Cooking properly frequently requires lots of heat and creates smoke. Peek into a commercial kitchen sometime. I suffered a childhood of sad, grey, rubbery steaks until I grew up and learned you're supposed to sear them. Same with many other types of food.

> a better smoke alarm may also alleviate the problem

Like the nest?

I was thinking of something like http://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-SA320CN-Double-Battery-Pow... for $20.

Totally—when I moved in I figured I must have been burning everything so I started cooking more carefully and at lower temperatures, which didn't help. I searched the model number when I took it down to see if other people were having similar problems, and if I recall it's a new, high end FirstAlert model that goes for around $100, which puts the Nest at a pretty competitive price point, too.

Have you seasoned a cast iron pan lately?

Yup. Our smoke alarm in the kitchen didn't go off when I did.

How do you know it works then?