Food Fun Family

Homemade Memphis BBQ Sauce {Playing With Fire Cookbook}

Lolli — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 15:56:55 +0000

Love a good BBQ? Me too! Clarkson Potter sent me a copy of Playing With Fire AND is providing a prize pack for one of my lucky readers! All opinions and photos of my recipe recreation are my own. Amazon affiliate links are included.

The weather is finally starting to feel like spring, and I can’t wait for BBQ season to be here in full magnificence. There’s nothing quite like hot, flavorful barbecue.

I’ve spent the last week drooling over the recipes in Michael Symon’s new cookbook, Playing With Fire. The recipes are easy to follow, the dishes flavorfully delicious, and the photos are stunning. I want to make EVERYTHING.

I decided to start simply and recreate the recipe for Memphis BBQ Sauce (along with a side of Broccoli Salad). The sauce was a hit with the entire family, and a perfect addition to some grilled chicken. The recipe is included below, along with a fabulous giveaway that you won’t want to miss!

About MICHAEL SYMON’S PLAYING WITH FIRE

Co-host of The Chew and celebrated Iron Chef and restaurateur Michael Symon returns to a favorite subject, meat, with his first cookbook focused on barbecue and live-fire grilling, with over 70 recipes inspired by his newest restaurant, Mabel’s BBQ, in his hometown of Cleveland. In preparing to open his barbecue restaurant, Mabel’s BBQ, Michael Symon enthusiastically sampled smoked meat from across America.

The 72 finger-licking, lip-smacking recipes here draw inspiration from his favorites, including dry ribs from Memphis, wet ribs from Nashville, brisket from Texas, pork steak from St. Louis, and burnt ends from Kansas City–to name just a few–as well as the unique and now signature Cleveland-style barbecue he developed to showcase the flavors of his hometown. Michael offers expert guidance on working with different styles of grills and smokers, choosing aromatic woods for smoking, cooking various cuts of meat, and successfully pairing proteins with rubs, sauces, and sides.

If you are looking for a new guide to classic American barbecue with the volume turned to high, look no further.

Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group. In stores now…or buy it on Amazon today!

About the Author

Michael Symon cooks with soul, having grown up in a Greek and Sicilian family. The Cleveland native shares his exuberant, approachable cooking style and infectious laugh with viewers as an Iron Chef on Food Network and as a co-host on ABC’s The Chew. Michael is the chef and owner of more than 18 restaurants, including Lola and Mabel’s BBQ in downtown Cleveland, locals of B-Spot Burgers throughout the Midwest, and Angeline at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City. He is also the author of five cookbooks, including Playing With Fire (Clarkson Potter, 2018). When he’s not working, Michael loves cooking at home, playing golf, gardening in the backyard and spending time with his wife Liz and their bulldog Ozzy.

Memphis BBQ Sauce

Reprinted from Michael Symon’s Playing With Fire. Copyright © 2018 by Michael Symon. Photographs copyright © 2018 by Ed Anderson. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

This sauce is perfect for any grilled meats, but is especially tasty on grilled chicken!

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, halved and finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
Kosher salt
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup dark molasses
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Instructions

1. In a medium nonreactive saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, celery seeds, and red pepper flakes, whisking to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors come together, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and blend or puree until smooth. Stir in the vinegar.

2. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

**Baste grilled foods with sauce only during the final stages of grilling to prevent the sugars in the sauce from burning.

Note from our family: we found that the sauce was even tastier the 2nd day!

Interested in the recipe for the broccoli salad that is pictured here? That can be found on page 210 of Playing With Fire! The sauce is made with plain Greek yogurt and is simply delicious!

Connect with Playing With Fire

Buy Playing With Fire on Amazon
Hashtag #PlayingWithFireCookbook
Follow Clarkson Potter on Instagram
Follow Michael Symon on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Learn more about the book at PenguinRandomHouse.com

TOOLS FOR THE GRILLMASTER Giveaway

Be prepared to play with fire! One winner from Food Fun Family will receive:

Copy of Michael Symon’s Playing With Fire
A Cuisinart Deluxe 20-piece grill set
And a barbecue pit mitt glove!

ARV $110 | Giveaway open to US addresses only | Prizing and samples provided by Clarkson Potter | Giveaway ends 4/25 at 11:59pm ET

Entry -Form

Favorite Grilling Recipes – Delicious Dishes Recipe Party #79

Lolli — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 11:00:24 +0000

Happy August!! This is the month I’ve waited ALL summer for! It’s finally time for vacations and travel. This week starts my mega month of travel, and I can’t wait! Yes, I know that work will be challenging to keep up with from the road, but it will be worth it to have a break.

