Power outages do make one appreciate preparedness and are great opportunities to practice. I had been acquiring camping gear for about a year in the early 1990s when we were hit with a week of ice storms, severe low temps and rolling blackouts because the power grid was overloaded. On top of that misery I caught the flu from a friend who had flown out from the west coast before it all hit. The ice hadn't even begun to melt before I was accelerating gear acquisition with a newfound appreciation for the preparedness aspect. I'm still using stuff I bought then (such as candle lanterns).

I'm a cast iron fanatic and especially devoted to Lodge for their excellent value (and free shipping on most items from Amazon). Here's a 6 1/2 inch skillet for $9.37

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Logic-Pre-Se...192&sr=1-11

I've got several Lodge skillets, from the 17" beast for group camping to this itty-bitty 3 1/2"

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-LMS3-Logic-M...412&sr=1-28