Archive for November, 2009
BBQ in Winter
Have an Indoor Winter BBQ Party with Your George Foreman Grill
Winter is a sad time for most grillers – the BBQs have ended, the warm weather is gone and several months of snow stand between you and your next fun outdoor BBQ. For George Foreman grill users, the party doesn’t have to end with the changing of the seasons. You can enjoy a great BBQ party, year-round, with your George Foreman grill!
So how do you truly do a successful winter BBQ? Mainly, you just need to recreate all of the fun elements that make the summer BBQ what it is (besides the weather, of course).
The Food
The food is probably the easiest part to recreate for your indoor winter BBQ. Hamburgers, hot dogs, steak, ribs, BBQ chicken and brats can all be done on your electric grill. (And, of course, your George Foreman grill means less fat in the food to pack on during those winter months that are so dangerous for your waistline).
As for the flavors of the summer BBQ, if you miss that smoked flavor in your food, simply use your favorite liquid smoke in a pre-cooking marinade. This way, you can have indoor cooking with outdoor flavor. You can also try bolder rubs and topping choices to make the indoor grill food a little more special.
The Setting
Setting is vitally important in the winter BBQ, because you’re trying to make your guests forget that they’re sitting at the start of a long, cold winter. You want to use decorations and table settings that have a summer feel to them – checkered table cloths, brightly colored plates and cups, festive summer decorations like palm trees, suns, beach chairs and other iconic symbols of summer. The idea is to bring the feel of a summer outing to an indoor winter event.
The Atmosphere
Try making sure the atmosphere also matches the setting – summer music is a great way to do this. Just make a playlist of your favorite summer songs and you’re ready to go. You can even further set the atmosphere by adding scents that are reminiscent of summer – citrus, apple or eucalyptus are some picks from the cornucopia of choice you might choose. In this way, you’re hitting all 5 senses with a burst of summer that will be very welcomed by all your guests.
The Entertainment
Once you have the setting stimulating all 5 senses to think of summer, plus the food that brings the flavors of the summer BBQ home, all that’s left is the entertainment. While you can’t bring a baseball field into your living room or you might not want guests chucking horseshoes in your house, you get creative with bringing these summer mainstays inside. Any video game consoles that let the whole family play are good choices. Board games are a good choice, too, or games with slight adaptations to be indoors – you can get indoor darts, horseshoes and the like at most recreation stores.
Besides the actual act of being outside with warm weather (and, perhaps, a pool, if that’s a typical part of your summer BBQ) you’ve just recreated that summer BBQ style indoors for a winter party.
Holiday Gift Ideas
Shopping for the holidays with George Foreman ecommerce
Friday – the day after Thanksgiving – is undeniably one of the biggest shopping days of the year. While you could spend your holiday fighting traffic and long lines in a store, a better option is to shop online and get your gifts that way. Many online retailers and virtual stores also run promotions on Thanksgiving weekend, so you can still get good deals without the hassle.
On that subject, the George Foreman website is now a fully functional e-commerce virtual store! You can get all the grill lovers on your shopping list the gifts they want, the easy way. We’re offering special sales promotions on some of our best grills, including the 360 Grill™ with the full set of 5 removable plates!
You can use our Gift-Giving Guide from this month’s newsletter to help decide which grill is best for each of the people on your list. We give specific purchasing ideas for a wide-range of people, including busy moms, college students and empty nesters. This way, you can make sure you’re not buying a grill with too many features for someone that likes to keep it simple or a basic grill for a budding chef.
Now, for a heads up to any readers that have been following us, all of us here on the George Foreman team are going to be off for the holiday tomorrow and Friday. This means that there won’t be a post on Friday, but we’ll be back on Monday with some cool ideas for an indoor winter BBQ. We’d like to wish everyone a safe, happy and delicious Thanksgiving from all of us here at George Foreman!
Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Cranberry Coulis
A Delicious Thanksgiving Side Dish Made on Your 360 Grill™
This tasty Thanksgiving side dish puts a new grilled twist on a classic Thanksgiving favorite. It uses your 360 Grill™, so you help minimize the strain on your oven as you cook for Thanksgiving. A coulis is a thick sauce made from fruits or vegetables.
