Grill
I called my Mum all excited a few days ago to tell her that a PR agency had sent me a George Formby grill.

She laughed for a full two minutes.

So, I know now that it’s actually a George Forman grill (Formby was the guy with the ukelele), and it’s been sent to me so I can try out some recipes and tell you all about National Get Grilling Week.

Actually, I was pretty pleased to get involved because it’s actually been three years since I last grilled anything. That’s when I moved into my house, realised the grill on my oven was broken, and promptly forgot about it.

So, we’ve been trying out our George Forman grill and  – you know – it’s pretty good. You can cook pretty much any food from fresh or frozen, it’s fast because it cooks both sides of the food at once, and it seems to be pretty good for things like fish, chicken and steak. We haven’t done anything too sophisticated as our grill arrived 48 hours before we headed off on holiday, but there is an impressive-looking recipe book that comes with the grill.

Apparently the George Forman grill is also energy efficient and healthy because the fat drips into a little tray during cooking, but the food doesn’t dry out, and the machine pretty much wipes clean after use. It’s fairly big, though, and doesn’t exactly slot into any of our cupboards, so at the moment it lives in our electric oven, which I never use, but which I also worry is an electrical disaster just waiting to happen.

But here’s the best thing about the George Forman grill – it makes the best toasted sandwiches EVER. Now, there’s an art to a good toastie and while I love a Breville as much as the next girl, you and I both know that conventional toasted sandwich makers require you to squash and crimp the edges of the bread, which burn, while the inside of your sandwich gets as hot as molten lava. Not on the George Forman. PERFECT ham and cheese toasties, every time. For that alone, it gets my vote.

If you’d like to win a George Forman Removable Family Plates grill and make your own toasties (or, you know, proper food if that's what lights your fire) then I have been given one to give away to one of you lucky people. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post telling me the perfect toastie filling, and I’ll choose a winner at random on May 30th. UK residents only, no cash alternative, prize will be supplied direct from the manufacturer. 

 

Disclosure: I was given a George Formby Foreman grill to keep for the purposes of this review.