Cooking with a Nonstick Grill Pan

When it comes to cooking, nothing compares to food cooked on a grill! From vegetables to steaks to good old hot dogs, I love the taste of grilled food.

But I live in Indiana, where for part of the year it's too cold and snowy to cook on a grill outdoors. Some fanatics will stand out there in snowsuits and scarves, but to me, dinner isn't worth getting frostbite! So, last year I asked for a grill pan for Christmas.

Grill pans are designed to give the taste and ease of grilling while cooking on top of your stove. The pans are usually either square or round in shape, and have deep grooves that provide the scorching lines ("grill marks") on the food. They can be used directly on top of a burner on any stove.

Now that I have one, my grill pan is everything I wanted! In fact, when I'm feeling lazy, I've even used it when it wasn't cold outside!

I have the Circulon Contempo nonstick grill pan. The nonstick option is something I hadn't considered, but it does really help with cleanup. I've scrubbed many a grill rack in my time, and this is much easier! I barely have to scrub at all and everything washes clean.

I've cooked a lot of things on my grill pan, but my favorites have been pork chops, bell peppers, mushrooms, and hamburgers. I don't even have to use oil because the foods don't stick to the pan.

Having used my Circulon Contempo grill pan for a while now, I have grown to really like some of its features.

• The grip handle is very comfortable and doesn't slip in my hand.
• The nonstick surface makes for easy cleanup, as well as less fat and calories because you won't need to use oil.
• The surface controls temperatures well, so the foods cook evenly.
• Because you have much more control over the heat than you do with an outdoor grill, you can cook foods more quickly.
• The round shape can accommodate many different foods easily, and it is the same shape as the burner on my electric stove.

One thing I would look for if I were shopping for a grill pan is the depth of the ridges in the pan. With the Contempo, the ridges are approximately one inch deep. This depth keeps the food close to the heat, which helps it cook quickly. However, if you are cooking foods that tend to have a lot of fat or grease (such as hamburgers), you may find that as it builds up, your food touches the grease. It's no fun to try to pour grease out of a very hot grill pan while the food is in it!

If you like the taste and ease of grilling food, I would definitely recommend purchasing a grill pan! Even if you live in a climate where you can grill outside year round, the convenience and easy cleanup of a grill pan makes it easier to use than an outdoor grill. I will definitely keep using mine. I might even buy another one so I can grill two things at once!