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup fresh orange juice
- 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, washed
- 2 tbsp. finely chopped candied ginger
- 1 tsp. grated orange peel
- 1 tsp. grated lime peel
- 1 navel orange, peeled and chopped
- ½ cup chopped toasted walnuts
- 2 large sweet potatoes, thickly sliced
- 1 tbsp. oil
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. seasoned pepper
Preheat your 360 Grill™ to medium-high with the grill plates in place.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine sugar and orange juice. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add cranberries, ginger, orange and lime peel. Return to boiling; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until cranberries pop, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and stir in walnuts and orange pieces. Cover and set aside.
Brush your sweet potato slices with oil and season with salt and seasoned pepper. Arrange slices on the grill; do not overcrowd. Close the lid and cook for 6 minutes or until cooked through. Remove to heatproof platter or baking dish and keep warm. Repeat with remaining sweet potatoes.
Serve sweet potatoes with warm cranberry coulis.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
360 Grill™ Holiday Edition
Your secret weapon to making holiday cooking fun, healthy & a little easier
One of the biggest challenges people deal with during the holidays (besides dealing with relatives, of course) is how to cook such big meal and still have everything done at once. At best, you have a double oven in your kitchen and can bake two dishes at the same time, but with all the dishes that require an oven, that’s still barely enough.
A good way to relieve the stress of making so many courses is to use your small appliances to ease up on the number of dishes you’re putting in the oven. The 360 Grill™ is a perfect appliance to fit the bill, since it does the work of three appliances in one. With removable plates for grilling, baking and even quesadillas, you can use the grill to make side dishes, cook alternate main dishes if you have a vegetarian or non-turkey eater at the table, and even feed the kids and football watchers an afternoon snack as they wait for the big meal.
Grilling
Not everyone is a huge fan of turkey, so often you need at least one alternate main dish for the vegetarians, vegans and other non-turkey eaters at the table. Since the oven is probably going to be in use, it may be better to plan for a dish that can be grilled instead.
Simply adjust the bar at the back of your grill to angle the slope, attach your grill plates and you’re ready to make your non-turkey eaters really happy – and a little healthier, since fat and grease will drain with the help of the patented slope. With the 106 Sq. In. cooking surface, you have enough room for around 5 – 6 servings at once, so all your guests can be happy with their main course.
Another great idea for using the grill plates of the 360 Grill™ is to do a grilled side dish instead of a baked side dish. Not only do you free up oven space, but you also give your guests a new spin on their traditional favorites. For a great recipe that gives a Thanksgiving mainstay a little grilled makeover, look at the recipe in this month’s newsletter.
Baking
With an easy-to-use slide temperature control, you can still have the precise control you need for baking, just like you would in the oven. Casseroles and side items can all be cooked using the 360 Grill™, so you can use it to take up some of the slack from your oven. Simply adjust the bar at the back of the grill to lay it flat, attach the bake plate and cook whatever you need. This way, you can have more dishes finish just before the meal so everything is piping hot and tasting its best.
Thanksgiving Day Snacks
While you’re in the kitchen trying to figure out how to get everything done for dinner, the rest of the family is probably busy playing, watching football and enjoying the time away from work and school. So how do you keep massive hunger from taking hold before the big meal? Simply use your 360 Grill™ to whip up a few snacks that will keep the hunger at bay without stuffing everyone before the turkey.
The removable quesadilla plates are ideal for this. With a few minutes of prep time to throw some tasty fillings into the tortilla, you have 6, hot, stuffed quesadillas in just 4 minutes. Simply lay the grill flat using the adjustable angle bar in the back, fill your quesadillas and set the temperature control to medium high. You can also switch out to the grill plates and make up a quick batch of mini-burgers if the quesadillas won’t be enough. Between the two dishes, the family should be satisfied until you sit down to dinner.
Post-Thanksgiving Leftovers
After the big meal, there’s always a lot of food leftover to pack your fridge and it’s always a question of how to get creative so you end up using everything. For all that leftover turkey, you can chop it up with some Colby/Jack cheese and make a tasty plate of quesadillas or slice it thin with some swiss cheese and roasted red peppers for a delicious Panini. You can also do a shepherd’s pie in the bake pan filled with your leftover veggies and topped with the leftover mashed potatoes. For leftovers, it’s all about getting creative with what you have.
