Customer Reviews

Grill Power: Everything you need to know to make delicious, healthy meals on your Indoor Electric Grill

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book is truly worth every penny. Rarely is any cookbook a good and useful read from cover to cover. This is both cookbook and grill primer. It is far more useful than any of the inserts that came with your grill in regards to it (other than things such as manufacturer information, etc), that's for certain.

Grill Power is useful beyond measure. It has recipes in it, most healthy. However, here "healthy recipe" isn't a dirty little phrase, that gets you all set for a horrible food experience in the name of nutrition. The recipes here are actually, dare I say it, better than their fattening counterparts. This is someone saying this who HATES and loathes with a passion, "diet food".

This tells you how to make use of your grill as an every-day appliance. It's more than slap some hamburgers on there (although there are quite a few hamburger recipes, none of them are boring or blaze). They're darn tasty than just patties made from nothing but meat.

Good bits: a list in the back that tells you how to cook just about every kind of vegetable more or less, as well as fruit. An introduction on different kinds of grills that everyone should read before buying one...never have I seen each explained so well. There are several side dishes and also a lot of trivia interspersed through the book which makes it doubly interesting. It's a cookbook to read as well as use.

Odd technical notes: The book is well-bound and easy to read while cooking. My copy came signed by the author. Since I wasn't aware this would be on my copy, it's a sort of a "plus".

As cookbooks go, the organization is a 9 out of 10. The only thing I dislike is the font for the recipe titles -- it's the font called "Mistral" on Windows. It makes casual flipping hard for me, but I have eye trouble, so YMMV. That's probably a non-issue for most folks but it stood out for me.

I bought my son a George Forman grill when he moved into his new apartment, and figured that would take care of that! But when I came across this book (at a convention, of all places) it seemed the logical add-on gift. If I had a grill of my own, I'd have a hard time handing this book over to him!

Author and chef Holly Rudin-Braschi promises that this is "Everything you need to know to make delicious, healthy meals on your indoor electric grill," and she follows through by offering MORE than just the 50 plus recipes. In the beginning, she offers an "International Pantry Solutions," listing basic spices, sauces, herbs and condiments for different cuisines (Cajun, Creole, Caribbean, Chinese, French, Greek, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, southwest, middle eastern, south east Asian). Toward the back of the book, she offers recipes for meatless grilling -- middle eastern veggie wrap with heavenly hummus, Taj Mahal Tofu Steaks with Pineapple Express Rice and Cucumber Raita Salad. In the thickest section, in the middle, she gives the reader more traditional meals -- gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches (much improved!), hamburgers from simple to fancy, steaks, chicken, sausage, Texas chili, veal chops and much much more.

Throughout this thick, easy to read book, she gives a bundle of useful information, especially good for first time or infrequent cooks. This includes time saving ingredients; instructions on how to make your own Cajun seasoning, dry jerk seasoning mix, how long to marinate meat, chicken and fish, grill times; well composed salads; a chapter on how to grill super steaks, chops and tenderloins, including what to buy, how much you'll have when you're done grilling (4 to 5 oz. of meat becomes 3 to 4 oz. when cooked) grill temperatures and time for different meats and more.

[She also does something I've not seen anywhere before - gives recipes for sauces that go in the cups of infusion grills that use a lid, adding extra flavor to the finished food!]

For the new or busy cook, the layout of her recipes is excellent. She starts with the whole menu -- for example, American Apricot Sauced Poultry with Grilled Asparagus over Vermicelli Pilaf.

She gives a "Menu Game Plan," which includes prep and cooking time (50 minutes for this one), instructions in order of time (great for those of us who can't figure out how to get all the dishes ready to serve at the same time). Next, she offers some Cook's Notes -- in this one she discusses to peel or not to peel the asparagus.

