I just bought a cast iron skillet because of its suitability for
recipes in which the covered skillet goes directly from the stove top
into the oven.

Has anyone used both iron and glass lids for such recipes and actually
seen a substantial difference in cooking performance? I imagine a
foods surface contact with the bottom of a skillet is important, but
might, for instance, the iron lid radiate more heat than glass, thus
promoting significantly greater browning of the top of the food? Or
in maintaining moisture, might how close the lid fits to the skillet
might be more important than what the lid is made out of?

The reason I ask is that lids are an awkward item to store and I have
found round glass lids on casseroles, crockpots, and the like to be
pretty much interchangeable for stove top use if the fit is pretty
close. Also, I wouldn't mind avoiding the additional weight of the
iron when maneuvering an already heavy skillet out of a hot oven.

What range of oven temperatures do most covered-skillet oven recipes
fall in? What is highest oven temperature likely to be called for in
a recipe with the lid on?

I notice utensils are turning up in stores now with silicon handles
and knobs that are claimed to be oven-safe. But the manufacturers'
present varying claims about how high a temperature the silicon can
handle. Is that because various types of silicon vary in heat
tolerance, or are they pretty much alike and its a matter of some
manufacturers want to make a claim of high performance and others
want make a lesser claim, fearing they will be blamed if users turn
their ovens too high?

RK