BK1: Oh yeah, here's another, Line the oven with aluminum foil to ease clean-up and to help remove sticky stuff like cakes (especially Upside-down cakes) in one piece. LOL
Feel free to use the quote, I stole it from author Pat McMannus.

As I get older, I am learning that there are a few things that I will never be able to do again when Im involved in 'guy-activities' Ill never dunk a basketball again, and Ill never break a bronc again. I'll never be a woman's first lover again, and I'll never be worth a hoot on the day after a good whisky drunk again. But Im also learning that there are some things that Im getting better at as I age;


Sharpening a knife
Predicting a woman's moods
Wine making
Dog training
wood splitting with a maul
Cutting through the BS in a politician's words
Getting out of speeding tickets
the use of a paint roller
rope work and knot tieing
Charitable giving and volunteer work


& Dutch oven baking


Some things simply take a long long time to learn.

Amen brother.

Thanks to you all. I am going to print out this info and put it with my cookbooks. This is priceless!

I have the concave lid, BEyes, and I think I was not getting the lid hot enough. Now I will try again, when it warms up again, armed with this new information. (It is -36 here right now.)

I kept digging for this thread the last few days and getting distracted by others. I'm glad I found it again.

Thank God for curmudgeons! ;o)

There is a "Cast Iron Cooking for Dummies" book that has a lot of great tips and some recipes in it. We got it for my son for Christmas last year. It's got some interesting info on cast iron and the various manufacturers that used to be in business. It helped me understand that the old Griswold pan I inherited from my dad is truely an antique. In fact when I questioned my mother about it she told me that it was one that my dad had "on the farm when he was young". That means that it was actually my granddad's. Now it's even more precious as a family heirloom, and I still cook in it.

http://www.macscouter.com/Cooking/DutchOven.html

http://www.idos.com/

Here are a couple sites you might find helpful as well .

Drifter

Wow my little question got big. Great answers guys, I think yall bunches!!

min I usually just make a big fire out in the back yard put the pot in the fire inverted with the lid off then take it otu clean and put back in fire to get it hot wipe down with bacon drippings or else make cracklins in it will work too

i fyou have a domed lid you can still bake in it. Just turn the lid over and put coals on top. just be careful when removing lid as the handle will be inside the pot.