Kitchen Must Haves / Essentials

[tokenuser]

Originally Posted by ronaldo

IMO, the grill pan is a gadget and thus the lowest priority of pots and pans. I have one and I like the limited things I use it for but it is hardly essential. The only thing it does that a normal skillet doesn't do is make food look nice.

if I want something to look like it has grill marks ... I'll use the grill

A good gas or charcoal BBQ grill is the best nonessential gadget you can have. I take convenience over taste in this case though and use propane. Still get a lot of flavor from the fat on the volcanic rock, and the occasional use of a smoker box.

[ronaldo]

Originally Posted by tokenuser

if I want something to look like it has grill marks ... I'll use the grill

A good gas or charcoal BBQ grill is the best nonessential gadget you can have. I take convenience over taste in this case though and use propane. Still get a lot of flavor from the fat on the volcanic rock, and the occasional use of a smoker box.

I don't disagree but they are nice when the weather outside is frightful. I really like cooking my breakfast ham on it and more often than not I am not interested in outdoor grilling first thing in the morning.

It is a gadget but it is not the worse gadget to have. I really wouldn't push them on new cooks though. They are only truly nice in specific situations, if you use them for cuts of meat you are leaving tons of flavor behind, and they are not easy to clean. I think Niall got used to using one because he was aboard various yachts and it might have been the best option to make food look pretty.

[tokenuser]

They make a great panini pan too.

[ronaldo]

Originally Posted by tokenuser

They make a great panini pan too.

That is a good idea. I never thought of it. I usually just press a sandwich in a normal skillet. Now I have another reason to justify it.

[tiny1001]

Originally Posted by ronaldo

I don't disagree but they are nice when the weather outside is frightful. I really like cooking my breakfast ham on it and more often than not I am not interested in outdoor grilling first thing in the morning.

hell i use my grill even in the dead of winter when i have a shovel a path a grilled steak just cant be beat

[tokenuser]

Originally Posted by tiny1001

hell i use my grill even in the dead of winter when i have a shovel a path a grilled steak just cant be beat

Especially on the dead of winter.

My grill sits just outside the sliders to the deck. Easy access - even in the dead of winter. I won't do it every night, but it just adds more mmmmm to meat.

[ronaldo]

Originally Posted by tiny1001

hell i use my grill even in the dead of winter when i have a shovel a path a grilled steak just cant be beat

I am not going to fire up a charcoal grill in the middle of winter for a couple of seafood steaks and propane doesn't bring enough to the party to invest the effort. If you are talking about a couple of ribeyes then the effort is more justifiable.

[tokenuser]

Propane is your friend.

[ronaldo]

Originally Posted by tokenuser

Propane is your friend.