Stir, Sizzle, Bake: Recipes for Your Cast-Iron Skillet: A Cookbook by Charlotte Druckman

Stir, Sizzle, Bake: Recipes for Your Cast-Iron Skillet: A Cookbook Reviews

• 
  Mary Cokenour

  Won this book in a September Goodreads Giveaway; received it after the diligence of the Goodreads staff in getting the publisher to finally send winners their books.
  
  That being said, this is a beautifully put together cookbook; photos of most of the recipes; many directional photos for recipes also; a story behind each recipe. High quality hard cover and page paper; this would be a perfect gift for a cook, especially one that enjoys using cast iron cookware.
  
  I am very happy I won and finally received this book; am going to be happier trying out the recipes like Spiced Butternut Squash Biscuits and Whole Wheat Sticky Buns.
• 
  Donald

  It took a very long time to receive this after winning it in the Goodreads Giveaway. It came via UPS on January 4th, 2017. Goodreads took offense over my first review (I would bet actual money that someone complained, which truth be told, was my intention) claiming that it was not based on the work but on the fact that I had not received it at all. I would argue that writing a book is only a small part of what it is to be a writer and that following up on the people who have had promotion delegated to them is also the writer's responsibility. It is all part of the work.
  
  That being said I will peruse this title, try out a few recipes, and return with an honest review.
• 
  Alison Mason

  The book is really nice tried a few items and they turned out great.
  Getting the book sent to my house the a total disaster. It took over 3 months to get when I was told only 4-6 weeks.
• 
  Lisa

  I looked at other peoples reviews after I had gotten this book. So either it is much loved or not at all, there is no in between. From looking at the cover I would guess that this book was full of wonderful cast iron skillet recipes. They are not the ones that I was expecting. I did not like the set up of the book at all. There were not enough pictures in the book for my taste, and the pages were set up to where most of the recipes plus instructions went on for pages. I got bored looking through and did not find one recipe that I might even want to make. This book might be appealing for other people just not for me.
• 
  Amanda

  I really wanted to like this. I listened to her on a podcast and was really impressed. But this cookbook has a lot of ingredients that are hard to find and also a lot of recipes for things I've never heard of, which would normally be great, but with the lack of photos it can be challenging to understand what you'd be making.
• 
  Stella

  Some intriguing ideas, but overall too many exotic ingredients I don't normally keep in my cupboard or want to purchase for one recipe. Also some recipes are complicated by needing to make two or three other recipes, sometimes days in advance, before tackling the main one.
• 
  Anna Marie

  Pretty cookbook, with some great recipes. But if you don't live in either CA, USA or a large city with a large health food presents, you'll have problems finding some of ingredients.
• 
  Rebecca

  Has some good recipes, the one's I've tried so far :)
• 
  Cherie

  Lots of interesting recipes for your cast iron skillet. My only qualm is that a lot of the recipes seem a bit fussy or require special ingredients. Some yummy stuff in here though.
• 
  Kym

  Yes, every recipe is made in a cast iron pan. I do love my cast iron pans and I will be trying several of the recipes in this book. These recipes are heavily influenced by overseas places. The Middle East and India show up often. That is fine, but many of the recipes are totally unfamiliar to me and seem a bit scary. That is ok. I'll try a few and stick to those closer to my comfort level. There are photos to help see what the recipe looks like. My main beef is with the formatting. Many recipes are 2-3 pages long, not including the recipe. This means I am flipping pages while preparing the food. Not a fan of this.
• 
  Ronnie

  I received a copy of Stir, sizzle, bake free through the Goodreads first reads program.
  
  This is a great cookbook! It has a lot of recipes that I can't wait to try ( and a few that I will probably never try!) And it is not only a cookbook, it has plenty of information on how to choose your cast iron skillet or pot and how to take care of it. Also has a history of the cast iron cookware.
• 
  jamie

  I'm in love with my cast iron even more after reading this gorgeous book!
• 
  farmwifetwo

  DNA half way. I don't even know where to get the ingredients . Pomegranate molasses for crumpets??
  
  Not suitable for my needs.
• 
  Iowa City Public Library

  From Beth F.: "Cooking with cast-iron cookware is something you either love or you hate. Those who love it make it look so easy – their pans are a lovely shiny black and nothing ever sticks or burns. Then there are people like me – who have tried over and over to cook with cast-iron with less-than stellar results. I’m determined to learn how to use my cast-iron the right way, and a new book in ICPL’s cookbook collection may be where I start.
  
  People all around the world have been cooking on iron or cast-iron for centuries. What makes Charlotte Bruckman’s new Stir, Sizzle, Bake – Recipes for your cast-iron skillet so different is that she has included recipes from cultures all around the world. This isn’t your basic fried chicken and biscuits cookbook.
  
  Stir, Sizzle, Bake is laid out with the easiest recipes at the beginning so that, if you choose to, you can work your way through the book learning as you go. It’s focused mainly on forms of baking, and is divide into four main sections: No-Bake Baking; On-The-Rise Baking; Make-The-Most-Of Baking; and Condiments. The books biggest oddity (and the only thing I disliked about it) is that each section has its own table of contents for the 16 or so recipes in that section, rather than one normal table of contents at the front. However there is a complete index in the back.
  
  Due to the international flavor of the book there are often one or more ingredients in each recipe that may be a stretch for a lot of people. How many of us have masarepa (precooked corn flour especial for arepas), green pea flour, pumpkin seeds, nigella seeds, or duck fat on hand? (or even know what nigella seeds are?)
  
  If you’re like me, and you read cookbooks for fun, you’ll enjoy this book. Each recipes begins with a long paragraph or two about the recipe and either its history or why it was included in the book. Recipes are never created out of thin air. They are based on something – a recipe borrowed or stolen and then changed into something new. In Bruckman’s own words “What elevates each act of stealing to something noncriminal and original are the seemingly small but significant adjustments every person makes along they way.”
  
  Most of these recipes are beyond the contents of my pantry, but I am going to try a few and see how they turn out. Wish me luck."
• 
  Zahreen

  While the recipes look pretty good, I wish there were fewer baking recipes.