The recipe for each dish comes next, and each one is easily viewable (you don't have to turn the page in the middle of cooking). Each recipe includes:

Ingredients;

Substitutes (if you don't want to use the white wine in this dish, substitute apple cider or apple juice);

Step-by-step instructions;

Serving instructions

Each meal has the Grill Time for different types of grill (Two-Sided Contact Grill; Hibachi Grill, Combination Grill or Infusion Grill). Her "Mix and Match" section tells you where else you can use some of the dishes -- in this one, the Rice Pilaf can be used for Amazing Maple Glazed Pork Chops on page 115 or Smart and Saucy Rosemary Cherry Lamb Chops on page 119.

At the end of each meal section, she offers an approximate Nutrients Per Serving of Entire Meal -- you can simply divide by the number of people/servings to determine the calories, cholesterol, protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, etc.

Highly recommended for anyone who has received a grill as a gift, and really wants to cook! And if you're going to buy a grill for yourself, or as a gift, check this book out first. In the opening chapter, she says "to write this book, I used just about every electric grill available and discovered that there are four basic styles." She goes on to give the pluses and minuses of each kind, a good help in deciding which grill is best for your needs.

A great book for those who want to do more than slap a burger on the grill, with information that carries over to stovetop cooking.

I received Grill Power by Holly Rudin-Braschi as a gift. It is by far the most informative cook book I have ever owned. I am a senior citizen and have reached that age of appreciating a good, healthy but simple meal. I own a wonderful indoor grill, but have not used it as much as I would like to because of my inability to be creative. Since receiving this wonderful book, I find myself using my grill at least 2 or 3 times a week. What I love about this book is how every recipe starts with her explanation of where this recipe originated from and gives you a little bit of history that I find very interesting. I love the Menu Game Plan that tells you exactly what you need to do and how long it will take you to prepare and cook this meal. I also enjoy Holly's Cook Notes. I would recommend buying this wonderful book. You will find it to be one of the best cooking tools you have ever purchased.

This book is a must for anyone who has recently purchased an indoor grill or for anyone who wishes to take their existing indoor grilling experience to a higher level of enjoyment.

We learned ALOT about the basics of marinating and discovered many mistakes that we were inadvertently making. The section on martinating alone is worth the price of the book, because Holly explains what oils, acids, etc. do to the meat fibers and how long to marinate depending on the type of marinade and what it is that you are marinating. She also shows how to moisturize lean cuts of meat and fish for better flavor and juciness.

The layout of the book and how the chapters are organized make it very user friendly. Holly is teaching you to develope an aptitude around grilling, so as you go through each recipe section, you get creative recipes to enjoy, and also become more experienced at creating your very own recipes to experiment with.

This book has helped us to eat healthier by utilizing our grill for the majority of our meals and has given us a wealth of knowledge as well.

Each time I have prepared a recipe from Grill Power for friends, the response always is "Where did you get that recipe? Can I have a copy?" Holly Rudin-Braschi's recipes are inventive, nutritional and, above all, very tasty!

The research that has gone into the preparation of this cookbook is readily apparent. Although the cook can jump right in and prepare any recipe, there is a lot to be gained by taking time to read the introductory chapters about the basics of grilling, suggestions for stocking your pantry, and information on nutrition as well as culinary techniques.

Indoor grill owners who are novice chefs will gain a lot of confidence from using this book. Each menu is accompanied by a game plan for its preparation, providing instructions on the equipment needed, as well as the ingredients. Even more experienced cooks are apt to pick up some new ideas for the use of their cooking tools.

Best of all, there is a wonderful variety of recipes contained in Grill Power -- something for any mood you may be in.

I would rate this a high four or a low five. I have a few complaints about layout of this book. Some of the print (like the names of the recipes) is just not easy to read. The recipes are put on three or four pages, so although this book has many pages, it doesn't have as many recipes as I anticipated. I felt there was a too large section in the front to discuss each name brand and type of indoor grill available. This section will soon be outdated and rarely used. I would have liked to have seen this shorter and had more recipes.

The recipes though are fantastic. This cookbook is well worth the money just to get these excellent recipes. They are fairly easy to follow and require very few, if any, exotic ingredients. The results are outstanding.

