Back in late January when I was contemplating getting a 13.25 inch Lodge cast skillet, it was one that d. a. Niel's had previously ordered to bring in for stock... but it never arrived.  They did have a 12 inch that had arrived, and looking at it made me realize that really was the biggest I could hope to use on my stove top anyway.  Only issue was, they didn't have a lid for it.

In truth, it does take a bit of a change in your habits when cooking on Cast Iron; scrub immediately with water, no soap, and keep the curing process going by applying more oil.

Cooking with cast-iron is great.  A well-seasoned pan is just as slippery as its non-stick counterpart.  It heats evenly, can go in the oven, can be used at high temperatures, increases the iron content of our food, and has a very, very long lifetime.  And while high-end cast-iron cookware costs a pretty penny, a basic cast-iron frying pan is very inexpensive.

I knew I was sick of Teflon, and sometime Stainless Steel cookware can get pricey... time to start our own cast-iron tradition!