Seasoning

Not the kind of seasoning you think, silly.

I'm talking seasoning a cast iron skillet. This is the first thing you do when you get it home, and something you can do every so often to keep it in good shape.

Unsalted butter is the recommended seasoner. (If you're vegan, you could use a vegetable oil with a high smoke threshold, like sunflower.) But let's be real: butter always makes everything better, doesn't it?

First, rinse your new skillet with hot water and dry it off. (And that's it -- NO SOAP.)
Then take your butter or oil and give your skillet a light coating all around the inside.

Then put it in your oven and set it to 400F. Leave it in there for about 15 - 20 minutes or so -- enough time for the oven to get hot and the pan to really get all seasoned, with the butter baking in.

Take the pan out and let it cool down on your stovetop. Careful -- your pan will be very hot!

Once it's cool to the touch, wipe it down with a paper towel to get rid of the excess butter.

And now you can store it and cook in it, full steam ahead.

I do this with my cast iron skillets every so often, to keep 'em in tip top shape. This cute little 8" skillet you see here is a new one I brought home this weekend (joy! and thanks, honey!) and needed some seasoning TLC.

I've fried up an egg and other such things in him since, and he's non-stick and perfect, as expected.