Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Penne with red peppers and goat cheese. From marcella cucina. So good.

Seasoning has been a major nightmare for me. About a year ago I bought a new cast iron skillet and tried to season it by following the instructions that came with the thing. All that got me was tons of smoke and a gross and incompletely seasoned pan. I tried again, several times, and never got to that real beautiful black that I'd grown up with. Does anyone know places that sell second hand or pre-seasoned cookware in new york.

on the naan sandwich issue, there is a place on bleecker street around sixth that makes "naanwhiches" and "naaninis" (the indian bread company ). Surprinsingly not so great. I would also like to see more ubiquitous vietnamese sandwich places. Those things are pretty boss.

i think most of their stuff is yucky. i'm a big fan of the cupcakes from yura and crumbs.

Magnolias cupcakes are good. The frosting is a little odd. But good. If you want an amazing cupcake go to Sugar Sweet Sunshine on Rivington
(get a cupcake and a cup of banana pudding)

By far Peanut Butter Pasta! Here is the recipe!

Ingredients

12 to 16 oz. pasta (any short, fun shape) or rice noodles
1/4 C. peanut butter
2 Tbs. warm water, or to taste
2 Tbs. maple syrup, or to taste
2 Tbs. teriyaki sauce, or to taste
Pinch ground ginger
Slivered sautéed vegetables, such as broccoli florets, asparagus, thinly sliced carrots, bell peppers, scallions or red onions (optional)
Crushed peanuts and/or thinly sliced scallions (optional)

Directions

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the peanut butter and warm water. Add the maple syrup, teriyaki and ginger and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust the amount of maple syrup and/or teriyaki sauce accordingly. If a thinner sauce is desired, add more warm water, 1 Tbs. at a time, until the desired consistency is achieved. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Add the peanut sauce and toss to coat. If desired, add the sautéed vegetables and toss again and/or sprinkle with peanuts and, for the adults, scallions. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings.

Though I'm trying to figure out why IKEA would bother enamelling a cast-iron oven on the outside only...the best seasoning method I've ever used - which I read in Cook's Illustrated, I think - is to bake a pineapple upside-down cake in the new pan. Apparently the acid in the fruit opens the "pores" of the pan to allow more of the grease in the recipe (butter) to penetrate and season the thing. Plus, you end up with a delicious pineapple upside-down cake, in addition to a newly seasoned pan! (Though of course you have to maintain the seasoning, not wash the thing w/ soap and water, etc...I scored my Le Creuset on sale a few years back, and it is the best thing that ever happened to me, even though it was still mad expensive.)

Magnolia Bakery is overrated, as are most of the wellknown cupcake specialists(Billy's Bakery, Cupcake Cafe, etc.) I actually think Buttercup Bakery cupcakes are a little better than Magnolias. I make a better white cake, and chocolate cake in my own cupcakes.