This was the most fun I've had in ages! I got the party at the perfect time, which was right when I was going home to see my family that I had not seen since Thanksgiving. It became a wonderful Welcome Back party with great food and to-die-for flavors!
You can find all of the photos and maybe even a video on the event page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/184976788296028/ I will also be posting them to my Twitter feed @RuthieAnneC
The menu included:
London Broil with Zesty Red Wine and Herb Marinade: http://www.mccormick.com/Recipes/Main-Dish/Zesty-Red-Wine-and-Herb-Steak.aspx We had no wine so we used Minute Maid Grape juice Punch and it was fabulous!
Molasses Bacon Burgers: http://www.mccormick.com/Recipes/Main-Dish/Molasses-Bacon-Burgers.aspx The burgers were good but the red mix made them look underdone even when cooked through.
Spiced Brandy and Herb Salmon and Chicken wings: http://www.mccormick.com/Products/GrillMates/Marinades/Grill-Mates-Spiced-Brandy--Herb-Marinade.aspx The Salmon was perfect and the herbs perfectly complimented the flavor!
Slow & Low Memphis Pit BBQ Ribs: http://www.mccormick.com/Recipes/Main-Dish/Slow-and-Low-Memphis-Pit-BBQ-Ribs.aspx So good! The dry rub made a perfect crust on the meat and was the best part of the ribs!
Chicken Legs and Wings with Brown Sugar Bourbon BBQ Sauce: http://www.mccormick.com/Products/GrillMates/Sauces/Grill-Mates-Brown-Sugar-Bourbon-BBQ-Sauce.aspx The sauce is sweet and tangy and has notes to it you cannot get in regular BBQ sauce.
My mom made her famous Potato Salad and used the Molasses Bacon seasoning on it and it gave it a whole new life! I even sprinkled more on the top when I got my serving and the crunch from the topping added a lovely texture combination to the creamy salad. http://www.mccormick.com/Products/GrillMates/Seasoning-Blends/Grill-Mates-Molasses-Bacon-Seasoning.aspx
Speaking of new twists on old recipes my sister was making a taco salad with leftover ground beef for a quick lunch before the BBQ and she threw some of the Molasses Bacon seasoning in the meat. It really did wonders for the salad and everyone enjoyed it.
We had a great time cooking and I made everyone who helped prepare food try on the fabulous apron McCormick put in the box.
I tweeted a few times while preparing and you can find the link here: https://twitter.com/#!/RuthieAnneC/media/slideshow?url=pic.twitter.com%2FLZbP0yqC
Challenges:
I found it very hard with the 5 different seasonings to be able to sample all of them comfortably. I ended up with a plate of just meat and even with one small piece of each flavor it was hard to fit it all in.
It was also hard finding the balance between annoying in-your-face advertizing and tasteful promotion. I think the low key atmosphere of the party and just answering flavor questions when asked worked well but there was always the fear of alienating people.
Best Part:
Spending time with family and friends I hadn't seen in almost a year! Also the new recipes were fun to try out and tweaking the recipes to suit out tastes and having it work was very rewarding!
