284810 Wed Apr 26 13:17:51 -0700 2006 12 31 Home Cooking 0 1523746 A friend just gave me a Foreman Grill, and I'm not sure what to do with it. I accepted because my husband and I don't have a barbeque, however, now that I have it, I really have no idea how food will turn out on it. Can anyone tell me how useful they've found it, and what types of food/ recipes work well? It came without instructions, so any general tips would be great as well. Thanks. I'm going to try yams on it tonight, we'll see how that goes. Wed Apr 26 13:17:51 -0700 2006 0 alicia 1 1523756 What are you planning on doing to those poor innocent yams with the Foreman Grill? It does NOT do meat well, contrary to what George Foreman would have you believe. You'll cry as you watch all the moisture leach out of your expensive steaks or hamburgers leaving behind rubber hockey pucks. But, what the GF grill does well...well, it does quite well indeed. This includes sausages - which I boil for about 2 minutes first, any kind of melted cheese or grilled sandwich - it's an excellent panini press, salmon steaks come out fine, bacon, sausage patties. My favorite use for it is every morning my husband likes a grilled no-fat cheese sandwich. This is the easiest way to make a grilled cheese sand. at 6 a.m. - guaranteed. Sausages and salmon look great with those grill marks and don't dry out the way red meat does. Great for gilling thin sliced squash or eggplant - after brushing on garlic butter or oil. Wed Apr 26 14:28:59 -0700 2006 1523746 0 Niki Rothman 2 1523772 Yeah, that's about all it's good for in my opinion...pressed sandwiches. I chucked mine, after an initial enamormant with it, as I can just as well do pressed sandwiches on a grill pan with cast-iron skillet on top. Wed Apr 26 15:17:42 -0700 2006 1523756 0 Aaron 1 1523760 I'll second what Niki said below, and add that the Trader Joe's kosher rib eye steaks do very well on the Foreman Grill, probably b/c of their high fat content. Leaner cuts or boneless chicken breasts, however, need less time or marinating to keep the juiciness in. Wed Apr 26 14:36:05 -0700 2006 1523746 0 LBQT 2 1523989 I have the original small grill. Aside from sandwiches, the only thing I really cook on it are boneless skinless chicken breasts - 4 minutes exactly (for breasts that haven't been pounded thin) yields a perfectly moist chicken breast. Thu Apr 27 16:55:11 -0700 2006 1523760 0 JRL 1 1523766 INGREDIENTS: 4 slices whole wheat bread 2 Tbsp. butter 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 1/2 cup shredded Havarti cheese 1 tomato, thinly sliced PREPARATION: Spread one side of each bread slice with softened butter. Spread other side of bread slices with dijon mustard. Divide cheeses evenly on mustard side of two bread slices. Cover with tomato slices and top with remaining bread slices, mustard side down. Prepare and preheat two sided grill. Grill sandwiches for 2-3 minutes, until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted. 2 sandwiches Wed Apr 26 15:00:34 -0700 2006 1523746 0 ODB 1 1523771 On Sunday night I made tuna on the GF Grill and it came out great. Marinated the tuna steaks in EVOO, lemon, salt, pepper and fresh oregano for about 15-20 minutes, then threw the steaks on the Grill for about two minutes -- we like them seared with a little pink inside. They were so quick, easy and tasty. Sunday's meal came out so well, I used the GF Grill again on Monday, to cook some chicken breast tenders. Made a similar marinade, except used garlic in addition to the oregano. Grilled the breast tenders for like 2-3 minutes, until they were just cooked through and they likewise were great. The trick I find is that you have to be REALLY careful not to overcook your meats/poultry/fish. That, and I always use a marinade. Wed Apr 26 15:17:22 -0700 2006 1523746 0 DanaB 1 1523776 It's great, as others mentioned, for seared tuna and also for chicken breasts--just don't overcook them. Also great for red & yellow bell peppers (spritz first with a Misto) and eggplant slices. But the BEST tip I've gotten from the Board is how to CLEAN the thing! As soon as you've taken the food off the grill and unplugged it, put damp to fairly wet paper towels in the grill and close it to allow all the cooked-on stuff to steam off. Then it's a simple matter to wipe it clean!! Wed Apr 26 15:35:25 -0700 2006 1523746 0 Ms. Ghost 2 1523808 New model now has removable, DW safe grill plates. Also comes with waffle & griddle plates. Wed Apr 26 17:14:50 -0700 2006 1523776 0 Niki Rothman 1 1523839 I love my GF Grill!! My family is sick of the phrase "I'll use my George Foreman Grill". They joke my husband is going to hang me by the "Geroge Foreman Cord" if I don't stop saying it. The wet paper towels (I use a thick batch) after unplugging is great - and I also purchased grill spounges from the Chef catalog- haven't used yet. I cook thick slices of eggplant- 1/2 in to 3/4 of an inch, spray grill with pam and let them cook. Keep these cold in the fridge to put on sandwiches, add to panninis. Panninis- I started out using butter on the bread- YUM, but found you don't need it- Olive Oil brushed on works, and so does pam- when sprayed on the grill. Grated cheese works well vs thick slices. A slice of bellpepper , fresh basil, white onion- all excellent in a pannini. I cook chix breast like crazy, and place them in a metal bowl and saran wrap to steam and juice them up. I find I prefer to season with dry seasoning before placing saran wrap on- after cooking- just me I guess. I use the chix on salads, in pasta, sandwiches. I don't prefer chix legs- the skin turns black on me and is gross, IMO. Lamb with a bone is good- I pick up the on sale thin type steaks and marinade a touch and grill quickly. YUM. Wed Apr 26 20:00:21 -0700 2006 1523746 0 JalamaMama 1 1523842 Along the lines of the pressed sandwich ideas, we use our GF to make reuben sandwiches. We use spray olive oil on the bread to make the crust nice and crispy. Wed Apr 26 20:30:41 -0700 2006 1523746 0 the donut 1 1523864 I like french toast on my GF. For grilling leaner meats I only press the lid down until I get grill marks then lift it up and continue cooking until done. As for cleaning, I run hot water and soap over it while keeping the cord and back portion away from the water, I also use one of those non stick safe scrubbies. As for basic instructions you basically plug it in and when the light goes out it is ready to use. Wed Apr 26 22:49:00 -0700 2006 1523746 0 Tracy L. 1 1523938 I like bone-in chicken legs and thighs, but I do like the blackening, so... Chicken breasts, sausages, pork chops, salmon, tuna, portabello caps and bacon are all good. I also do quesadilla ingredients-- onions, peppers, etc. and then the chicken in stages, then assemble them and put the whole quesadilla on the grill to melt the cheese inside the tortillas. Grilled asparagus and grilled green beans are great on the grill-- spray w olive oil pam, salt and pepper before closing the lid. Small calzones also cook in 10 minutes, which is fun and less temperature-raising in the summer at suppertime. Red meat-- beef, lamb, duck, veal-- just steams, no matter the fat content. Thu Apr 27 13:16:38 -0700 2006 1523746 0 emdb