Appliance Reviews

If you have a family of four (or less if they're big eaters!) this is the grill for you. So far, I've cooked chicken, hamburger, and steaks on it, all in less than 10 minutes. Although it comes with a handy cookbook, you'll be able to adapt many of your regular recipes for use with this grill, whether the recipes call for grilling, broiling, frying, or baking. The grill holds about 3 "whopper" sized burgers, 4 good-sized burgers, or 6 smaller ones. For chicken breasts, it can hold 4-6 (maybe more) depending on size.

This particular model comes with 2 spatulas and 2 dip trays. Yes, the grill can be hard to clean if you don't wipe it off right away. The best way to clean it is to use the spatulas to scrape off the grill as soon as you remove your food. Then, as soon as you've eaten (and the grill has cooled a bit), wipe the grill down with warm, soapy paper towels. If you wait too long, the grease is hard to remove (be sure to wipe under the rim, too, for grease builds up there and might be hard to see). I haven't had any trouble with the teflon coating coming off, and I also find the spatulas easy to use (though they are a bit flimsy, but you can use any plastic utensil you want). The spatulas don't work as well scraping the grease from the very tip of the grill's bottom piece, as the grooves are deeper there than elsewhere. But for the job it does, the clean-up is worth it. This model is large, making it difficult to store in certain cabinets, but I use mine so often it just stays on the counter.

I would definitely recommend a George Foreman grill of any kind. It delivers what it promises: healthier food, and fast! You'll find yourself using the oven a lot less.

I am seriously cooking challenged, perhaps the biggest moron from any kitchen in North America. In my early 40's, I can barely boil water and have never made a hot meal for myself. I rely on fast food and my dinner generally consisted of Cheerios (literally). Everyone at work have urged me for over a year to get the George Foreman grill. I warily watched George's infomercials and grudgingly resisted taking the plunge to buy this grill. I thought there was no way it could possibly be as easy as Foreman made it seem. Boy, was I wrong.

I have had this grill for over a year and can honestly attest this is the best fifty bucks I have ever plucked down. Already I have made hamburgers in a jiffy, grilled salmon, shrimp and boneless chicken breasts. This may seem like nothing to you, but for someone who regarded Shredded Wheat as a gourmet meal, this grill has put a huge smile on my face, not to mention my husband, who is dancing a jig whenever the cooking aroma wafts his way.

Using the grill really is as easy as the infomercials claim. Grab your hamburger patties, sprinkle on some seasoning, pluck them down on the grill, close the lid and six minutes later you have a perfectly cooked burger. I was in ecstasy the first time I tasted one of my creations. No longer am I the most cooking challenged human being on the planet, I am giving Julia Childs a run for her money. God bless George Foreman, this product is fantastic. If you're a novice cook or a pro, you can't go wrong with this product.

I bought the George Foreman jumbo grill in April, and it is by far the best grill I've ever used. A day rarely goes by when I'm not cooking something on it.

The key aspect I must touch base on where the grill is concerned is how it literally drains the fat from your food. I was astounded by the amount of fat that came off 4 1/4 lb. hamburgers. I ultimately thought back about how much fat we consume per day without even knowing it. Meanwhile, the grill manages to retain the taste and juciness of the food you cook.

The fact that you can cook frozen food is an added bonus as well, especially for someone like me who usually waits until the last minute to decide what to eat.

I mainly use it when cooking chicken breasts. From the frozen state to fully-cooked takes approximately 10 minutes, and the result is incredible.

I also found clean up to be a breeze. The plastic scrapers which come with the grill are practically useless. Your best bet is to use either a wet cloth or a wet paper towel to wipe down the grill WHILE it is still warm. It will be clean in no time.

The grill is incredibly easy to use, and with the easy clean-up, you can simply wipe down the machine and be ready to use it again. I find this especially handy when cooking for a large group of people.

So, if you're looking to cook low-fat food that is absolutely mouth watering, quick, and easy. You can't go wrong with this product. I recommend it to anyone.

