The Quitsch Kitch: Cast Iron Cobbler

I come from a family of food lovers. Foodies. I guess we're kinda like "Carnies" from the Carnival, moving from fair to fair as they pass through this life looking for that next big adventure, or "Roadies" from a Rock 'n Roll band moving from city to city looking for the next outrageous gig. Us Foodies move from meal to meal, looking for that next perfect bite. It has often wreaked havoc on our Super Model status, especially since you don't even have to be pretty anymore to be a Super Model - you just have to be skinny. (Seriously, have you looked in some of the magazines lately? I'm talking some serious canine faces gracing those slick pages!! Bow Wow!) And although Kate Moss claims "Nothing tastes as good as skinny," I'm guessing Kate Moss has never actually eaten anything tastier than tofu in her entire life. 'Cause that's just a ridiculous statement!!

Anyway.......

Naturally, when family comes to visit, it's generally expected that they bring a favorite recipe for us to try. So when my aunt Teresa came to visit the week of my birthday, I fully expected to eat well.

Mmmmmmm....and I did.

She started by asking if we had a cast iron skillet. But, of course. Then one evening she whipped up a perfectly scrumptious berry cobbler in that heavy black cauldron, and it was good with and without ice cream. She used a combination of blackberries, raspberries, and mulberries, so it had a slight tang underneath the sweet layer. And the crust.....oh, mercy, the crust. It was beyond words. And we didn't even make the crust from scratch!! (I can hear the gasps already - don't judge me. My sister makes really great pie crusts - mine are merely mediocre.)

I guess everyone has their favorite "flavor" of cobbler. And I reckon you can just about make cobbler from any fruit, so feel free to choose and use your favorite. Part of the key here is to use FRESH or FROZEN fruit. You don't want to use canned pie filling.

I've made this several times for church dinners, and the pan is scraped every time. Those who weren't fast enough to get a portion of it are already requesting it for the next dinner. I've had people request it with different fruit next time. I've had the husband of a pregnant woman approach me and say "You know how when people in the church have a baby and y'all sign up to bring meals. Well, we're about to have a baby, and when you sign up - you can forget the whole meal. Just bring a pan of that stuff over and we'll call it good."

The thing is, the recipe is so easy, if you an peel and slice peaches and apples; if you can rinse berries without drowning them, you can make this cobbler. But you gotta get a cast iron skillet. :-)

Cast Iron Cobbler - Preheat oven to 350

1 Stick Butter
1 Cup Brown sugar
Pie Crust (you'll need a top and bottom, so if you're making it from scratch, make sure you recipe gives you enough dough for two crusts)
Your choice of fruit: Peaches - 8 large peaches
Apples - 6 large apples (I like a combo of Granny Smith and Fuji)
Berries - about 5 cups of berries (you can mix them up if you want)
3 TBSP lemon juice - optional if you're using peaches or apples, this will help keep them from turning brown
3/4 Cup white sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (I like to grind it fresh right onto the fruit)
1 egg white
2 TBSP white sugar

Prepare your fruit. Peel and slice peaches or apples. I like to have pretty good chunks, so I slice them into about 10 pieces per fruit. (You'll be able to see in the picture below.) Toss with lemon juice. If you're using berries, just rinse your berries. Gently stir in your white sugar and let rest for a few minutes while you start the crust.