Night of a thousand meals - RACLETTE GRILLING!
Written: Aug 24 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
| Ease of Cleaning: |
|
|
| Style: |
|
|
|
Pros: great for 4-5 people, fun dinner party idea
Cons: Not enough room for all trays on top, no temp. adjustment.
The Bottom Line: Try raclette grilling - you'll love it! But if you have lots of friends, buy a bigger grill than this one.
|
|
|
| cherrybeary's Full Review: Tefal Raclette Buffet 7822700 Sandwich Maker |
I see lots of raclette grills listed here, but no reviews! I thought everyone would be raving about how much fun these things are for a dinner party!! Goodbye fondue, hello raclette grilling!
I bought my husband the T-FAL Raclette Buffet for his birthday last year and we have enjoyed many parties with it over the past year.
WHY BUY THIS GRILL:
- This set is relatively inexpensive as compared to the other raclette grills on the market, it is a good choice for starting out or for smaller gatherings of 2-5 people.
- For REALLY large parties, you could buy SEVERAL of these T-FAL RACLETTE BUFFET grills. It works very well for a 10-person party to have two of these smaller grills going rather than one large one. There is less reaching and everyone has easy access to a spot on the grill.
WHY NOT???
- I wouldn't recommend buying this raclette if you want to share it with more than 4 other people. Raclette grilling is so much fun, you will probably want a bigger set. This set comes with only 6 small non-stick pans, but only 5 of them can fit on the top or under the grill at one time.
- Some people may not like the triangular shape of the pans with this grill - most raclettes have slightly larger rectangular pans.
- Another drawback of this particular set is there is no heat adjustment. We haven't missed it but some people might like to raise or lower the heat depending on what they are cooking - and there are other grills offer this option.
CLEANING AND DURABILITY:
This grill is pretty easy to clean, though I recommend spraying the non-stick surfaces with a cooking spray before beginning. We wash the large grill surface and the six little pans in warm soapy water - though they are dishwasher safe. We get better results with hand-washing.
After a year of use and many parties, our set is almost as good as new. The non-stick surfaces have very few nicks and scratches, overall they have held up well to stirring with metal utensils. This could probably be avoided entirely if you used wooden or plastic utensils for stirring.
WHAT IS RACLETTE GRILLING?
Well, I don't know what other people do with it, but around here we arrange raclette parties much like a fondue - a selection of meats, seafood, vegetables, cooked rice, cheese, butter, spices, sauces etc. is prepared and placed in seperate bowls. Everything is cut into bite-size pieces and your dinner guests each have a small pan which they fill with meat, spices, veggies, etc. of their choice, and cook on the top of the grill. The pans can also be placed UNDER the grill to broil, for melting cheese or browning the tops. Everyone does their RACLETTE differently, I prefer to cook a pan and then turn it out onto a bed of cooked rice, and eat like a stir-fry. With the next pan, try a new combination - make a "Surf and turf" pan, then a "Oriental stirfry" pan, follow with a "Tex-mex chicken..." and so on until you are so full, you can't imagine eating another bite!
Our raclette parties last for hours, and nobody leaves hungry. This is a great way to entertain - there is lots of time for wine and conversation while the pans of food are cooking.
TIPS FOR A GREAT RACLETTE:
Cut meats into very small pieces (fingertip size) so that they won't take too long to cook.
Provide butter cut into small pieces, or cooking oil for your guests to start off their pans.
Serve a variety of meats - chicken, beef, pork, BACON is delicious! Seafood - shrimp, scallops, and crab meat are popular at our parties.
Serve a variety of vegetables - onions, mushrooms, peppers are a must!!
Give guests a large (eating) plate and a smaller plate to hold their selections for their 'next' pan. You don't want the raw meats sharing a plate with the cooked food.
Dress lightly - these things throw a LOT of heat!!
I give my guests free-range of spices and condiments in my kitchen - they are always coming up with something new!
Have fun! Save leftovers for a big omlette or stir-fry the next day!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 70
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
cherrybeary
|
|
Location: Manitoba, Canada
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 6 members
About Me:
Married with two baby girls. Currently an at-home mom, formerly a high school teacher.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.