You get what you pay for in this world and the Panasonic SD-YD250 is a perfect example. Quiet as a mouse. No jumping around the counter and whining and improperly mixing as a Breadman we purchased (and returned) did. Had another Panasonic for 8 years. Decided to replace it when the pan seal failed and we checked out the cost of a replacemtnt pan (not realizing we could replace just the paddle mechanism/seal.) Thought we could get by on the cheap with the Breadman. Wrong. If you are looking for a rock solid, flexible unit that turns out a perfect loaf time after time (up to 2.5 lbs), this is your bread machine. The automatic yeast dispenser is a great feature, particulary if you use the timer. Spend the [money].

I am a first-time bread machine owner, and I selected the Panasonic after reading many customer reviews and mostly great comments. I have been thrilled with my machine! The yeast dispenser is a great feature, and the machine is so quiet!

I've owned it for about a month and made several different recipes from the Panasonic book --- every single one has turned out great! I was concerned about the oz/cup problem, but found an easy solution. Using simple math and the label from a Gold Medal bread flour package, I determined the conversion factor to change dry ounces to cups. Just multiply the flour amount given in ounces by .2184 (use a calculator)For example, in the basic white recipe, XL loaf 21.75 oz X .2184 = 4.75 (4 3/4)cups. A Large loaf takes 4 cups, and Medium loaf takes 3 1/4 cups.
NOTE: Whole wheat or other flour is slightly different. Just read how many cups are in a 5 lb bag, and divide them to get the right factor. It took me about 5 minutes to convert every recipe in the book.

This has produced perfect loaves for me every time. My family is enjoying wonderful hot bread several times a week. Our favorite loaf so far is the Egg Bread... try it! I am amazed at how the different settings produce such a variety of loaf textures from a soft Sandwich loaf to a crusty, chewy French bread. This machine is a winner!

This breadmaker is incredible! It bakes a perfect loaf everytime! It is easy to use. Cleans up like a dream.
The only drawback is the bread tastes so good, you may gain weight! Yummmmmmm!

I had wanted to get this grill for awhile, but was still a little leery of its merits. I finally bought it anyway, and so far, have been loving it! I anticipate that during the summer it will replace my oven.

I cook a lot of chicken, either in the skillet, or in the oven. With this grill, you don't have to worry about turning the chicken, watching it, etc. All I really do it watch the clock. The first night I had the grill, I made salmon fillets, and they turned out great.

While I love the grill so far, there are a few things to watch out for. The first time I cooked chicken, I overcooked it..you kind of need to play around with the times in the booklet enclosed with the grill. I also found that I needed to push the grease tray farther back (closer to the grill) than I initially thought. Also, it does get quite smoky, so it would probably be most ideal if your kitchen had some kind of window.

With cleaning, you really do have to do it while the grill is still warm, or it makes it a lot harder to clean off.

I've barely used my oven since getting this grill..in the summer it will be great not having to heat up the whole house.

I bought the George Foreman grill as a joke for my husband (it DOES say "Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine" on it), but we used it for three weeks solid after it arrived. The reason? It's EASY, and the food turns out really tasty!

This particular model is big enough to cook several portions of meat at a time -- it cooks from the top and bottom all at once to cut your cooking time down to mere minutes! The grill is tilted and comes with a trough so that all excess fat is drained away from your food. Pretty nifty! It's also fairly easy to clean up -- you just wipe down the grill and throw the trough in the dishwasher.

We've used the grill for chicken breasts, Boca Burgers, regular burgers, pork chops, steaks, and even bacon strips (it's GREAT for avoiding a bunch of messy bacon grease). It cooks even frozen meat in a relatively short period of time, and it cooks it thoroughly. It's easy to throw something on the grill, sprinkle some seasonings on it (BAM!), and let it cook for a few minutes while you fix the rest of the meal. It is hard to overcook things, and it's fun to have grill-lines on your food.

It took me awhile to believe the hype about the George Foreman Grills, but they are easy to use and deliver good results. In fact, this might be a good way to introduce your older children (12 and up) to rudimentary cooking. The George Foreman grill would be great for people who don't have a lot of time to cook & clean, who aren't yet confident cooks or don't have a lot of cooking experience, or for anyone who wants an easy way to make a tasty meal!

I read the rave reviews on [Amazon.com] and registered for this (on [Amazon.com]) and received the Family size grill with small cookbook as a wedding present.

It's taken me awhile to get the hang of this product but now I love it. Cleanup took a bit of figuring out for me. I now use only damp paper towels (no scrapers or sponge) to just wipe after use. If I don't end up cleaning it until the next day I just heat it up again with a few wet paper towels in it and then wipe clean. This makes it so easy because you don't have to clean up a sponge or scraper afterwards.

