Cast iron cooking can be intimidating. But if you have a good instructor, it can be delicious too. If you’re someone who needs some help to buy, clean, prep, and cook in cast iron, then The Modern Cast Iron Cookbook could be just what you’re looking for. Author Tiffany La Forge gives you all the information you need to get started with cast iron, and she knows all the best reasons for cooking with it too.

Truly, with one $20 Lodge cast iron pan (or, if you’re really lucky, one of your grandmother’s old pans that has been used and cared for for decades), you can roast, sear, fry, or bake. You can use it on the stove, in the oven, or over a campfire. You can make pizza or bake bread or make a casserole. And you can turn to any of the dozens of recipes for great ideas for a weeknight dinner, a vegetarian lunch, or a gluten-free breakfast.

She’s labeled the recipes as 5-ingredient, one pan, quick and easy, and weekday/weeknight as well as gluten-free, grain-free, vegetarian, and vegan, so there is something for everyone. And with delicious ideas from around many different cultures, The Modern Cast Iron Cookbook can take you and your cast iron pans around the world and back.

Breakfast ideas include an Italian Green Eggs and Ham Frittata, Hawaiian Breakfast Fried Rice, Spring Green Shakshuka, and Maple-Mixed Berry Baked Oatmeal. And you can make breads and biscuits such as a Roasted Garlic Oil Naan, Olive-Rosemary Focaccia, or Skillet Whiskey Irish Soda Bread. Ideas for side dishes include a Fennel-Artichoke Gratin, Skillet Baked Beans, or Szechuan Green Beans.

For main dishes, there are vegetarian/vegan options like a One-Pot Caprese Macaroni and Cheese, Mediterranean Quesadillas, Eggplant Parmesan Ratatouille, or Mushroom Stout Shepherd’s Pie. Fish and poultry dishes include Scallop Piccata, Quick Turmeric Seafood Paella, Healthy Turkey Bean Chili, and Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry Biscuits. And there are also recipes featuring beef, pork, and lamb, such as the Reuben Grilled Cheese, Carbonara Baked Spaghetti, Steak with Stroganoff Mushroom Sauce, and Lamb Chops with Mint Chutney.

And there’s also dessert! Greek Yogurt Apple Tarte Tatin, Campfire S’mores Banana Boats, German Chocolate Skillet Cookie, Coconut Oil Skillet Brownie, and Five-Spice Banana Cheesecake Egg Rolls.

Convinced yet?

The one issue I have with this cookbook is that there aren’t all that many photos, just at the beginning of the chapters. I like lots of big, beautiful photos to tempt me as I read a cookbook, and to help guide me as I cook. But the lack of photos does keep this cookbook compact, which would be especially helpful for those who wanted to take it with them when they’re camping.

The Modern Cast Iron Cookbook is a wonderful resource for discovering cast iron pans, for learning to cook with them and to take proper care of them, and to use them as a creative outlet to make some of your favorite foods. Ideal for home cook and campers alike. It would also be a great gift for someone just starting out and needing ideas for good meals that don’t take a lot of equipment or fancy ingredients.

Review copy of The Modern Cast Iron Cookbook was provided by Callisto Publishers, with many thanks.