Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with lodge

For me and my grill

doift — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 07:51:51 -0800

Convince me to keep my cast-iron grill pan. A couple of years ago, on a lark, I bought a Lodge pre-seasoned cast-iron grill pan much like the one in the link above. I've mostly tried to use it for things like burgers (meat and veggie), chicken breasts with onions, and bacon when I had just moved and didn't have any other pans yet. I've never really been happy with it: stuff doesn't cook evenly and gets stuck on the little grooves, it's been hard to clean, etc. At this point I've probably ruined the seasoning trying to remove stuck-on veggie burger bits. I've just about decided to give it away.

But with all the cast-iron love I see, I'm tempted to give it another chance, and do it right this time. So I'm seeking recipes and recommendations. Why should I keep this thing? What can I cook in it that other cookware just can't do properly? What techniques can I use to make the most of it? There are a few posts already about cast iron care and re-seasoning, but do you have any grill-pan-specific care tips? Convert me!

what should I cook in my cast iron pan?

peep — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:30:26 -0800

What should I cook with my cast iron skillet? Due in large part to this question about homefries, I finally bought a cast iron skillet last Christmas. It's a 10" preseasoned Lodge.

So far I've made homefries, hashbrowns, and cornbread. I also know that lots of people make pineapple upsidedown cake in a cast iron pan.

For a couple of months, though, the skillet has been severely neglected. What other foods or recipes take on a new level of awesomeness when prepared in cast iron?

Very few caveats: I hate eggs, and no beef. I'm also sort of looking for things that are exceptionally yummy when cooked in cast iron, like the homefries question, not general stuff like "you can cook anything in it."

What should I make next?

Where to spend Christmas near to, but not smothered by, family?

Capri — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:11:27 -0800

Where to stay for Christmas? I need snow, a central lodge, separate rooms or outlying cabins (ideally with kitchenettes), and a charming village, in the US or Canada. For several years now, I've hosted the extended family for the holidays. Having borne the only grandchild on both sides, I have the blessing and the curse of being the focus of all Christmas events. I've loved it, but frankly, I've also had enough. I need a break from planning every meal, every snack, for a family with allergies and diet restrictions and (for some) a pathological fear of spices; making sure everyone has the preferred kind of pillow; entertaining; and trying to keep my sanity. I need to have someone else do the work.

This is what I am looking for, in order of importance:

1. A white Christmas.

2. A place where everyone will stay in their own room, or cottage, or whatever. I am not interested in renting a house, because then I'd be back to cooking for everyone, this time without my extensive collection of gadgets. It would be super nice if these places had kitchenettes, so that we could get away with not eating 100% of our meals in restaurants.

3. A central lodge where people could meet -- everyone in the family could meet each other, and the more social members of my extended family could meet complete strangers.

4. A nearby village or city or town or something, so that non-skiers could have something to do with their time. (I mention the skiing just because winter lodges tend to be associated with ski resorts, but we're not looking for a ski resort per se. We can take skiing or leave it, either way.) My parents, for example, wouldn't ski if Jaws (a reference to a Bond villain, not to the cartilaginous fish) were coming after them and this was their only means of escape. They're also not ostentatious shoppers. They'd like something to do besides looking cool in their apres-ski clothes (the thought makes me limp with laughter) and buying crap they don't need. What else is there? I'll admit, I don't really know either. But if you know of something, please suggest it.

5. Ideally some place that has some organized celebration of Xmas. We're atheists, but we love the whole winterfest thing, so whatever form it takes is fine; we're not picky as long as baptism isn't involved.

6. And ideally it won't completely break the bank, but this is not a do-or-die requirement. We're thinking on the order of $200-300 a night, but if the only possible option is $800 a night, well, it just means that the parents might opt out, as it were. And that's not the end of the world (or at least it doesn't seem that way in early March, so soon after the 2007 holidays).

7. And as a total fantasy wish: a place that is accessible by train. This is just gravy, icing, whatever. But we all love trains, and this would be cool as hell.

So, if you happen (off the top of your head) to know just the place, or are somehow trapped in front of a computer with high-speed internet access and nothing to do for the next several hours and you want to search this out, I'd love to hear suggestions. I'm sure reservations will get harder and harder to make as time passes, and figured the hive mind was superior to my own, so I start (for the most part) with y'all rather than with Google. Many, many thanks for your help, in advance.

Help me head for the hills.

punkfloyd — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:13:34 -0800

Need help finding traditional mountain/snow lodge-type getaway in the U.S. Think the lodge from The Shining (without all the REDRUM). The wife and I need to get away. We don't ski, but would like to spend a few days in the snow/mountains of Colorado, Utah or Wyoming in November. The destination I have in mind is a lodge with activities/attractions onsite or within walking distance. Emphasis on relaxation, not skiing.

Looking for a lodge in the Boundary Waters

rossmeissl — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 19:58:05 -0800

I'll be running a marathon in Duluth, MN, in June and would like to stay at a wilderness lodge with my brother and parents for 3-4 days afterward to relax. Where should I go? Looking for something within a 5-hour-or-so drive from Duluth, probably north into the Boundary Waters area. Google searches have turned up a few good possibilities (Clearwater Lodge, for example), but almost everything just looks so cheesy.

I'm looking for something like the amazing Hazen Inn in Northern Wisconsin—or the fictional Great Northern, for that matter. I'd like to stay in a lodge rather than in an individual cabin. Any ideas?

Our limos have no destination!

roomwithaview — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 14:10:28 -0800

As the chair of my fraternity's Fall-Formal Committee, I hold the distinct pleasure of locating a venue for this semester's night of dressy revelry. I'd love to find a nice lodge or similar, more intimate digs where we can hire our own bartender, do our own DJing, etc. Does such a place exist in or around Baltimore? The reason I specify a lodge is because we've been less than pleased with the locations we chose in the past, namely hotel ballrooms and the like.

The ideal location would have to hold about 30-40 brothers and their dates. It really can't be too far outside the confines of Baltimore City, or transportation would get costly. We'd prefer someplace classier, though our budget isn't exactly limitless.

I'd welcome any suggestions of possible venues, or just general advice with regards to this sort of thing. Thanks!

yellowstone acommodations

specialk420 — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 19:20:10 -0800

yellowstone accomodations - any suggestions for an especially cool, rustic, funky, fun, offbeat, and or vintage accomodations in or around yellowstone national park- thinking small old funky lodge type place? not the big typical resort type places...