Whether you use just one of the ideas above or several, you can free up your ovens for the bigger tasks, cut down on the time actually spent in the kitchen cooking and, most importantly, decrease your stress level in making such a big meal. Plus, with dishwasher-safe removable plates and accessories, cleanup is easy – so you can relax after dinner is over instead of spending long hours in the kitchen cleaning.
Gift-Giving with George Foreman®
The best gifts for all the important people on your list
The holiday season is here and it’s time to buy gifts for all your family, friends, co-workers and loved ones. This gift-giving guide is intended to help you pick out what kind of grill would be best for everyone on your list. All the products listed are available for purchase in the products section of our website, so you can find the grill that’s right and purchase it directly using the link above.
Picking a grill for someone else is all about recognizing what that person needs in their home. You don’t want to get a complex grill for someone that doesn’t like to cook or an extra-large grill for someone with limited kitchen space. A number of factors play into making sure the grill fits the person you’re gifting, but the following recommendations should help you get started.
The Master Griller & the Home Chef
If you’re buying for someone that likes to cook and/or lives in front of their grill, you definitely want to go for something that offers options, versatility and control. The 360 Grill™ has all of these. As our largest removable plate grill ever (106 Sq. In.), the master griller in your house will love it for the space to play with different cuts and types of food on the grill. The home chef will also enjoy it for the additional plates to bake, griddle, plus make pizza and quesadillas. Variable temperature provides better control, so they can get cook temperatures just right, with an adjustable angle bar for flat cooking and sloped grilling.
The Busy Mom
For a busy mom, it’s all about getting more with less hassle. The Power Grill™ Grill & Griddle is the perfect option. The 100 Sq. In. cooking surface means mom can cook for up to 5 people at once, with a bonus griddle plate that lets her make more food with just one appliance – from eggs and bacon for breakfast on the griddle to healthier burgers and chicken breasts for dinner on the grill. The dishwasher-safe removable plates are another great feature for moms, as they minimize the time spent cleaning in the kitchen.
The busy mom that still loves to cook might also want to look into the 360 Grill™. The quesadilla plates make perfect snacks for kids, after school or any time. The cooking surface is still big enough for up to 5 servings, plus mom gets a little extra control to let her inner chef sing with variable temperature control.
The College Student
With all the junk and fattening food that’s a staple of the college lifestyle, giving a college student or grad a present that makes meals healthier is almost an act of charity. The two main considerations for the college student are space and ease of use. Our Champ™ Grill series are our smallest grills, so they fit well in compact spaces like a college dorm room or small apartment. There isn’t any programming, so the college student can get a hot meal without a hassle. Plus, our patented slope and George Tough™ nonstick coating mean fat and grease drain away from food, so your student can eat a little healthier without any extra work.
For a messy college kid, you may want to consider something that makes cleaning a little easier, too. The Champ™ Grill with 3 custom grill sponges, which is currently on sale on our website.
Condo & Apartment Couples
For couples in an apartment or condo, the main concern is most likely the limited space in the kitchen. Secondary is good style, then easy cleaning – since young couples are more likely to both be working. The G-Broil™ Digital Grill provides all of that and more. The 72 Sq. In. cooking surface is big enough for up to 3 average servings (like chicken or burgers) or 2 bigger cuts (like salmon or strip steaks). Removable plates make cleaning easy, while digital controls provide easy programming and cooking. It’s got a sleek, modern look to compliment kitchen décor, but the best feature for the condo/apartment owner is the locking side latches that allow for vertical storage.
Empty Nesters
With the kids out of the house, most empty nesters don’t really need an extra-large cooking surface. The New Snap Value™ Grill is a great solution. The 72 Sq. In. cooking surface is good for up to 3 servings of most grilled foods, with removable plates that make cleanup a breeze. The snap handles on the removable plates are easy to latch and unlatch, for easy removal and assembly. The grill is easy to use, so empty nesters can cook the food they love without a hassle.
No matter who you’re buying for, George Foreman® has a grill to fit their needs. We invite you to use the links above to get started, but spend some time looking at all of the products, so you know you’re getting the best presents for the ones you love.