Now that a huge majority of my time is spent in sales with my LuLaRoe business, I worry about being gone for several weeks and missing precious sale opportunities. So I’m pushing for some amazing sales while I’m in town and would LOVE for you to join me over in my group. We’ve got SO many fun things going on right now.

Summer, and especially August, is the perfect time to get out the grill and cook outside instead of heating up the kitchen (it’s HOT enough in there!!). A few of my personal faves include…..

This week, we’ve gathered a few of the grilling recipes from YOU that have caught our eyes! Enjoy!

Welcome to Delicious Dishes Recipe Party! In case you’re new to the party, here’s what you need to know:

Delicious Dishes is a weekly link party where bloggers can share their most delicious recipes while checking out the amazing recipes that other bloggers are sharing.

Each link you share here will be seen on each of the hostess’ blogs listed below >>

Food Fun Family – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

She Saved – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Walking on Sunshine Recipes – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

5 Minutes for Mom – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

This Mama Loves – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Clever Housewife – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Bunny’s Warm Oven –Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Cooking in Stilettos – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Each week we will be featuring our favorite recipes from the week before and pinning them to our Delicious Dishes Pinterest board.

We hope you’ll have fun with our party…we know we will!

The Recipes with the Most Clicks Last Week Were…

#1: Dulce de Leche Frappe from The Black Peppercorn

#2: Olive Garden Copycat Recipes from Tuxedo Cats and Coffee

#3: Raspberry Pretzel Crunch from Eat Move Make

Delicious Dishes Party Favorites from Last Week:

These are the recipes that the hosts loved the most…

I loved Grilled Honey Chicken Breast from My Heavenly Recipes

Lois loved Grilled Ribeyes from Eat Move Make

Brett loved Grilled Rainbow Vegetable Kabobs from Juggling Act Mama

Susan loved Shrimp on Barbie with Chimichurri Sauce from The Chef Next Door

Aly loved Grilled Pizza from Kid and Kin Blog

Keri Lyn loved Marinated Mushrooms on the Grill from Clever Housewife

Emily loved Steak and Chicken Kabobs from My Heavenly Recipes

Mary loved Southwestern Grilled Corn Mix from My Heavenly Recipes

Follow us along on our Pinterest board. We pin a ton of recipes that are shared to our linky party each week. So get your recipes ready. We can’t wait to see what’s cooking in your kitchen this week.

Now let’s get this party started!

An InLinkz Link-up

Marinated Pork and Vegetable Kabobs #RealFlavorRealFast

Lolli — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 19:51:51 +0000

I think we can all agree that cooking over a hot stove after a long, hot summer day is not exactly enjoyable. During the summer, we love to join our neighbors in our back yards, cooking over the grill instead of inside over a hot stove. There’s something about cooking on the grill that feels like vacation – but grilling doesn’t have to be reserved for the weekend or vacation time, especially when you’ve got delicious Smithfield marinated pork on your plate. I am thrilled to be partnering with Smithfield this week to bring you this quick and easy, family-friendly recipe that I know you’re going to love.

Every day is a good day to cook dinner on the grill!

Last week, I stopped at Food Lion during my afternoon errands and picked up some Smithfield® Marinated Pork and some vegetables to cook with it. I was determined to find a new recipe that I could make on the grill that would be ready in around 30 minutes. I wanted “Real Flavor Real Fast,” and Smithfield® Marinated Pork was the perfect solution. This summer has been so busy with swim team, and I don’t have time to spend long preparing dinner, but I don’t want to sacrifice on flavor.

My little experiment with Smithfield® Marinated Pork could not have turned out better. It was a hit all around! Definitely “Real Flavor Real Fast!” I did learn, however, that potatoes, no matter how bite-sized you cut them, will take way longer to cook than anything else (so I’ve included a few tips for adding potatoes to your kabobs. My main tip: don’t do what I did and try to cook the potatoes from raw!).

How to Make Marinated Pork and Vegetable Kabobs

Yum

Marinated Pork and Vegetable Kabobs

Ingredients

Garlic & Herb Smithfield® Marinated Pork (approximately 2 lbs), cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1 zucchini, sliced thick
4-6 baby Portobello mushrooms, halved
4-6 Campari tomatoes, halved
1 bell pepper, cut into bite sized chunks (I used half each of a yellow and green bell pepper)
1/2 a large red onion, cut into 1-2 inch chunks (keeping layers together)
3-4 small to medium red potatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks, optional (see tip below)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried garlic
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste
Skewers

Instructions

Cut vegetables and place into a large bowl. Toss veggies with olive oil and spices.
Prepare pork by cutting it into bite-sized pieces (about 1-2 inches).
Thread pork and vegetables onto skewers, adding 2-3 veggies in between each piece of pork. Place skewers on a hot grill and cook for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until pork is cooked through.
Remove pork and veggies from the kabobs gently with a fork and enjoy!

