Crowdtap -- McCormick Grill Mates

I had the honor of trying out some tasty products curtsey of Crowdtap and McCormick.

First, I gotta say my original plans went bust, we had planned on going out to see my husbands family over labor day weekend....and grilling with all of them.  But, it just wasn't in the cards apparently.

So I had to improvise.  And decided to have several 'small' parties at my parents house.   We currently live with them and are moving next month.  So we figured this would be a good opportunity for our kids to have dinner with a friend.  And a bit of a goodbye.

First up was the McCormick marinade.   Honestly I was skeptical because it flat out did not cover much meat at all.  but mixing it was easy, and it smelled quite good.  I just wasn't sure it would flavor the meat enough. 

Grill mates Spicy Brandy and Herb

1 package Grill Mates® Spiced Brandy & Herb Marinade
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons apple cider or white vinegar
2 pounds chicken, pork or salmon

I let the meat marinade for about 2 hours, and then tossed it on the grill, and cooked until done.

Because of the amount this cooked, we did this portion solo.  We absolutely loved the chicken, and this seasoning will make it into our rotation as a result!!!  I think it was even better cold and left over.  Yum!

McCormick's Steak Seasoning

We actually use this seasoning on a regular basis already, and absolutely love it.  We use it on steaks (Obviously)  But I also use it in many hamburger dishes.  For hamburgers I'll typically season with the steak seasoning and add a dash of Worcestershire sauce for some added zing.   Best home made hamburger I've come across.

McCormick's Molasses Bacon Blend

For the bacon lover in your life!  I opened this up and my immediate thought was sweetened bacon bits.

I used this to season ground beef and we had hamburgers.

Here's where I confess....no picture, the dog ate it.  Or maybe my memory card. I digress.

For this we invited a couple of my kids friends over, I had the kids draw pictures of various animals.  (Pig, cow, chicken, notice the theme?)  And then let the kids play pin the tail on the barn animal while food cooked.

Since this wasn't fully an adults gathering, I was nice and had a few sample pieces for the other kids parents to give a try later in the evening.

Bacon flavored hamburgers (topped with more bacon) Came with mixed opinion.  For me and my husband it didn't come anywhere close to my typical hamburger blend.  The kids absolutely loved it though, and my dog was 'beggin for bacon'!

The other adults seemed to have a 'take it or leave it but because it's free food we'll take it' mentality.

McCormick Slow And Low Memphis Pit BBQ Rub

1 pkg. Grill Mates® Slow & Low BBQ Rub
2 racks pork baby back ribs (about 4 pounds)

*Can also use other cuts and types of meat.

I took the opportunity to try a different cut of meat, as it was a cheaper alternative.

PULLED PORK BABY!

I rubbed the pork and threw it in the crock pot and let it cook until it shredded easily.  (Roughly 5 hours)

Then shredded it!

 

And then I took it one step further and added McCormick's Sugar Bourbon BBQ Sauce.  And let me tell you, you could smell the bourbon in this!

The bbq sauce left a bit of a 'bite' that I haven't experienced with other sauces, but we don't typically go one that has an alcohol flavoring, either.

Again I let the kids draw their farm pictures, and play pin the tail on the piggy.  The kids loved this meal the most, without a doubt.  They called it 'Sloppy pigs' (Spin off of sloppy joes)

This was also one that I had enough left overs to give parents decent samples.  YAY!  Everyone loved it all around.  The rub will definitely make it into our rotations, the bbq sauce will as well, but I don't think we liked it enough to solely replace our usual sauce.

Thanks Crowdtap and McCormick!!!

Crowdtap -- Totally Biased Premiere Party

Or lordy, where do I start with this?  I was given an opportunity through crowdtap to host a party for 'Totally Biased"  A comedy series featuring W. Kamau Bell.  The series airs on FX at 11pm est.  Though when I looked on our schedule (Colorado) it was at 12am, if I'm not mistaken.

First of all due to the time in which this aired, we ended up DVRing the program and watching it a couple nights later.  What on earth did we all do before the DVR was created?

It was a small gathering, just four of us. Instead of doing any snacks during the show, we just all ate dinner prior (fajitas, YUM)  And then sat down to watch once I got the kids in bed.

Across the board, none of us were that impressed.  I honestly only recall two spots where anyone really laughed.  There may have been a few chuckles thrown in here and there, but nothing significant.

We generally found it respectable when Bell was doing the temple skit.  I half expected him to be really crass about the whole situation.  But he wasn't....and in the end said that NONE of the people used in the skit deserved to be shot.  "Except maybe the sith."  Ok, the Sith isn't a real person, so I can tolerate that.   

The other notable skit was the frisking, for NY 'Stop and frisk' policy.  Some of the people's responses were chuckle worthy. (It'd be ok if the cop was hot and a female....unless you lean the other way, then hot and male is acceptable.)   The part that had a few of us really laughing was how to make the frisks more entertaining.  Basically putting random things in your pants pocket. Sprinkles, chocolate syrup, oatmeal, magicians scarf, etc....

At the end of the program Chris Rock came out for a little chat.  We all like Chris, but didn't find most of this all that funny.  It just seemed like they were just having a normal conversation.

My husband was the one who got the most laughs, along with my father.  My mother, I don't think cracked a smile the entire program, and I had a couple chuckles.

Overall the opinion was the show wasn't as funny and entertaining as we had hoped and expected.  So we're split as to if we will continue with the series.  Personally I think the show has some potential, but the first episode fell short, for whatever reason.