I brush on a bit of olive oil onto the grill (very lightly) before grilling any foods. That seems to help make it taste better and also clean very easily.

This family size fit 4 very big salmon filets easily. (Marinated with Yoshida Gourmet Sauce - yum!) I also grilled two very big chicken breasts last night for a chicken quesadilla recipe. It was so nice not to have to drag out a pan and spatula and stand watching over the chicken. All I did was sprinkle McCormick's Grill Mates Roasted Garlic Montreal Chicken spice over the chicken breasts and slap it in there. Very quick and simple and tasted great.

I also grilled sliced sweet potatoes this morning. Turned out great. Again, no fussing with a pan and oil splattering. There was a bit of smoke though so make sure you have ventilation in your kitchen.

One last thing I wanted to mention... I've only had this item for a month now so I'm not qualified to give feedback on the durability of the teflon yet. Right now it is going strong and I can't imagine it peeling ever but because of the other reviews mentioning the problem I use only chopsticks or some other wooden utensils when removing food. But I'm very good at holding heavy pieces with chopsticks so I don't know if that solution would work for everyone. Chopsticks do make really good cooking utensils though because they are small and easy to clean and don't scratch the nonstick surface.
The other thing I do is not to apply wet paper towels on the grill until it has cooled down a bit (from hot to warm) because I think cooling the grill too fast can be tough on the nonstick surface... maybe make it crack.

BTW, my husband doesn't rave about this product, it's just a good product to him but he wouldn't run out to buy one if he didn't have it he says. But I would. Also, this family size is good for cooking meat for 2-4 people. However, I recommend getting as big a size as you can stand because vegetables take up more space per serving so if you like grilling onions or other vegies, the bigger the surface area the better. It's just the right size for my husband and me with a bit of room to spare in case we have a guest or two over. Thanks everyone for the helpful reviews that led me to this product!

I've had a 350 watt, 5 qt, Kitchenaid mixer for 25 years that still works perfectly. When I saw this more powerful one, I decided to buy it--solid state, bigger bowl, more power for bread dough, plus mine was harvest gold color--yechh.

I was so disappointed in this new model: it's much noisier and doesn't seem to mix as well (need to scrape more often, even though the beaters are perfectly positioned); the design of the handle on the bowl is most uncomfortable when trying to carry with one hand or empty batter into the baking pan.

Unfortunately, I'd given my old one away, but I am so disappointed in the new one that I've purchased the 5-qt Commercial model and am getting rid of this new one.

Still, I would probably recommend this model if you make BIG batches or a lot of bread and need the extra power and capacity.

I always wanted a KitchenAid stand mixer but couldn't justify the expense. I decided on the 6-qt. Professional model because of it's huge capacity and 525 watt motor and haven't been sorry in the 3 years I've owned it. I do a lot of bread baking at home and have never experienced any problems with this mixer. READ THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL. It tells you everything you need to know to get the best performance out of your KitchenAid stand mixer. The manual also has GREAT recipes designed especially for this workhorse of a mixer. Now my mashed potatoes are even better than Grandma used to make!

The 525 watt motor powers through the toughest cookie dough recipes (their chocolate chip cookie recipe is awesome!) without bogging down. The "soft start" feature is fantastic: no splashing or flying flour when you first start to mix - it starts off slow and then gears up to your chosen speed automatically.

Bread doughs are no problem at all. JUST READ THE MANUAL. It offers hints to help get you used to machine kneeding which goes much faster than conventional hand kneeding. Again, the 525 watt motor is excellent! The motor housing doesn't even get WARM. Friends with smaller KitchenAid stand mixers have told me that theirs actually get HOT when working on tough doughs. Not the Professional model! It can take it!

Also, get the accessory pack. No need for a separate food processor, these do the job very well. You can even use the grinder attachment to make your own ground beef/hamburger! No more E.Coli worries, and YOU decide how lean your ground beef will be. And talk about FRESH!

Go ahead and spend the money to get the best. This is an investment you won't regret. Yes, it's big and heavy... so clear a space on your kitchen counter, park your mixer there and you'll never have to move it again. Do you move your microwave? toaster oven? The KitchenAid stand mixer takes up less space than either of these and will make your time preparing recipes quicker and easier.

