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% [?]

Summer dishes should be quick.  Who wants to stand in a hot kitchen when you could be out enjoying the weather or escaping the heat in the pool?  There are other, better uses for your time in the long days of summer than standing in front of a stove. (Unless you happen to be a food geek like me of course.)

Heavy meals and warm weather make for terrible bed fellows. A great warm weather meal should also not weigh you down and make you feel sluggish, it should entice the palate and nourish both body and spirit. I think this dish manages to do all of these things.

This dish mingles the heady flavors of fresh baby bell peppers and tomato with the light texture of gently poached cod and just enough rice to make it a more than substantial dinner or with a bit less rice, a great lunch.  It’s a simple meal to make but tastes like something that has had hours of love and caring poured into it.  It’s definitely something I would be happy serving to friends or family on any given day.

Poaching the fish directly in the sauce brings everything together into one unique whole, but still allows the individual flavors of the ingredients to stand out. If you love fish, peppers and tomatoes, this is one dish you really must try.

This dish was prepared as part of the FoodBuzz Family Bites series, so be sure to go check out what others came up with in their series of family friendly meals.

What’s your favorite fish recipe?  Do you prefer smoked, grilled, poached or fried.  We’d love to hear about it.

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Popularity: 3% [?]

I Love SPAM.  I do.  It’s silly, I know but I can’t help it and I really don’t want to help it.  I’ve made SPAM dishes on CbsoP before and I’m sure I will again… In fact I have a new dish that features SPAM all lined up and waiting for a sunny day.

That’s one of the best things abut SPAM. It’s like smoked oysters, sardines, olives or pickles.  You buy it and it’s just sitting there waiting for you when you have the urge for it.  Shelf stable is good, and especially good if you’re in a crunch for something to make in a hurry.

This dish is actually brought to you by the fine folks at Hormel, who emailed me to ask if I’d be willing to get in on a program they’re running called the “SPAM: Dish This! program.”  Of course my answer was well, thought out, cordial and written in a welcoming, but not to eager tone…

Oh who do I think I’m kidding?  I answered back with barely enough restraint to keep the “Hell Yes!” out of my response. Someone offered me free SPAM!  I ain’t turning that offer down for anyone.

Of course the FTC requires that I disclose that I was given product to work with, so here’s the legal stuff before I get into why of all the things I could have made, I chose an extremely simple sandwich…  So, in the words of the Legal Department:

To participate in the SPAM: Dish This! program, I was provided with complimentary samples of SPAM product and merchandise, valued at approximately $35. Hormel Foods did not tell me what type of creations I should make nor did they require me to use any specific ingredients. My statements reflect my honest and truthful opinions and actual experience.

There.  Now that we’ve got that out of the way; on with the subject at hand.  The wonder meat in a can, the glorious, jiggly, bright-pink SPAM.

As promised, the guys from Hormel sent along a package containing a few varieties of SPAM.  It also included a SPAM spatula and a hand painted art tile depicting a can of SPAM that I’m not going to show you because you would want it really, really badly and I can’t find one anywhere to send you to, which is a bummer because it’s COOL.

Upon closer inspection, there was one package in the box that I wasn’t prepared to see.  Among the classic, low fat and individual-serving sized containers was a tin of Bacon SPAM.  I’d never heard of this particular variety, but since I was specifically asked to make a sandwich with some part of the package, I saw “bacon”, thought “BLT” and this post was born… sort of.

I didn’t want to make a standard BLT, I wanted something a little different.  I also just happened to have some of my favorite little sourdough rolls handy, which are perfect for sliders.  Also, the bacon flavor in this product is very subdued even after cooking, so to give the whole thing a deeper, richer flavor I added some Worcestershire sauce to the equation.

In the end, this was the perfect combination, or at least was for me.  I took care of both of those sliders in one sitting and had another today. (In penance I swear I’ll have salad for breakfast and lunch for the next week!)

Do you love SPAM as much as I do?  If not, WHY NOT?!? what’s your favorite way to cook/make/serve the stuff.  I’d love to know.

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Popularity: 4% [?]

Although there were a ton of great dishes to be sampled at the foodbuzz Food Festival in San Francisco this November, only a few dishes really stood out as exceptional.  The other dishes that stand out most in my memory aren’t the ones that were done perfectly the first time.  The dishes that always stick with me are the ones that were almost perfect. Those dishes that I find myself wondering just what tiny little detail made them less than everything they could have been.

One of those dishes was Mezzetta’s Beer Braised Flank Steak.  Sure it was good, but it wasn’t great. It had all the right flavors just not enough of them somehow to compete with the other dishes at the same event. (Don’t blame the chef… competition in that room was fierce!)

The memory of that dish has stuck with me since the festival and when I came across the recipe card in my swag-bag I decided to see if I could take the dish up by that one much needed notch.

Now I have nothing against polenta, which is what the chef originally paired this dish with, but as a good southern boy, I don’t necessarily have polenta on hand, but I always have grits, so my first change was obvious.  The second thing I didn’t want to do was to use a bunch of pre-made store bought products to make the dish, regardless of the quality, both because they’re too hard to change to my liking and because I wasn’t terribly thrilled with the first attempt.

Don’t let the seemingly large list of ingredients frighten or deter you.  Basically I just built a pasta sauce in a braising liquid and let it thicken as it went.  You’ll be amazed how quickly it all goes together and how absolutely powerful the flavors are.  It’s simply an awe-inspiring dish and one I recommend that you give a bit of time to while the weather is chill.

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Popularity: 5% [?]

A little tomato, a little wine, a little seafood.  That’s really all it takes to make me happy, at least in this instance.  The fact that my oldest son helped me devour the dish shown above is nothing short or a five-star bonus.  I would have eaten it myself had he not enjoyed it.

(I may have secretly hoped that he didn’t…)

All I can really say about this is that it was sublime.  I’ve spent days staring at the screen trying to find a way to describe it, but words have failed me this time, so I’m just going to get straight to the recipe before I waste any more time.  You guys deserve to have this in your card index, database or PDA.  It’s good.

Really good.

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Popularity: 3% [?]

If you’re thinking to yourself that the above photo looks like a very rare steak on top of some greenery, you’d be just about right, and that is what it looks like, only that’s not steak, that’s American bison in all it’s rare glory perched happily atop a salad of spinach, mushrooms and grape tomatoes that have been touched ever so gently with just a  bit of vinaigrette and a sprinkling pf Parmesan cheese. The bison itself is unadorned as any new thing should be when first tried, so that it’s true flavors shine through.

If you’ve never tried bison, I urge you to go ahead and splurge a little for a good cut of this wonderful meat.  you won’t be disappointed, I assure you. The flavor is much like beef, but mild and slightly sweet, without much of the fattiness that an inexpensive cut of beef can (and should) have.  bison is naturally lower in cholesterol and saturated fats as well, making it the perfect choice in red meats for anyone who needs to watch these components in their diet.

This combination was good.  Very good. Unfortunately I found that the salad fought the flavor of the meat slightly and I’ll be looking for other accompaniments in the future.  A mild addition is needed for this, as the bison’s flavor is subtle and easily overshadowed by other flavors.

In the end, I love this meat.  I’m glad that it’s stocked at our commissary and will be buying it again (slated for the grill this time) before we leave Texas.  I should have no problems finding it in California either, so I’ll continue to muck with combinations well into the future.  this was good, but this could be great, and I’m looking for that recipe.

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Popularity: 1% [?]