I’m usually not the “just grab a bottle out of the pantry and pour over food” kind of guy.  I tend to make my own spice rubs and marinades.  I know which flavors I like and the amount of them that I prefer, but every once-in-a-while something comes along and makes me say “Wow!”

When the nice folks at Lawry’s asked if I’d like to try out two of their new 30 minute marinades I’ll admit I almost said no.  I’m glad that I didn’t in this case.  Their Szechuan Sweet and Sour BBQ marinade is something unique and was the perfect choice for the snapper pictured here.

Grilling the fish gave a depth of flavor to the marinade that I don’t think you would be able to get in any other way, and for me there just wasn’t quite enough garlic or heat to the sauce, but the flavors are amazing, especially with fish or chicken.

In true by the seat of my pants fashion, I added a bit of garlic and a dash of cayenne for that true blast of Szechuan fire that it was missing. you see, Szechuan is about heat, if it doesn’t have the heat, it isn’t right.

In the end it got rave reviews from the kids and from my next door neighbor.  The fish was moist and delectable, perfectly buttery, flaky and light, with just enough heat to let you know it was there.  Add a squeeze of lemon juice and call it perfect.

And here’s the best part.  You don’t have to take my word for it.  Lawry’s and MyBlogSpark wants to give a kit like the one they sent me to one of you.  The kit includes a shiny new set of BBQ skewers, a marinating dish and one bottle each of the Szechuan Sweet & Sour BBQ and their Tuscan Sun Dried Tomato Marinades.

I have tried both and I’m not sure that I’ll be rushing out to buy the tomato marinade again, but I will be picking up more of the Szechuan.  It’s great on it’s own and also a great base for other recipes.

So leave a comment for a chance to get your own kit.  I’ll pick a winner at random on Friday, July 16th.  Good Luck!

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Popularity: 3% [?]

It’s grilling time here in Northern California. While this normally means making up a batch of burgers or dogs to appease the always-starving hordes of small people running around our house, every once in a while it’s also time to get seriously creative and try something new and completely different.

This recipe is inspired completely by my wife.  We were discussing her preference for thinner burgers vs. the thick ones that my boys and I generally prefer when she stated matter-of-factly “If they’re stuffed I like them thick!  you should have tried the feta stuffed lamb burgers I had the other day. “

I couldn’t argue that feta stuffed lamb sounded amazing.  In fact, since I had a freezer full of ground lamb that had been diverted from another recipe I wasn’t equipped to handle right now, it sounded absolutely perfect.  Feta is always on hand and low and behold, I even had some buns tucked in a corner.

Armed with the most fantastic method from Savory Sweet Life on how to form the perfect patty (which is also the ultimate method for making a stuffed patty) and a circle cutter just slightly larger than the buns I was using, I set out.

This method of forming patties is remarkably simple and yields absolutely perfect, uniform patties every time.  My circle cutter is pretty tall, so we ended up with 4 very substantial patties.  If I’d used a lid as suggested in the original article I probably would have ended up with 6 or 8 but big is good when feeding pre-teens and I was happy with the results.

I decided that I needed something besides the standard lettuce, onion and tomato topping and opted for thin slices or cucumber and radish.  The boys still went for lettuce which is fine by me, but for my tastes these toppings were perfect.

Note, there were no condiments used here. These burgers were more than juicy enough to stand without them.  If you really must have some kind of sauce, try tzatziki or some yogurt with a squeeze of lemon juice and dill or mint.  You definitely don’t want to overpower the burgers themselves.

What’s your favorite grilling recipe?  Are you a burger and potato salad type or do you go for chicken, pork or ribs?  Have you ever made a stuffed burger? We’d love to know!

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Popularity: 8% [?]

Vegetarians avert your eyes.  Have your children leave the room, you don’t want them to see this.  For you it won’t be pretty.  However, for those of us who are dedicated omnivores (or in Dr. Biggles case, card carrying carnivores), it’s a dream on a bun, and I had to share it with the world at large.

Please excuse the fact that this really isn’t a recipe.  It’s more of a field assembly guide for the ultimate in meat based sandwiches. There will be no fluff, no cheese, no greens or sprouts.  Only bell peppers (or jalapeños, if you’re so inclined) are worthy of this carnivorous delight.

This sandwich was three days in the making. Was it worth it?  I think so.  Hopefully you will as well, but the only way you’ll ever know is if you try it for yourself.

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Popularity: 2% [?]