I made your 49er recipe using a $10 cast iron pan from a hardware store, and they turned out perfect. We even make eggs in the cast iron pan now, so the Teflon saute pans have been permanently retired.

Granted this particular pan has a beautiful black patina, as it has been used almost daily for five years. It never leaves the stove and never needs more than a little hot water simmer and a brushing to clean (neither were needed for the 49ers).

Anyway, for anyone thinking about cast iron, I say go for it! The only caveats are the weight (it’s very heavy) and you have to remember not to touch the hot handle after taking it from the oven with braised meat or the perfectly cooked pizza. They make nice silicone slip-on things that help with this.

p.s. thanks so much for the perfect pancake recipe of my dreams! I can’t wait to make them again and would say they were even better than OHP, only because we could use real maple syrup rather than the sticky corn syrup variety they offer.