Customer Reviews

Dressed to Grill: Savvy Recipes for Girls Who Play with Fire

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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I don't cook a lot of fancy, labor-intensive food. I like being imaginative and speedy in the kitchen, and I usually figure I don't need a book that is going to have me go through 40 steps just to cook a pice of chicken. But despite my wariness of cookbooks, I now own all of Karen Brooks' (and her different partners') food and cocktail books. I never thought I'd be such a fan of...cookbooks? Yup. "Dressed to Grill" is as fun to read as it is to use. When it comes to barbecue, women have traditionally taken the roles of preparing side dishes and smiling as they chew charred pieces of red meat. Well, this book makes tending the flames extremely accessible to women, from the basic how-to's and the tips on buying grills to the de-emphasis on meat (and a great low-fat chapter). The snappy writing and graphics that are the trademark of Ms. Brooks' books are present again here. Just broke up with a guy? Look in the "Bonfire of the Miseries" breakup chapter for recipes like Jerk Chicken with Grilled Bananas, Who's Sari Now?, and Chauvinist Pig (all delicious recipes). And for the absolute best version of a classic: Forget Caesar: A Bang-up Cleopatra Salad. The recipe for Campy S'Mores Sundae with toasted marshmallows is super-easy, tasty, and what the authors call "An urban girl's idea of a Girl Scout campfire dessert experience."

Whether you're cooking for one, entertaining friends, or trying to give a guy some tactful advice on how to take barbecue to a whole new level (tell him to try the Hot Girls Spice Rub - the recipe, not a spot in the red-light district) you should own this book. Yeah, being so effusive about a cookbook may seem weird, but only until you read this one.

I found this boook at some random store and picked it up because it looked fun. I decided to use it as a theme night for my cooking club. I belong to an all girls coooking club and all of our husbands always operate the grill. This gave us some awesome confidence as we stoked the charcoal and made a three course meal. It was such a blast and we loved the campy smore sundaes as dessert. We are planning a You Grill, Girl II club this summer because we had such fun with this book. Just reading it and laughing at all the fun food titles and wording was worth the purchase. Enjoy!

This is my favorite grilling booking. I have about a dozen recipes marked in this book that I want to try, but I can't get past the "Forbidden Nights Moroccon Pesto Chicken" because it is so good I don't want to try the other chicken dishes. I'm a pretty serious foodie who loves to cook but has given up beef and pork and is moving towards a nearly vegetarian eating and cooking philosophy, and I swear this recipe is the one thing that's keeping me from giving up chicken altogether! I literally get cravings for this chicken recipe, like I get cravings for good quality dark chocolate. :0)

The "Hot Lips Chili Butter" for grilled corn is great, as well. I like the fact that the recipes are unique...not your average, run-of-the-mill grilling standbys. I've made a few of the dishes for dinner guests and they're always impressed. Besides having wonderful recipes that anyone can tackle, the book is cute and clever and has my favorite cookbook feature...it's spiral bound, so it lays flat! If you love to grill, this is a great little gem for your cookbook collection.

An excellent book for men also.
Flavorful recipes with common ingredients.
Quick and easy to prepare

I agree with the reviewer who said it can be a real pain to find a particular recipe in this book because of its unusual organization. But my wife said it would be fantastic for her if I were to suddenly keel over and she had to figure out how to grill for herself. She very much enjoyed the writing style, and the recipes gave her good ideas for dinners.