...my cast iron "cookware". That includes iron skillets of various sizes and iron pots, also of various sizes and shapes.

But---let me concentrate on the iron skillets. I have nothing as versatile as cast iron, it is as comfortable in the oven as on top of the stove. Right now there is a 10" skillet sitting on the counter, with a meatloaf in it just waiting to go in the oven. Unlike most other cookware, cast iron has no temperature limit---you can't hurt it in your oven or your stove top.

It askes only to be "respected", not fussed over, nor polished---just "respected", cleaned and oiled. In return it will make you look like a champ in the kitchen

Mine are old, they came from my Mother and I am sure she did not buy them new. They are smooth from years and years of service. They have carbon build up on the outside that I occasionally think I should take off---but I don't, but the inside, where the magic happens is a deep lustrous black. The sides are as complementary as the bottom. Pizza and mac and cheese are just two examples of gaining perfectly caramelized edges all around----the very best part of both.

The best come from Lodge who has been making cast iron cookware for 126 years-----but since cast iron only gets better with age---you can get a head start in most any flea market.