A Dummies book on cast-iron, I guess it was only a matter of time. I wonder how long before there is a "Horseshoeing for Dummies"? Never mind, I better not go there.

For as simple as cast-iron cooking is, it remains a enigma to many modern cooks. To clear up the mystery, this book tells you just what you need to know. Each chapter contains information about cooking in general and cast-iron cooking in particular, like: when and how to season a cast-iron pan, how to clean your cast-iron, what cast-iron pans are available and where you can find them (right here at Wagon Mound), how to get a biscuit to rise, how to recognize quality cast-iron, old or new, at a garage sale.

This book is the third in the Chuckwagon Recipes and Other series by these two sisters. Now, I don't believe the ladies started out thinking they were going to have a series of cookbooks but that is what has evolved. this book, like it's predecessors, is chock-full of not only award winning recipes but also wonderful stories told by Sue & Jean; stories of their youth and travels. This book also features, as the previous books, wonderful sketches by artist Justin Wells, who first suggested the idea of a cookbook.

Sue and Jean are the daughters of the late Dick and Virginia Shepard. Originally from Turkey, TX, the family migrated to the panhandle town of Channing, TX in 1944. Dick cowboyed for different ranches and would fill in as a chuckwagon cook on occasions. That is where the gals got their introduction to chuckwagon cooking, on the high-plains of the Texas Panhandle.

Sue and Jean and their C Bar C Chuckwagon crew are pretty much living legends around these parts. They are probably the winningest chuckwagon around. They entered their first cook-off in 1990 and have placed in some category every time except for four through 2004, and that is entering six to ten a year, YOW! We are fortunate to have the C Bar C Chuckwagon Crew as our demonstrators and Judges for our annual Solanofest the third Saturday of September, thanks again folks! Their cookbooks are found in nearly all the chuck boxes of the wagons they compete against. What more can you say?

This is really a classy one-of-a-kind cookbook. Besides being full of very original recipes, indigenous to the area with explicit instructions, it features very handsome period wood cuts throughout the book. It also has a sprinkling of Lodge history and anecdotes. Another unique feature are the silhouette icons of specific cast iron cookware vessels. These icons represent the recommended Lodge Cast Iron pot or pan used to prepare the recipe. If you are a cookbook fan and or a cast iron enthusiast, this one can not be left off your shelf.