, but I am coming to the conclusion that the cast iron roaster provided a nice uniform temperature all the way around the meatloaf both as a function of complete enclosure and being of such a shape that the air spaces were pretty uniform aside from the meat resting on the bottom of the pan. I am inclined to think that otherwise, there will be more heat on the bottom of the pan and on the top of the meat as functions of convection (heat hitting the pan on the way up and hitting the top by virtue of rearranging the heat from the top down). Be that as it may, I am happy that it worked as it did, even though no matter what, I can't complain about picking up a #3 oval for what I paid for it!

 

[JettaKnight]

I'll have to try that.

Although, in Huntington County we're partial to a delicacy known as ham loaf - it's sweet than a typical meatloaf and just plain better.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I'll have to try that.

Although, in Huntington County we're partial to a delicacy known as ham loaf - it's sweet than a typical meatloaf and just plain better.

Could you share a recipe for this?

 

[JettaKnight]

Could you share a recipe for this?

There's a few limited number of butchers in the county that know how to make it. We buy it all ground and made up.

 

[CindyE]

I've never tried ham loaf, but one of the churches around here used to sell it for fundraising. i make pork loaf quite often, as i usually buy pastured pork by the 1/2 or whole hog, and have ground pork more often than ground beef. It turns out good, sometimes i wrap it in bacon, too.

 

[IndyDave1776]

There's a few limited number of butchers in the county that know how to make it. We buy it all ground and made up.

Do any of these sound like they would be close?

Lancaster County Ham Loaf Wow Wow Wow Recipe - Food.com

Ham Loaf I Recipe - Allrecipes.com

Ham Loaf Recipe - RecipeTips.com

Hearty Ham Loaf Recipe | Taste of Home

What's Cooking At Cathy's?: Ham Loaf

Pineapple Ham Loaf Recipe | Taste of Home

Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner: Grace?s Glazed Ham Loaf

I have noticed that they all seem to be generally similar with all but one calling for a blend of ground ham and ground pork loin, but all seem to be just different enough to be different. The question is whether or not they have much in common with the product you have in mind.

 

[JettaKnight]

Do any of these sound like they would be close?



Hearty Ham Loaf Recipe | Taste of Home

What's Cooking At Cathy's?: Ham Loaf

The two links I left are probably the closest to it.

Personally, I find the mild pink color more pleasing that ground beef meatloaf.

 

[IndyDave1776]

The two links I left are probably the closest to it.

Personally, I find the mild pink color more pleasing that ground beef meatloaf.

Thanks. That narrows the field a bit.

I agree that ham is supposed to be pink, not brown!

If you try either of these, we will have to see how close it comes to the local butcher's wares!

 

[Vigilant]

Not sure if it's already been posted, bu5 COSTCO has a set of Lodge cast iron skillets for under $40. You get a 12" with helper handle, and a 10.25" skillet with helper handle, plus two silicone hot handles. Great deal on decent cast iron!

 

[trucker777]

The wife and I received lodge cast iron cookware for a wedding gift 10 yrs ago. We use it consistently on pretty much a daily basis and wouldn't know what to do without it.

 

[IndyDave1776]

The wife and I received lodge cast iron cookware for a wedding gift 10 yrs ago. We use it consistently on pretty much a daily basis and wouldn't know what to do without it.

*Dave steps up to his Griswold snob platform*

I am guessing you might be able to answer that question had you been exposed to the glassy smooth interior surface of vintage Griswold, or Wagner, or vintage Lodge, for that matter.

 

[guns and groceries]

The two links I left are probably the closest to it.

Personally, I find the mild pink color more pleasing that ground beef meatloaf.

The Hearty Ham Loaf Recipe is the closest. BUT you MUST use graham cracker crumbs instead of the bread crumbs. Period. You will thank me. This is as close to my grand mothers recipe as I have found. Every Christmas this was the go to meal. She had to special order the meats and instruct the butcher to grind each meat individually then grind them again combined. Graham cracker crumbs, trust me on this one.

 

[IndyDave1776]

The Hearty Ham Loaf Recipe is the closest. BUT you MUST use graham cracker crumbs instead of the bread crumbs. Period. You will thank me. This is as close to my grand mothers recipe as I have found. Every Christmas this was the go to meal. She had to special order the meats and instruct the butcher to grind each meat individually then grind them again combined. Graham cracker crumbs, trust me on this one.

(the rep nazi caught up with me)

(I successfully out-waited the rep nazi)

 

[JettaKnight]

What's for breakfast?

This was today, made in cast iron.

Mine wasn't that gorgeous, but really good when embedded with and covered with Hollandaise sauce.

Recipe (and more photos) found on Serious Eats. Eggy Puds.
God bless J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I had a near miss today. There was a Griswold #9 oval roaster on eBay. The lid was perfect but the pan was rougher than a night in jail. I chased it up to $430 and then decided that a really nice lid was not worth what it was going to cost. It really is a shame not to have one since it is the perfect size for a turkey at 18" long, 12" wide, and 7 1/2" deep for 20 quarts capacity.

 

[Cameramonkey]

i'll jump in. Wife went to a PS party a couple weeks ago. Wanted to buy a stoneware crock that would cook a whole chicken in 20 minutes in the microwave. $90. ugh. I like a crisp skin so I said no way. (these conversations are all via txt... we check in on big purchases... I rarely tell her no btw.)

She went to another yesterday. "stoneware crock. can use it on the grill, broiler, microwave or oven. Its only $150. Can we get it? THey say a good dutch oven is $350 so this is a steal."

I shot that down too. First, I never use these things on the grill or broiler. Second, If I'm paying $150, it had better be a SET! Funny, the only "good" dutch ovens I could find are at stores that "if you have to ask, you cant afford" like Williams Sonoma.

I REALLY like Pampered Chef accessories. Kitchen timer is my all time favorite. They have some other cool things. But when you start getting above $50, some of the items are ridiculously overpriced.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I paid $300 for a very, very nice #10 Griswold dutch oven with the trivet. That was a really good deal. It isn't necessarily easy to find bargains on eBay, but there are some things that sell reasonable enough to get me to buy. I would rather buy a good vintage Griswold than anything new for two reasons: Vintage case iron has a good glassy-smooth interior surface and therefore is better to cook on, and if I decide later that I want out of it, prices fluctuate with fads in antique collecting (and cast iron cookware is at the top of the cycle right now) but it will always be worth more than something I overpay for from the usual suspects selling new product.

 

[JettaKnight]

Of course if you're buying new, then enameled is the way to go.

And with good cast iron, it's not buy once, cry once; it's buy once, give to your grandkids.