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Tip: If you’d like to add potatoes to your kabob, either stick them in the microwave for a few minutes or roast them under the broiler until just barely cooked. Or you can cook your potatoes separately and toss with the grilled pork and veggies when serving. Don’t be like me and expect the potatoes to cook at the same rate as the rest of the veggies!

Since I had a limited number of skewers, I threw the rest of the vegetables and pork chunks in my cast iron skillet and cooked until the pork was heated through. You could also throw the pork and vegetables inside a foil packet (just take two pieces of aluminum foil and fold the edges down to seal the food inside a little pocket. Place the foil packets on the grill, cover and cook for 20-30 minutes or until pork is cooked through.

You’ve got to try these delicious kabobs! Since the meat is pre-seasoned, you really have to do very little to make a delicious and quick dinner – perfect for weeknights or weekends! Look for Smithfield® Marinated Pork for Real Flavor Real Fast at your local Food Lion store.

Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Smithfield® Marinated Pork. The opinions and text are all mine. #RealFlavorRealFast

Sweet ‘n’ Southern Burgers #burgertour

Lolli — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 14:30:26 +0000

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Martin’s Food Markets for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

To me, the 4th of July means barbecuing with friends and family, sitting under the stars on a big blanket with all of the kids around, waiting for the fireworks to begin.

Over the years we’ve fallen into a 4th of July food rut. Basic hamburgers and hot dogs with a big bowl of watermelon and a couple bags of chips are so….easy. This year, we’re shaking things up a little with a new delicious burger with a twist. You are going to LOVE this burger. And trust me, this is NOT your ordinary run-of-the-mill burger.

This Sweet ‘n’ Southern Burger from the recipe center at Martin’s Food Markets has inspired me to look for even more tasty and simple recipes that I can make this 4th of July to add some fun variety to our celebrations.

I’ve been browsing through some of the other recipes from Martin’s Savory Recipe Center and can’t wait to try more of them. They’re made with easily accessible and affordable ingredients (which I love!) and they take the work and the worry out of planning our 4th of July events with family and friends.

Ok…back to these delicious burgers. Did I mention that they are made with ground chicken? I have fallen in love with using ground chicken to make burgers – both for the flavor and for the lower fat content. These burgers combine a few ingredients I never would have thought to pair in a burger recipe, but they work better than you could ever imagine.

Trust me. You are going to want to try this recipe! Like now. Grab your keys, head to the store, and get the ingredients. Then come back, cook it up, and let me know how much you loved it, too. Deal?

Sweet 'n' Southern Burgers

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

40 mins

Author: Lolli

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 small carrot
1 small red onion, halved
1 lb ground chicken breast
¼ cup panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
4 sesame seed hamburger buns
!Salsa:
1 large peach, chopped
1 Tbsp orange marmalade
1 Tbsp red onion, finely chopped
2 tsp cider vinegar
½ tsp grated fresh ginger

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mist a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Grate the carrot and ½ onion into a large bowl. Add the chicken, panko, hoisin sauce, and ginger. Mix until combined.
Shape the chicken mixture into 4 patties and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Serve on buns and top with the peach salsa.
!Salsa:
In medium bowl, combine all ingredients.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Makes about 1 cup.

Get the recipe for this Sweet ‘n’ Southern Burger and a ton more tasty and affordable ideas for your summer BBQ, picnic, and any-day-dinner plans at Martin’s Savory Recipe Center. Who knew that something as simple and American as the hamburger could be so easy to customize to your preferences – right at home?

Which of these tasty burgers are you most excited to try?

NY Pizza Burger
Chesapeake Crab Burger
Northwestern Burger
Philly Cheesesteak Burger
West Coast Burger
Midwestern Farm Burger
Asian Chicken Burger
Firecracker Burger
And there’s MORE!

Get all of these burger recipes plus a ton of easy-to-prepare side dishes, salads and desserts (I’m eyeing that summer berry tiramisu, personally!) at Martin’s Savory Recipe Center. They are perfect for summer meals outdoors or around the family table. Enjoy (and save me a serving)!

Grilled Shrimp Tacos

Lolli — Sun, 03 May 2015 01:04:43 +0000

Hey Food Fun Family readers! Kristin from Ro*Tel here… I am excited to be writing for Laura today! Let me tell you a little bit more about myself. I live in the Windy City, aka Chicago, with my dog, Joey. Living in a city with something always happening, on the weekends I like to check out our Museum Campus, a local show at a dive bar or eat at a new restaurant in one of the neighborhoods. You can find me running outside along Lake Shore Drive or lounging on the couch binge-watching Netflix when I am not in the kitchen whipping up one of my favorite recipes for friends and family.

