I've heard you have to "season" a cast iron pan; use it many times to get it to work right. What's the best way to go about doing that, and how do I know when it's actually "seasoned"?
Place the cleaned cast iron pan on the heated burner of your stove for a few minutes to ensure it is completely dry. While the pan is still hot and on the stove burner, lightly oil the inside of pan with neutral cooking oil, like canola or sunflower oil. Leave the pan on the hot burner of stove for a few more minutes. Remove from hot burner and wipe excess oil off the pan with a paper towel. You may repeat this process after each use until food no longer sticks to the pan. The key is to keep the pan dry after each use. Never store with the lids on.
This fiery red paste from North Africa can turn up the heat on pasta, pizza or burgers.
Soak 10–12 dried red chili peppers in hot water for ½ hr. Drain. Blend peppers sans stems and seeds in food processor with ½ tsp salt, 3 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp olive oil. Add 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground caraway seeds and ½ tsp cumin. Blend into a smooth paste.
A smaller, thinner and crustier version of the French baguette. Ficelle (pronounced fee-SELL) means string in French.