The spouts at the back of the plates allow grease/fat to run away from the food and into the integrated drip tray for healthier reduced-calorie cooking.
The floating hinge enables the lid to rest evenly across the food for perfect cooking results, and when you have finished,, the plates are easily removable and can be washed in the dishwasher for hassle-free cleaning.
This was a real bonus for me! (I have had a George Foreman Grill for years and I NEVER use it! Why??? Because it is such a chore cleaning the grills. They are non-removeable and very difficult to clean.) Some of the special features of this grill are:
- Multi functional - contact grill, panini press, full grill, full griddle, or half grill/griddle
- The right temperature - two separate temperature controls, one for grill/panini and one for griddle to ensure perfect results everytime
- Adjust to any thickness of food - Sturdy panini-style handle with floating hinge
- Robust & durable - commercial grade stainless steel housing
- Easy to clean - detachable and reversible plates are easy to remove and dishwasher safe
- Versatile & convenient - opens out ot provide double size grilling surface
- Healthy eating - Integrated drip tray for fat and grease collection
- Includes - scraper for cleaning grill and griddle plates, an integrated drip tray, instruction manual and recipes
I decided to give it a real work out this week. I started off last weekend and made Pikelets on it. I loved the fact that it opened out flat, giving me twice the cooking surface.
It did an excellent job and at the end, cleaning it was as easy as popping out the grill plates and washing them in the sink. (If I had a dishwasher it would be even easier!)
Next I cooked Todd a breakfast on it, again using the flat plates with the grill opened out flat. I cooked the bacon on one side, and the eggs on the other. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!
The integrated drip tray collected all the grease and was very easily emptied and cleaned, and once again . . . I only had to pop out the grill plates and wash them up.
Another night I did us hotdogs, using the grill closed as a kind of panini press. That's the way my mother always cooked hotdogs in our house when I was growing up. Every Friday night was always hotdog night in our house!!
She had an old electric waffle iron/grill. The buns would be buttered and grilled until toasty and brown. The hotdogs split down the middle, and grilled until they were all crispy and tasty. I can tell you all the kids in our neighborhood vied for an invitation to Friday Night Hot Dog night in our house!
What a treat it was to once again have a hot dog cooked in the same way as my mother always had done. I think mine were a lot easier than hers though, coz . . . once again . . . I just popped those grill plates out and washed em up!
Last night we had tasty grilled Turkey Panini's and bowls of hot soup for our supper. Oh my but they were good! And so quick and easy too!
In the time it took to heat up the soup, I had some very tasty and attractive panini's to serve along side! Once again the clean up was so very easy! And just look at those tasty looking grill marks!!
All in all, I have to say I just love my Cuisinart Griddle and Grill! I just know I will use it often. I can't wait to do some summer cooking on it. Bring on the Steaks and Kebabs!
Sorry to say . . . my old grill has been kicked to the curb. (Sorry George!!) The only negative aspect that I can think of about this grill is that the cord is a bit on the short side. A longer cord would be a bit nicer, but all in all I give this machine 9 1/2 Stars out of 10!
Thanks so much to Cuisinart and to Aaron for having given me this opportunity!
*Turkey, Brie and Rocket Panini*
Serves 2
These are delicious. 'Nuff said.
2 panini ciabatta rolls
2 dessert spoons of cranberry and caramelized onion chutney
4 slices of roasted turkey luncheon meat
4 slices of brie cheese
a couple of handfuls of rocket (arugula)
Heat your grill to medium high, according to the grill instructions. Slice the rolls in half through the middle with a sharp bread knife.
Spread both halves of each roll with some of the chutney. On the bottom half, layer on the sliced turkey, the cheese and a handful of rocket. Top with the top slice.
Place into the grill and toast until the bread is crispy with grill marks, the filling heated through the the cheese meltingly delicious. Slice in half diagonally and serve.
Seconding that bit about the cord. Of course, you can circumvent that by having a powerbar, with your most-used Cuisinart appliances plugged in. You won't use more than one at a time.
ReplyDeleteI would love something like this, generally, I would love any stand-alone cooking appliance. One thing I miss so much in my kitchen is an electric fry/saute/braise pan, to make my favourite Asian dishes at the table. Stir-fries, hot-pots, heck even French toast, frittatas and the like.
Why are there not more of those? It's so handy to sit down at the set table, and cook and chat, and serve ourselves.
Great post Marie-Alice. Great appliance.
Cuisinart should know that older singles and families are huge markets for this type of applicance, for several reasons: we don't often roast the 25 lb bird anymore. We like to have small dinner parties with friends, but no-one wants to be the hostess in the kitchen while everyone else is out there having a good time, and we want it delicious, healthy AND easy.
Thanks for showing this appliance Marie. As we will be living on a barge soon, this will be an excellent multitasking kitchen aide.Now if you could do a bread machine baking session segment sometime soon, you will be my friend for life!!!
ReplyDeleteKind regards,
Margaret
I have 2 questions:
ReplyDelete1. Should you season the plates before first use?
2. When you fried an egg on it, did you oil it like a normal pan first?
I just got one of these for Christmas, don't want to ruin it!
Tadhg, I did brush the plates lightly with some oil before use, but the plates are non stick and so you don't need a lot. HOpe this satisfies both of yoru questions, and congrats on having received a lovely gift! Happy New Year!
ReplyDelete