An excellent kitchen machine and the last stand mixer you'll ever buy!

In the past, I wondered why anyone would WANT one of these, much less hand over the cash to obtain one. But now, after owning mine for about 3 months, I can honestly say it was one of the best investments I ever made. I can't imagine living without it. It handles a large part of mundane prep work, and simplifies cooking (making even large batches of pie crust, cookie dough and homemade pasta is virtually EFFORTLESS). I would HIGHLY recommend this product (and its associate attachments)to both those who love to cook, and those who have not yet developed their culinary expertise.

No, I'm not kidding. This handy little guy has saved me counter space, time and cleaning up. I am able to make cakes, muffins, great tasting pure fruit juices in an instant. I thought that this little gadget wouldn't be able to live up to its promise, but it's proved me wrong. I bought it out of desperation, after my Moulinex broke down. The first thought in my head was "what about counter space?" Well, Mr. Braun made sure he left nothing out. Because of his great mind, the device comes with a wall mounting so you don't have to clutter your counter with clumsy top-heavy things.

I read in a review for this product that it doesn't last. What could possibly be wrong with this when you need to chop something really fast? Like any normal person, I use the device, clean it and put it away. Simple as that! You can even go as far as using it and putting it back in the box. That is what I did up til the time the wall mount was set up.

Now I can watch my weight, drink homemade milkshakes, and chop away at those tear jerking onions without shedding a single tear.
And, when I'm done, I just rinse everything in the sink and clip it back onto the wall til the next time.
No more fuss having to make the perfect omelet either. With the handy wire whisk, you'll have a nice fluffy omelet in no time.

Watch out for how much pressure you apply to the speed accelerator button, because you may find your cake mix blending in pretty well with the paint on your wall. In that case, avoid using a shallow bowl. Use a deeper mixing bowl, bigger than the size recommended for your ingredients.

Happy cooking! Hope my review helped you.

I recently bought this hand blender because I wanted to prepare my own baby food in a more convenient way without having to clean my blender (washing every part of it) every time I had to use it! I have to say that I loved it, because it's faster and I use it everyday to prepare my baby's food, but also to blend soups, vegetables, dips, etc. I love it even more when it comes to the cleaning, just wash the beaker and that's it!
I almost forget something that was very important to me about this hand blender, I bought this model also because I'm a petite, and it's very easy to handle it. I wanted to buy one model from cuisinart but it was too big for my small hands, that I opted for this one.

This little device should be required by law if you make soup. After boiling vegetables for French-style vegetable soup (which is to say, any old vegetables that look a bit downtrodden in the vegetable drawer cooked to softness in a good stock) you whip out the Braun hand blender and puree the whole lot. Flavor with lashings of cream (or evaporated skim milk if you must) and season well with pepper and a hint of fresh-ground nutmeg, curry powder or ginger. This is a typical soup course in France.

Try this with pumpkin, winter squash, zucchini, carrots, or mixed vegetables like green beans and peas. It's also great for dried bean soups like lentil, navy bean or black bean. I like it because I make a diet soup of tomato, carrot and zucchini for a low-cal meal or snack, and when blended, this soup is thick and satisfying. Previously, I made such soups by pushing the hot, dripping mass through a ricer or poured into a blender. This is so much easier!

If you think this is just for soup, don't neglect the chopper attachment which cleverly fits under the blade. This makes short work of parsley or garlic and doesn't require you break out the large food processor. The whisk is handy if you get tired of hand-whisking egg whites or stirring a pudding.

I used the Foreman GR80 rotisserie for the first time yesterday, taking a chance to prepare a prime rib for a small party of 8 people and not knowing how to operate the appliance. A quick read of the instructions (you must read them or you will not figure it out) and I was set to start cooking a $100 Omaha Steak prime rib. The result: outstanding cooking ability, perfectly done beef and ease of cleanup. Assembly is quick and easy, just take the time to read. The appliance is wonderful and very quiet. It is well made, unlike it's flimsy competitor you see on TV. I would have given it 5 stars if the temperature setting was in numbers rather than a series of dots to represent the temperature. Don't let this one drawback deter you from purchasing it. I will be using it all the time after this first experience!

