GE Monogram Outdoor Cooking Center
22 July 2010
“As Good As It Gets”
Say, what is with this weather anyway? I am still waiting for some nice hot, good old summertime weather so I can fire up the barbecue and get them burgers going, man. Fortunately, I do have plenty of beer on hand, but without a fresh-grilled cheeseburger to go along with it, it’s just so empty, so unfulfilling. I have heard, though, that one can do things other than hamburgers and steaks on an outdoor grill, and that really, just about anything a body does in that venue is going to end up being just the ticket. So, in line with that, and feeling a bit sorry for myself because of the unremitting coolness we are experiencing in San Diego these days (please don’t hate us, those who are sweltering in other parts of the country!), I turned to the Internet for solace and came across the topic of today’s blog.
I do know of GE Monogram appliances for the kitchen, but I had no idea that they had taken their show outdoors. And, man, did they! Using 304 stainless steel and a whole lot of very professional styling, the GE Monogram outdoor cooking center is really just that. Depending on your pocketbook and aspirations, you can create an outdoor kitchen that is as simple a
s a stand-alone barbecue to a full-on outdoor kitchen, complete with refrigerator and a GE Monogram dual burner with a pair of 15,000 BTU sealed side burners. To be honest about it, my first thought on side burners was “why?” but then we got a gas barbecue that included such a thing, and I immediately put that baby to use. Instead of grilling onions in the house for my barbecuing steaks, I could do both items at the same time and in the same place. Unfortunately, my BBQ tends to run more towards the much lesser price range product, and it shows, whereas these items from GE Monogram would make any outdoor kitchen a heck of a lot of fun to work in.
The best part of a barbecue is spending some time with the guests while the cooking is going on, and the more trips you have to make back and forth to the indoor kitchen to get something or cook something, the less time you have to spend with your guests. Trust me on this. We once entertained a dozen people, using a charcoal barbecue in another area, and between that and the running back and forth, I didn’t see anyone until after the sun had set!
But that brings me back to these bad boys from GE Monogram, because they pretty much have it all. They actually come in any number of sizes and configurations, but in the items we’ve pictured here, we’re talking 25,000-BTU stainless steel burners with precise controls to enable a wi
de spectrum of temperature settings. The barbecues themselves run on natural gas or liquid propane, and they include, as I said, pretty much everything a body could want in a barbecue, including a 14,000 BTU ceramic infrared rotisserie burner, which allows you to slow-roast the meat of your choice to absolute succulent perfection.
They have also included a number of user-friendly items like an electronic 120-volt ignition system that makes grill activation no more complicated then pressing a knob control and a retractable warming shelf that allows you to keep grilled foods warm while the rest of the meal is cooking or, if you prefer, to cook more delicate foods without charring. They’ve even included integrated illumination for nighttime grilling that includes red LED lights above the knob controls and interior halogen lighting. Man, I could have used something like that the night we had a dozen guests to watch me disappear into the night with my charcoal barbecue. But, truthfully, the best for me that night would have been an honest-to-goodness outdoor cooking center from GE Monogram. Good guests, good food, good outdoor kitchen. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Joseph
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3 Responses to “GE Monogram Outdoor Cooking Center”
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:51 AM
Nice barbecues. Good guests, good food, good outdoor kitchen – now you just need a good dog to eat the hamburger.
Joe
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:55 AM
Oooh! I want the outdoor wok!
July 22nd, 2010 at 10:37 AM
Christine Says: Wow! Awesome outdoor kitchen, wish we had one. What entertaining we could do.