Cast Iron Motive (The Cast Iron Cooking Mysteries Book 4) (17 page)

Recipes

The Iron’s Breakfast Frittata

Sometimes a bowl of cereal just isn’t enough, especially on holidays and special occasions. When we want to do something out of the ordinary, we make one of these frittatas in a cast iron skillet. The beauty of this dish is that you can add whatever you have handy that sounds good to some basic ingredients, and you have a meal fit for a millionaire—on a common man’s budget! We don’t normally cook eggs in our cast iron ware, but the material holds the heat beautifully, making this too good a dish to pass up. We have an enamel-coated cast iron skillet just for this meal, though since we first bought it, we use it for other things, too!

Don’t be afraid to explore the possibilities!

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs, whisked well
  
• 1/4 cup milk (whole or 2%)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon favorite seasoning
  
• 2 teaspoons butter
  
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
  
• Filling (total amount should equal approximately one cup)
  
• green bell pepper, diced
  
• sweet onion, diced
  
• cheese, shredded (we like extra sharp cheddar)
  
• baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
  
• cooked ham, diced
  

Directions

Preheat the oven’s broiler.

Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl, adding the milk and seasoning. Mix well. Add one cup from the fillings listed above (your preference) and stir into the mixture.

On the stovetop, heat your cast iron skillet over medium heat, melting the butter and olive oil. Next, add the egg and filling mixture to the skillet, reduce the temperature to medium low, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the eggs are almost set. Remove from heat, sprinkle the top with shredded cheese, and then place the skillet under the broiler until the eggs are completely set and the top is browned slightly. Remove from the oven and serve while still warm.

Serves 3 to 5 people, depending on the size of the slices.

Ca
st Iron Crisp Apple Crunch

In our household, no meal is complete without dessert! My late mother-in-law used to serve dessert, usually some type of pie, after every meal, including breakfast. This was clearly a woman after my own heart, and she is dearly missed to this day. I’ve long been a big fan of Dutch apple pie, so I decided one day to make this variation in my cast iron skillet! We use the enamel-coated skillet mentioned in the recipe above for this treat as well! If you’re familiar with my crumb-topping apple pie, then you’re in for a bit of déjà vu. This process is the same, with the exception of omitting the bottom crust and baking the ingredients in a cast iron skillet. Though the ingredients are nearly identical, this produces a unique creation.

Give it a try. Not only will you have a tasty treat in the end, but the house will smell amazing all day!

Ingredients

Filling

• 2 Granny Smith apples, sliced
  
• 1 Pink Lady apple, sliced
  
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons white unbleached all-purpose flour
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1 dash of table salt
  

Topping

• 1 cup all white unbleached all-purpose flour
  
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  
• 1/2 cup salted butter, room temperature
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the sliced apples in a large mixing bowl. In a separate, smaller bowl, mix the sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt together. Add this dry mixture to the apples and set aside. In another small mixing bowl, add the flour and brown sugar, mixing well. Add the butter and cut in with a fork or a pastry cutter. Heat the skillet over medium heat, add the apple mixture, then the crumb topping. Take off the heat and place your skillet into the oven. Turn every 10 minutes, and when the crumb topping browns nicely, loosely cover with foil and continue baking until a knife pierces an apple slice easily, between 25 and 35 minutes total cooking time, depending on your cast iron, the oven, and the barometric pressure. (Just teasing about that last one, though it might be a factor. Who knows?)

Remove from oven and spoon out healthy portions. Vanilla ice cream added just before consumption takes this to a whole other level.

Serves 3 to 5 people, depending on how big their sweet tooths (or is that sweet teeth?) are.

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Other Books by Jessica Beck

The Donut Mysteries

Glazed Murder

Fatally Frosted

Sinister Sprinkles

Evil Éclairs

Tragic Toppings

Killer Crullers

Drop Dead Chocolate

Powdered Peril

Illegally Iced

Deadly Donuts

Assault and Batter

Sweet Suspects

Deep Fried Homicide

Custard Crime

Lemon Larceny

Bad Bites

Old Fashioned Crooks

Dangerous Dough

Troubled Treats

Sugar Coated Sins

Criminal Crumbs

Vanilla Vices

Raspberry Revenge

The Classic Diner Mysteries

A Chili Death

A Deadly Beef

A Killer Cake

A Baked Ham

A Bad Egg

A Real Pickle

A Burned Biscuit

The Ghost Cat Cozy Mysteries

Ghost Cat: Midnight Paws

Ghost Cat 2: Bid for Midnight

The Cast Iron Cooking Mysteries

Cast Iron Will

Cast Iron Conviction

Cast Iron Alibi

Cast Iron Motive