I just purchased Get Grilling after seeing a demonstration by the Food Network Kitchens Staff at Chef Central, and I have to say it is THE best book on grilling I have seen. As someone who was recently crushed to discover an allergy to beef, I thought my grilling days were over. They had me from the first recipe though - shrimp spring rolls with dipping sauce. The creative takes on these recipes are exciting. This isn't a book with 20 million recipes for barbecue sauce. They really took the time and developed many varied dishes and captured the whole spirit of grilling. The varied foods include fun appetizers, as well as lamb, and swordfish. By not simply concentrating on ribs and burgers, they gave me ideas on new things and new ingredients to try. The tips are easy to spot but don't get in the way of the recipe. The shopping tips and explanations of new ingredients and where to get them are helpful also. Worth the price of several other grilling books combined. A wonderful recipe book.

Once again food editor Jennifer Darling (who did the fantastic BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS COOKBOOK that has become a standby) comes through for the people at Food Network with a winner. Though our days here in the Bay Area have been filled with rain, inside we've managed to do some indoor grilling and used sixof the recipes she provides (including side dish recipes, which eliminated the need to use the range entirely). With a gas grill, everything's easy especially in a moist climate, but as the book says, there will always be people who prefer charcoal and more power to them. Most of the recipes Darling includes can be adapted for both. Now that summer is almost upon us this book will get a real workout. It is sort of a heavy book, I'll tell you that, but one thing about people who use cookbooks, we know what it's like to have to lift! Not that 2 pounds is particularly notable any more.

I have Rachael Ray's cookbook too and plan to try to set up an Iron Chef-like battle of the cookbooks, using her more personalized recipes against the slick, no-name fusion food of GET GRILLING. If you like to have theme parties this book could be the winner, for there are all sorts of creative dishes you could make and lump them under one heading, like A Trip Around The World or Fairy Tales or The Four Seasons. In our household one of us is a strict vegan and the other eats meat sparingly yet heartily, and both of us have marked off the pages we plan to conquer this summer out of GET GRILLING. See you in September!