Although possibly not the healthiest method of food preparation, the skillet has maintained a reputation for delicious food for centuries. One of the earliest methods of cooking, the cast iron pan has carved out its place in America’s belly as one of the best methods of cooking flavorful food. From Cajun food in Louisiana all the way up to fish and other types of items in the Pacific Northwest, the skillet is a ubiquitous part of any cookware collection. With so many different types of pans available, it is not surprising to see so many people making use of this extremely popular cooking implement.

Even at the dawn of man, cooking food on a hot, flat surface was traditional and is extremely well-known for its highly flavorful nature. With all this flavor and ease of preparation, it makes sense that the skillet would be so popular and would survive throughout the centuries. Even the most famous chefs utilize this type of cookware, dependable for heating and thorough cooking without any chance of burning. With a flat surface and comparably low edges, it is not designed to hold a tremendous amount of food. This is hardly a drawback, as the extremely popular cookware implement is not designed to cook large amounts, but is intended for cooking small portions of food very quickly. With this intense focus on even cooking and appropriate texture, the skillet is the perfect method of preparing many types of food on the stovetop. It isn’t hard to see how it became so popular around the world.

While the skillet certainly has many different uses, rapidly cooking fried foods is one of the most popular. Many people will swear that you should never wash them and that may should always be made from cast-iron. Others will say that any fried foods, such as chicken or fish, should always be prepared in a skillet. Whatever rule you might follow, it is certainly one of the most popular items of cookware in the kitchen and is highly versatile. Compared with some other products, it certainly does its job very quickly and very effectively, leaving very little doubt as to the quality of the food that it produces. In fact, it is so popular that it is often handed down from generation to generation, from grandmother to grandchild as some type of personal kitchen heirloom.

It is certainly one of the most popular types of kitchen cookware, as nearly everyone is in possession of a cast-iron skillet, and they are capable of cooking almost any type of food. Whether cooking fried foods on the stovetop, baking spaghetti in the oven or even cooking out on an open fire, the skillet can handle almost any job. In fact, it is the campfire that tipped the skillet into high popularity in America during the early years of the country’s formation. It isn’t hard to imagine travelers and drifters doing the majority of their cooking with the skillet over an open fire. Once you were done, you simply cleaned your cookware out with a handful of sand and it’s a done deal. It only makes sense to utilize such an easy to care for cooking implement when you have minimal carrying capacity.

In the old West, many drifters had only one item of cookware, the cast-iron skillet. This is largely because it can be easily cleaned with just sand and didn’t require water. It also was nearly indestructible, a handy trait for anyone riding the trail. But the history of the cast-iron skillet does not start there, as it stretches back into the centuries, to almost the beginning of the Iron Age. As soon as mankind began working with steel, the cast-iron skillet made its appearance and has been handed down through the centuries ever since. While we can only guess what type of dish first made it to the extremely popular cookware item, it seems clear that whatever type of food it was, it was probably delicious.

Cauliflower pakora and tomato chutney are a delightful combination of flavors and textures. And they’re a great informal snack or buffet itme because they’re for dipping and eating with your fingers! (You can make almost any vegetable into pakoras with this recipe. Be sure to cut the veggies small enough to cook through, but large enough to hold up during cooking.)

Cauliflower Pakoras:

1 head of cauliflower 1 cup gram flour (chick pea) flour 1/2 teaspoon asafetida 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 tablespoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon turmeric 3-6 cups of ghee for deep frying in a wok or a sauce pan with a thick bottom.

Start warming ghee over medium heat.

Mix spices and flour; then add water until it makes a smooth batter. Cut the cauliflower into florets and dip into batter so they are completely covered.

Slip a few at a time into the medium hot ghee to avoid splashing. If you put too many they will stick together as they cook.

Deep fry for a few minutes, then turn each over for a few minutes to cook evenly. Remove with a slotted spoon or turning fork and let cool on paper towels to drain excess ghee. They should be crisp and golden brown. Serve hot. Serves 8

Tomato Chutney:

6 ripe tomatoes (chopped small) 1/2 teaspoon asafetida 2 tablespoons ghee 1 teaspoons mustard seeds 1 teaspoon whole cumin 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 1 stick cinnamon 4 cloves 1 teaspoon finely minced ginger 2 minced green chilies 2 teaspoons ground coriander 3/4 teaspoon turmeric 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 2 bay leaves 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 table spoon raw sugar or molasses Fresh coriander leaves for garnish

Prepare a masala by heating ghee. Add mustard, fennel and cumin seeds. When they turn light brown, add the cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaves, chillies, ginger and powdered spices. It will be a slightly pasty, bumpy texture in the ghee.

Cook over a medium heat for a few minutes before adding the chopped tomatoes. Let the mixture cook down for 20-30 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning and clumping.

Finish by adding salt and sugar. Pour into one lare or several small dipping bowls, then garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serves 4

Wild varieties are equally delicious. Clams are a very popular addition to pasta dishes. Hard clams, also called quahogs, live in sandy coves and can be caught when the tide is low.Fresh shellfish is a wonderful thing to eat all year round. It includes clams, scallops, mussels and more. Farm-raised cultured mussels are fresh and readily available. A great dish to enjoy with butter and garlic is stuffed quahogs. And, of course, there is always clam chowder!

During the summer months, fresh shellfish will take your mind off the hot weather. For a light yet delicious meal, consider an appetizer of raw or barbequed oysters. These tasty treats can be bought in most markets as well as chosen farms that specially breed them to sell. If you are lucky enough to live by a port or in a town near the ocean, you will probably find oysters easily and for a reasonable price.

The scallops are meatier than clams and require very little preparation. Sea scallops are delightfully large, though must be shucked (removed from their shells) almost immediately after capture to ensure they don’t lose moisture and die. It is important not to overcook scallops, or you will end up with a chewy, inedible taste.

Mussels have blue-black shells and brown hairs called byssal threads attached to their shell. Their meat is usually an orange color and they are full of protein. As with clams, mussels taste best steamed and should remain encased in their shell until cooked.

Other fresh shellfish includes lobster and crab. Both are bigger and more substantial than their other, small shelled relatives. They are truly tasty and are a symbol of excellence in every type of cuisine. Lobster is a cuisine favorite in fancy, high-end restaurants and is the most expensive of all fresh shellfish.

Crab is maybe the most popular shellfish and is widely bought and eaten. The crabbing industry is a multi-million dollar one. While eating crab can be messy and often difficult, special tools have been created to make cracking crab easier. Once you get down to the meaty goodness of crab legs, you will want to make this fresh shellfish part of your everyday meal planning.

People are so busy and life is so fast paced it is often difficult to slow down enough to eat healthy. With processed foods all around us it is refreshing to enjoy a tasty and healthy seafood dinner on occasion. The ocean does not add harmful ingredients to its bounty. It simply nurtures its inhabitants until they are delivered straight to your door. Stay healthy by including tasty shellfish items into your busy lifestyle.

You no longer have to live in close proximity to the ocean or coast, you can get fresh shellfish no matter what. Online vendors now deliver fresh shellfish, crabs, lobsters and much more overnight. Straight from the ocean to your front door. Quality Fresh Seafood specializes in this and uses Fedex to overnight your seafood order.