I am glad I bought my indoor grill. It is very useful. This book only makes my grill more used and turn out great meals.

Enjoy.

Well, not really. My mother never made Chicken Piccata. But if she had, she would have won raves with Holly's recipe! This is a terrific book that also makes a great gift. It's well organized and contains loads of useful info--I especially like the preparation times for each meal (this is not just a collection of recipes, but a collection of meal plans). Holly knows a lot about reducing fat and sodium without skimping on flavor. All the recipes I've tried have been delicious. The grilled salmon with dill sauce is another winner, and Holly's garlic mashed potatoes are to die for!

Holly's suggestion to spray food items, rather than cooking surfaces, with cooking spray is brilliant, as it keeps cooking surfaces much cleaner.

My only complaint (and it's a teeny-tiny one) is that the nutrition counts are for entire meals, instead of for individual dishes, making it a little tricky to mix and match. However, that's a small price to pay for such a fun, useful cookbook! Thanks, Holly!

Sometimes women are reluctant to use new appliances in the kitchen because they are not sure of how they work or how to use them. This book is not only thoroughly informative but also entertaining. The author has a very personal feel with her audience, which makes me feel like a friend discussing cooking with me in my kitchen.

The "Menu Game Plan" is a good idea because it breaks down grill cooking into steps so it doesn't seem overwhelming, and the "Cooks Notes" are helpful. An example of this is on page 69 - I love to eat them, but never buy avocados because I don't know how to select them!

The hint about the digital timer on page 24 is very helpful, because I seem to get busy with other things and need to be reminded when my time is up. I found "Holly's Pantry" very helpful also - my spices are not organized by international cuisine. Each time I cook I have to look for what I need, so this is something I will put on my calendar for a Saturday project. The listing of the herbs and spices and what country uses them are helpful, because I would have had to look far and wide to gather this information.

I never would have thought about buying vegetables at a salad bar or in a bag to use on my grill because they are already cut up and fresh. What a wonderful idea. The nutrients for carb-conscious women like me and the grill time are helpful too.

I LOVED the burger section! I've never seen burgers broken down into 4 steps or seen so many "gourmet" burger recipes - this makes Holly's readers look at burgers in a totally different light. My family definitely does not have to feel as though I am serving them "hamburger" for dinner.

The clarification of choices of meat and the real definitions of "sell by, best if used by, and used by" dates are things that I'm sure many women have wondered about - I know that I have. I was glad that Holly had the foresight to include this information. I also enjoyed the way she provided full recipes for an entire meal - not just a suggestion for "sides." Lastly, the grilled vegetable section is very nice.

I did feel that "Grandma Jennie" and her burgers that were mentioned on page 39 seemed to get separated from us, because between pages 41 through 60, there are recipes for salmon, chicken, steaks, chops and grilled cheese - then we went back to burgers.

I felt that this was a VERY good book, and I hope that the author updates her book every few years so that it will stay in circulation. There is definitely nothing else quite like it on the market. One other thing though - Holly had such a personal feel during the entire book, but at the end she didn't tell us goodbye. I was expecting her to address us one last time, but after the last recipe, there was the index. All in all, I loved the book.

Holly has put together a fantastic book! Her charisma and love for what she does comes through clearly in her writing and anecdotes. What energy! The information on different grill types is great-particularly when she incorporates this with each recipe so the reader isn't second guessing. Having a strong interest in nutrition, I love all the charts she has put together-advising the reader on fat, protein, sodium, etc. What a great reference book. As a vegetarian, I'm particularly excited about all the tofu, fruit and vegetable recipes. I can't wait to read through it all and start grilling!

After buying a zillion cookbooks on grilling and trying to use them on my indoor grill, I bought GRILL POWER and the recipes are fabulous. Every one has a menu - it's fast, delicious, has all the nutritional breakdown and it's the only book that really gives you INDOOR grill recipes. If you don't own a Foreman grill or any of the indoor grills, you should get one just to use this book -- the food is THAT good.