Chicken and steaks—they both belong in a cast iron skillet. Here’s where you’ll find ultimate frying success. But let’s not stop there. There are SO MANY things to cook in a cast iron skillet. And in doing so, you can count on achieving a superior end result!

For instance, pan pizza. The cooking pros at the online food magazine, Mashed, (www.mashed.com) say all you need is 30 minutes, store-bought pizza dough, toppings, and your trusty cast-iron skillet.

Reminiscent of Pizza Hut® pies, cast-iron pan pizza develops a delightfully chewy crust and a focaccia-like, fried bottom. The Mashed chefs recommend Bon Appetit Magazine’s recipe for cast-iron pan pizza; they say they never stray from it. Here’s the process:

To start, preheat your oven as high as possible, up to 525° or 550° if it goes that high. Set your 9-inch pan (or a larger pan for a crispier crust) on top of a stovetop burner, and heat it at medium-high heat. Meanwhile, stretch your dough out and use your hands to form it into a flattened round of dough.

When your pan is almost smoking hot but not quite there, add some flour (and cornmeal if you have it) to the bottom of the pan, followed by the round of dough. Using your fingers (be careful), work the dough around the pan into an even layer that fits tightly against the sides. Brush the top of the dough liberally with olive oil.

When the dough starts to bubble, give it a sprinkle of kosher salt and spread a generous scoop of your favorite sauce all the way to the sides. Top with a heaping portion of shredded mozzarella and your favorite toppings, and pop the pan into your hot oven for 10-15 minutes. If you're looking for a nicely browned crust along the edges, Bon Appetit recommends brushing them halfway through cooking with a mix of honey, water, and maybe some spicy chili flakes.

Then there’s cornbread. There’s an age-old regional battle around what makes great cornbread: sweet or savory? Buttermilk or sweet milk? Butter or bacon grease? Oven or stovetop? However you do it and whatever recipe you use, there are no wrong answers here. Just be sure you do what you do in a cast-iron skillet. And why? So you’re sure to get those favored deliciously crisped bottom and edges.

And here’s great news! Don’t waste valuable counter or cupboard space on an electric sandwich press (Panini maker). The cast-iron skillet has it covered. Some cast iron skillets come ridged, and if you have one of these, that’s the pan to use. But even if yours isn’t ridged, no matter; a flat-bottomed pan works well.

Place your filled, buttered or oiled sandwich down in a preheated pan, and use another, smaller cast-iron pan as your "press." If you don’t want to stand there and do the pressing action yourself, you can weigh the top skillet down with a filled tea kettle. Either way, prepare for restaurant-worthy, pressed-sandwich awesomeness.

Cast-iron-fried hash browns are a match made in heaven. Now I know most, if not all, of our Cook’n readers have cooked hash browns. But did you know these secrets to duplicating those you get in restaurants? Using raw potatoes, do this:

1. Shred one (for a small pan) or two (for a large pan) baking potatoes, with or without their skins.

2. Squeeze the shreds of excess moisture using a clean kitchen towel.

3. Preheat your cast-iron skillet and add a generous amount of your preferred fat (bacon grease is divine and butter is wonderful as well).

4. Spread the potatoes evenly in the pan; leave them alone for a good five minutes.

5. Season the uncooked side with salt, pepper, garlic powder, or whatever else you want.

6. DON’T move them around.

7. After 5 minutes, use a spatula to peek; when they’re that gorgeous color you're looking for, flip them over. Do this in sections or flip it all if it's small enough.

8. The other side cooks faster, so don't leave your pan unattended. There you go—hash brown heaven.

9. NOTE: Frozen spuds are good, too, so if you use them, just skip the first 2 steps.

And finally, how about fruit cobblers, crumbles, and Dutch babies? Forget the glass baking dish and call on cast iron. This skillet's ability to retain heat so brilliantly takes you easily from oven to counter to table. (Crumbles are technically called crisps when they're made with oats.) Many cooking pros make these with coconut oil instead of butter for a fun flavor change.

And likely you know of even more things that cook well in a cast iron skillet. Pass on the good news and let’s continue to take the cast iron challenge. Why not, there are SO MANY things that cook well in a cast iron skillet!