My Barbeque À la McCormick GrillMates Party!
As
my silly little poem I wrote prior to the engagement predicted ...
Grillers
Lament
Rain-
dude normally we are all about your little drops of palest blue
And serious love from we to you
But this Saturday eve is our GrillMates BBQ
So we would be ever so happy if you could delay
Or at least make way
From 6 to 8pm on our special day
If you should refuse
We most certainly will have the boohoos
And hang our heads, silently shaking our fists at yoose!
Please, oh please, grant us our wishes
Just while we grill our dishes
Don't drown our party out, for as you can see,
we haven't gills like fishes!
And serious love from we to you
But this Saturday eve is our GrillMates BBQ
So we would be ever so happy if you could delay
Or at least make way
From 6 to 8pm on our special day
If you should refuse
We most certainly will have the boohoos
And hang our heads, silently shaking our fists at yoose!
Please, oh please, grant us our wishes
Just while we grill our dishes
Don't drown our party out, for as you can see,
we haven't gills like fishes!
It did indeed rain on the day of my party. Even though my GrillMates
Barbeque was rained out- guests didn't seem to
mind as they descended on the food and fun immediately upon arriving. People ate like it was Thanksgiving. It was a summertime
cornucopia of watermellon, chips and dip, sauteed veggies, salads, corn and
regular salsa fresca, baked mac n'cheese, MEAT and various other sides
that guests brought to the table.
Wait... Did I
say
rain? No it STORMED. Repeatedly. And allllll night long!
Forcing us to grill just inside our garage with the doors up- of course!
We didn't think much of it until later when we all stepped out there to
partake in some of Rikki's Blackberry Jello Shots (which were really
good!). The garage was so LOADED with fumes- we're pretty sure we got a
little high off (lack of oxygen haha) breathing in Eau de GrillMates BBQ
Smoke. That or
Rikki's shot's were far more potent than she would admit.
The reason is still unclear.
This brings me to the cocktail portion of the menu...
In
the name of Barbeque- we served up my Grilled Cocktail Creations to our
guests! The favourite among them was the Smoke & Blushes grilled
watermelon cherry hard lemonade. pic soon!
Steph's fave was the Flame Kissed Pinkolada
Or the Sun Seared Strawberry Sunrise
Paradise...
Or she says just now, "WAIT! I can't pick!"
My favourite was the Smokin' Mojito Libre. It's so fresh and
unique tasting. (shhhhhllllrrrrp) Definitely doing that one
again! If you like Lime syrup w Vanilla Zero Coke- like moi- you will LOVE the Smokin' Mojito
Libre!
Unfortunately I didn't get around to making my Blackened Berry Sour Sizzle one... Which I will debut at another party soon! So sorry no pics or reviews of that one yet!
Julie, one of my guests arrived VERY late- surprising us all by bringing her two kids- Maddie (11), Matt (8) and Maddie's friend Emily (also 11) along with her to our adult only party... Which turned out to be a happy accident- because Matt fixed our
Wii! Well, temporarily fixed it- because randomly it stopped working again just
before our party for Woolite the following week.
Where's 8yr Matt (above Rockin' Guitar Hero w/sis Maddie) when
you need him!
Guests, including the kids, all fell in love with GrillMates Mojito Lime and Baja Citrus.
Found these cute little shakers
which matched our decor for the party at a dollar store!
GrillMate's products GALORE!
How cute is this serveware!
On to the Review!
For My GrillMates Party I used the following GrillMates flavours- Mojito Lime, Baja Citrus, Molasses Bacon, Zesty Herb, Montreal Steak, Brown Sugar Bourbon. Here are my thoughts on each!
Mojito Lime:
GrillMates offers Mojito Lime as both a seasoning and as a marinade.
I elected to create a marinade with the seasoning variety as I could not find the marinade mix at my grocers. Mojito Lime's flavour is chiefly comprized of lime citrus and spearmint. Mint may sound like a tad strange of a flavour to be adding to your chicken. And at first I was skeptical too. I wondered at the addition of spearmint instead of the traditional peppermint that is usually the go to for traditional Mojito flavour.
But here's the thing, the results (however strange the combo of mint and chicken may seem) are indeed as delicious as they are surprising! The spearmint has a very delicate herbal quality to it.
I suppose this is why GrillMates added it rather than straight up peppermint- Figuring correctly that peppermint might have been too overwhelming to add to the mix. The milder mint spearmint plays well with meat and while it has a very slight mouth cooling effect- it does not remind of toothpaste. (Which was my concern.) Instead you get this great sort of extra FRESH like flavour. I want to say citrusy clean water... if that makes sense? Definitely a great flavour- hot from the grill or cold over salad.
All of my guests loved the unique taste and wanted samples to try out at home! Since the party my family has used it several times on both chicken and beef. I tend to think that the flavour is more suited to chicken or perhaps fish than beef. I have been too tentative to try it personally on beef. So I'll just say that I am reserving final judgment for beef dishes until then. In any case, GrillMates Mojito Lime has definitely become a new favourite of my family and friends. I am sure it will be making a regular appearance at BBQ's and dinner parties throughout the summer season and beyond.
Guest Monica says, "This is
all really, really just so- SO GooooD! My kids will LOVE
(of the Mojito Lime) this! I can't wait to pick up a bottle of Mojito
Lime from Costco!"
Baja Citrus:
Grillmates offers Baja Citrus as a packet marinade.
We used Baja Citrus on scewered chicken and added it to our fried rice with Chinese sweet and sour sauce.
Baja Citrus's flavour is cheifly comprized of herbs and mild spices with an intense orangey-lemon citrus.