The most important thing - right now JC Penny is selling this same unit at an everyday price of (...). Make your own determination if you want to deal with returns through the mail.

Now about the unit itself. I purchased a refurbished Showtime rotisserie from Amazon about a month ago before the price drop to (..). It looked brand new when I took it out of the box. When I used it all I heard was a loud screeching noise. I read the manual and followed the instructions for oiling the bearing surfaces inside the oven. I did that to no avail. I believe the item was defective and to Amazon's credit they took it back with a postage paid label I downloaded.

Something to think about - Why are there so many refurbished units constantly for sale?

The Bid George rotisserie is really BIG! That is the downside. I have cooked with it twice so far and have been extremely satisfied. It is very, very quiet. It allows for 6 different temperature settings. It also allows for selection of the heating elements. i believe this to be the source of problems for people with complaints with the cooking time when rotissering. I noticed that the default setting for rotisserie is for the bottom two elements ONLY. Pressing the element selection button turned on the top element and my chicken was done perfectly in the time stated in the very skimpy manual.

My humble, but gastromenical, opinion is that Big George is a far superior unit to the Ronco Showtime unit.

It was a good size. You could fix two items at the same time.

I had been drooling over this for a year or so from the infomercials and finally broke down and bought it. It did not do what they said AT ALL! I mostly bought it because I wanted to be able to cook meat from frozen as I tend to forget to lay something out and end up eating out which gets expensive for a family of four. Well, with this I end up throwing out the food and eating out anyways. It will NOT cook your food from frozen without leaving the center frozen and the outside charred. I have regular pans that aren't the size of my stove that I can cook thawed meals in I was hoping for something I could cook frozen meals in. It is also very big and time comsuming with having to add water, open/shut valves, and turn food over every couple of minutes. Definately not worth the money.

My husband and one of my sons have seen the Turbo Cooker advertised on TV and begged me to get one for over a year now. One day they were shopping at the mall and found this in a store. They came home with it. I thought this was going to be one of those things he brought home and I hated. That night they put in the video that comes with it. The next AM my son got up early, to cook the breakfast pizza. We used it for lunch that day, and then for dinner and even made the cake for dessert. I have to say, it is one of the best gadgets he has ever brought home. The recipes are easy, fast, and don't require a lot of ingredients you wouldn't normally use. We have saved a ton of money since we don't eat out as much now. Not to mention in one week, I lost 5 pounds and I am not hungry! My sons wouldn't eat fish before, and now they love it after having it from the Turbo cooker. I am going to get one for all 3 of my married daughters for Christmas. At the price on Amazon, which is the cheapest I have seen, it's worth EVERY penny!...

I love my pan. In under 20 minutes I can have a delicious, healthy meal, ready to serve. There is even a Yahoo group (just search in Yahoo groups under Turbo Cooker), that has hundreds of recipes their members have come up with for the TC. That was a concern I had when I bought mine, but now I'll never be at a loss for a recipe. I bought my TC in a Target store and as like I have read here, it was missing the springform pan. I've read reviews here that said customer service was bad and they couldn't get a toll free number. First of all the toll free number is at the end of the video. Second, all I had to do was go to the T.C. website and send an email to customerservice@chefrandall.com and in one day I got an email back which said .....If you provide me with the name and address, I will gladly send you out the replacement part for your Turbo Cooker. Now that is what I call great customer service.

I have the One:One in my office because it is a great machine. However, Melitta and podhead.com pods are a little weak for someone like me who enjoys strong espresso.

I just discovered that a UK company has made an adapter for the One:One to use 44mm pods such as Illy's E.S.E. pods (the One:One adapter is "UDM"). Since I think Illy espresso coffee is the very best, I'm very happy about this. For more info, check out the pod adapter secion of this webpage: http://www.easypods.co.uk

For more info on Illy coffees go to www.illy.com

I bought this coffee maker because I wanted something I could use when I was at work after hours. This was ideal because it didn't require nearly as much attention or work as a traditional coffee maker. The coffee is not gourmet, but not bad. My preference is the dark roast (or the decaf if I'm working late). I'm in rural North Dakota, so I'm not spoiled to gourmet coffee anyway: I can't get it anywhere. When I first got it, I was ready to return it. It took the machine about a week to work through the scary plastic/metal flavors. Now it tastes more like coffee. I wish the java pods were available locally, but I'm aware that this part of the USA doesn't have a lot of things. I also wish other companies, besides Melitta, would start making java pods. Finally, I also wish I had more choice over the cup size: a dial. 5 oz is too strong and 8 oz is too weak Nevertheless for quick, clean, coffee served fresh a cup at a time, this machine is the best I have seen.

