I do have a cast iron lid for my skillet, although a glass or other lid that fits will do just as well. The real advantage to the cast iron lid is that I can cook something in the skillet covered while it is in the oven, dutch oven style.

The burning method of stripping out the old seasoning won't get the skillet red hot unless you really crank up the fire on an outdoor gasoline stove. Just don't drop it or cool it too quickly.

And I have cooked blackened beef on a real hot skillet because that is how Paul Prodhomme developed the recipe. He liked to get a big skillet as hot as possible (almost white hot!) on a gasoline stove and then coat both sides of the meat with melted butter and cover that with the blackening spice. When he dropped it in the skillet, it would smoke like crazy and maybe even flame for a moment. The process causes the meat to release so much steam that it actually "levitates" above the surface of the skillet. He showed a cutaway skillet that let you see just that. The end result is a nice crust on the outside of the meat and the juices kept in, even though it steams a lot.

With a new cast iron skillet, it's best to just fry in it for a while until you have really built up the seasoning. You'll know because the surface will be really smooth and have a dull shine to it when cleaned out. Once you do have it well seasoned, you can cook stuff that has a high water content in it, or even tomatoe sauce. Just don't let those foods sit in it after the thing cools.

Cast iron skillets are easy to keep clean when used just for frying. After I'm done, I wipe it out real good with a paper towel and that's it. I leave them on the stove top because I use them a lot.

Tip: "Hot pan, cold oil, food won't stick."
Warm up the pan first, then put in the oil or butter followed by the food.