We tried it out a couple times before the party to be sure we understood it's flavour. I thought that Baja's orangey flavour would play well with our Asian-American themed dish. If you like a citrus taste then this is the one for you!
Like everyone- Rikki sampled a bit of everything...
Rikki says, "Since the party- I've used both the rub and the Mojito Lime. My kids are big fans of the Mojito Lime. My husband and I really love the Baja Citrus! I've been wondering if it would make an interesting addition to fried chicken... I will definitely be picking more up to use soon!"
Zesty Herb:
(*Note- If you are GLUTEN, SOY, or DAIRY sensitive- do not use it!
As GrillMates Zesty Herb contains all three of these known allergens!)
GrillMates offers Zesty Herb as a packet marinade. Pictures here soon.
In the past we have used GrilMates Zesty Herb as a marinade for chicken, a salad sprinkle and as a fry coating. So we were very familiar with it's flavour which is chiefly comprised of garden herbs with a light cheesy taste (even though there is no cheese ingredient present in the mix). It reminds of those vegetable crackers that are shaped like veggies... you know the ones.
Zesty Herb is one of my personal GrillMates favourites. This time we used our Zesty Herb in sour cream to make a dip for Kettle Chips. It was in a word- AWESOME. Totally tasty and a major hit among our guests! There was a small amount left afterward which we decided to save... Bad idea folks. If you are going to make this as a dip- and I recommend you do because- FRESH -it's YUM! But I warn you- use it immediately! Do not save it as leftovers! Because Zesty Herb is a marinade- As a dip seasoning it will develop into a pungent garlic-salty brew that (even if you are a Garlic fanatic) is not pleasant AT ALL.
Molasses Bacon:
GrillMates offers Molasses Bacon as a seasoning.
I found the idea of this flavour a bit odd. Bacon added to your meat dishes? Not one to mix meats or meat flavours- I was not exactly gung ho to try this on anything personally. But with a slew of guinea pigs- I figured eh, why not. For our party we decide to use Molasses Bacon on beef sliders.
The general consensus? Molasses Bacon was the perfect combination of sweet and salty- but light. Apparently Molasses Bacon is lighter in strength than other GrillMates products and I needed to add more of it to adequately season my patties.
Kandis says, "Straight off- Molasses Bacon has an enticing smell... smokey-sweet, imparts a light barbeque flavour. I tried it out at home on burgers- It's very aromatic but it takes quite a bit to impart taste. I would use it again and use it in combination with steak and barbeque sauces to add a unique flavour. But first I am going to try it in black beans and hominy with chorizo sausage today! Mmmaybe make cornbread..."
Montreal Steak:
GrillMates offers Montreal Steak as- a seasoning in both regular and 25% less sodium varieties- as well as in both regular and 25% less sodium variety marinades.
My family has used GrillMates Montreal Steak seasoning for YEARS. In fact, before McCormick introduced Montreal Chicken seasoning we used the steak variety on stir fry chicken and in preparation of our grill marinades! Our pantry has never been without it! For the party we decided to use it classically to season hamburger sliders. My guests loved the flavour and when asked to describe it- this is what one had to say...
My family has used GrillMates Montreal Steak seasoning for YEARS. In fact, before McCormick introduced Montreal Chicken seasoning we used the steak variety on stir fry chicken and in preparation of our grill marinades! Our pantry has never been without it! For the party we decided to use it classically to season hamburger sliders. My guests loved the flavour and when asked to describe it- this is what one had to say...
Steph says, "It's spicy- but not hot. Peppery, mildly garlicy... It's like- 'The Better Pepper'- if there was such a thing. But seriously I freakin looove Montreal Steak! No, you have no idea. You know how there are Ketchup People? People who put ketchup on nearly everything? That's me with Montreal Steak. I've been using on nearly everything for years. Fries, rice, in cottage cheese or cream cheese, salads, meat, pizza... you name it- if it's savoury I've tried it and it's delicious!"
Brown Sugar Bourbon:
GrillMates offers Brown Sugar Bourban in a BBQ sauce base- which can be used as a rub as well. Brown Sugar Bourbon's flavour is intensely BROWN SUGAR and you definitely get that little bit of a Bourbon aftertaste. It has this sort of tang to it- which we think is the Bourbon but it could just be the particular source of tomatoes used in it's composition. I didn't know that GrillMates made sauces so we had not used GrillMates sauces before. And we wanted to get a few for the party but we could not find them in our grocer's.
We tested it out against two other BBQ sauces that we generally have on hand- Jack Daniels Steakhouse and Trader Joe's Bold & Smoky Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce. The general consensus is that GrillMate's makes a damn fine sauce.
It's very different from other sauces on the market and deserving of a place in your BBQ sauce stash. We loved that it has a high quality taste and that it comes in a squeeze bottle! It's weird to us that so many sauces come in a hard to control large mouth glass jars. After having tried this we are definitely going to ask our grocer's to start carrying it a well as the other varieties that GrillMates has to offer!
Guest Ryan (who incidentally is a chef) says, "I find the idea of this as both a rub and a sauce really novel! It's great on burgers and fries- I can't wait to pick up a bottle to try on some steaks!"
Guest Ryan (who incidentally is a chef) says, "I find the idea of this as both a rub and a sauce really novel! It's great on burgers and fries- I can't wait to pick up a bottle to try on some steaks!"
Stay tuned for the third installment of my Barbeque À la McCormick GrillMate's Party- which will include all the recipes used and thoroughly enjoyed by myself and my guests!
No comments:
Post a Comment