This is NOT a GREAT coffee maker, but it's decent. I use it at the office about 3-4 times a week, and it does the job. I get 'fresh'ly brewed coffee that tastes good (IMO). The coffee is definitely not Peet's, but will do the job without having to leave the office.
The big advantage of this machine is the cleanup factor. No messy grinds to deal with.
I haven't tasted the "metallic" or "cardboard" flavours that otheres have complained about, but then maybe my taste isn't in-tune like some.

I got the quesadilla maker from another site on sale for $10, so I really can't complain too much about it. But I'll share my first experience. Cons: the standard flour tortillas seem to be too big for the machine, too much filling causes food to squoosh out onto the edges and counter, nonstick parts are not removeable so best way to clean is wipe off with paper towel. Pros: quesadillas cook fast without worry, saves cutting time (also eliminates brain work on even cuts), simple concept, easy way to make quick quesadillas. It doesn't get used much in my house, because I like more filling in my quesadillas. But if you have kids or throwing a large party, it's a good way to whip up some fast bites.

I had no problems with this machine. I have made some very interesting quesadilla creations; veggie, meatlovers (for my friends), cheese, even sweet treats.
The machine sealed my quesadilla completely and the insides were cooked to perfection.
A problem many people have is that they overfill the quesadilla. The wells on the machine are not that deep, so add your ingredients accordingly.
The Quesadilla Maker comes in handy whenever I have movie night at my home and believe me---it is a ritual!! Along with every other gadget I own, it makes for a fantastic addition.
Be Blessed.

We had gotten this as a gift from our parents and I at first thought I would have no use for it. I found though that I use it at least once a week, sometimes more. It is easy to use and better yet easy to clean. This really was a nice surprise.

I've had Black and Decker ovens for years and,unlike many other reviewers, have been very pleased with the quality and reliability of B&D. I was all set to buy another one when I saw this cool looking oven.It defintely has a "retro" look with a lot of chrome. I'll admit I bought it because of the looks. I've had it for about a month now and so far, so good. It's easy to operate and easy to clean. The only thing that is taking some getting used to is having to pull out the toaster rack/tray manually when I open the oven. On all my Black & Decker ovens, the tray was connected to the door by hinges, so when you opened the door the tray pulled out. Not a big deal,but worth mentioning to anyone used to B& D. The outside of the oven gets blistering hot too if it's on for longer than a toast cycle. If you have kids, caution them to stay away or they'll get burned. Overall, it seems to be a good product and hopefully it will be as reliable as my other Cuisinart products.

I can't say enough good things about this oven. What I like most about it is its exceptional toasting ability...slices come out toasted evenly every time. And if you want to stop the toasting process, just press "stop," which is a welcome change from other toasters where a dial has to be almost forced back into the "off" position. It also functions very well in the baking mode...preheats fast too.

Its polished chrome exterior gives it an upscale look and is different from the typical white/cream color that can eventually become stained/burned looking with time. If this was in a "Survivor" of toasters, it would surely outlast the competition. I've had two Delonghis in the past that performed poorly, and Krups (though pretty reliable) just doesn't look as good. Works great and looks great too. What more can you ask for?

In the last 3 years, I've purchased 3 toaster ovens. This one is the third and last one, at least for a while, I'm sure. My previous one was a Black and Decker. Burn marks took a couple of weeks to appear on the white exterior (and I hadn't burnt anything). And then in the end, one element quit working. So I decided to spend the bucks and bought this one. Wow. I can heat a slice of pizza and have the middle of the slice heat up at the same rate as the rest of the slice. Who'd've thunk? And the toast heated evenly. And when I set the oven temperature, I'm sure where I've set it (check out B&D's dials...the model I had was impossible to interpret). And I even get an audible indication when the toast is finished.

It's been a while since I've had a quality toaster oven. This time I had to spend a more than I did on the one I bought before the last two losers, but this one works very well. I guess (money) just doesn't buy what it used to. What I spent for this one ... was well worth the price.