Grilling season is upon us! Nothing gets me more excited for summer than firing up the grill on a brisk spring day. Brats, corn on the cob and veggie shish kabobs are a few of my favorite things to sizzle outside. Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, I’m planning to make this simple shrimp taco recipe for my dinner party! As a taco-lover, I am really excited about this zesty avocado and tomato salsa. And the beauty of tacos is that you can use whatever toppings you like!

Grilled Shrimp Tacos

5.0 from 2 reviews

Grilled Shrimp Tacos

Author: Ro*Tel

Ingredients

Grilling spray
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced
1 can Ro*Tel® Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained
½ cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
¼ cup chopped red onion
¼ teaspoon salt
1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp (31/40) with tail, thawed
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 white corn tortillas, warmed
Sour cream and limes for serving

Instructions

Spray grate with grilling spray. Preheat grill for medium heat.
Toss avocado, tomatoes, corn, red onion and salt in medium bowl; set aside.
De-tail shrimp and drizzle with olive oil. Thread shrimp evenly onto metal skewers.
Combine chili powder, ground cumin and cayenne pepper. Evenly sprinkle spice mixture on shrimp skewers.
Grill shrimp skewers for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
Warm up tortillas in the microwave or on a pan over medium-high heat.
Divide shrimp between warmed tortillas. Top each tortilla with ¼ cup topping mixture. Serve with limes and sour cream.

So easy and simple! Whether you’re hosting a Cinco de Mayo party or a spring cookout, these shrimp tacos can complete your meal. For more tomato recipes, check out Ro*Tel’s site!

Note: This is not a sponsored post.

Grilled Flatbread with Chorizo & Peppers

Lolli — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 21:51:46 +0000

This post brought to you by KRAFT Natural Shredded Cheese and Safeway. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love cheese.

I love eating cheese straight out of the fridge (perfect mid-day snack! Or mid morning…or evening. You get the picture). I love cooking with cheese (ooey, creamy, melty goodness!). And so when I was challenged to try the new KRAFT Natural Cheese Stand-Up Pouches at Safeway in a recipe recently, nobody had to twist my arm…

What’s so amazing about the new KRAFT Natural Cheese Stand-Up Pouch? The new stand-up pouch has the same amount of cheese as there was in the old style pillow pack – still 2 cups of yummy cheese! All the same varieties you love are now available in the new stand-up pouch, which makes it easier for scooping (or pouring) directly from the package. I love the new stand-up pouch for cooking!

Safeway is converting all of their KRAFT shredded cheeses to the new packaging. I’ve been waiting eagerly for the new packages to come to my Safeway…and they are finally here!

The new packages are located right where the old packages used to be in the cheese section, so they’re easy to find.

To celebrate the new KRAFT stand up pouches at Safeway stores, I stocked up on KRAFT natural cheeses and made a recipe from KRAFT that I knew my family would devour.

And, boy was I right!

Safeway Just For You

Yum

Grilled Flatbread with Chorizo & Peppers

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. refrigerated pizza dough, at room temperature
¾ cup fresh salsa
4 oz. dry-cured Spanish chorizo, chopped
½ cup mixed red and yellow pepper strips
1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Shredded Triple Cheddar Cheese with a TOUCH OF PHILADELPHIA

Instructions

HEAT grill to medium heat.
BRUSH 1 Tbsp. oil onto large sheet of parchment paper. Divide dough in half; place 1 piece on prepared parchment. Roll out to 14x8-inch rectangle or 12-inch round. Repeat with remaining oil, dough and second sheet of parchment. Transfer dough, parchment sides up, to grill; remove parchment.
GRILL 2 to 4 min. or until bottoms of crusts are lightly charred. Place, grilled sides up, on work surface.
TOP with salsa, chorizo, peppers and cheese. Grill 4 to 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

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Note: my outdoor grill is currently broken, so I grilled these on my indoor griddler (which is one of my favorite kitchen tools) and then threw them in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese. I am totally using this method of making pizza crust again, though!
Knowing that the kids would probably prefer a more traditional flatbread pizza, I also bought mozzarella and some pepperoni and made a few pepperoni flatbreads for the kids…but oh my goodness! The grilled chorizo flatbread was amazing.

I loved the combination of flavors…the spicy chorizo sausage, the sweet peppers, and the creamy cheese. Mmm!

I can’t wait to try some of the other recipes on Kraftrecipes.com with the KRAFT stand up pouches. Which recipe would your family love to try?

Grilled Pork Medallions and Vegetables

Lolli — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 17:45:38 +0000

It’s officially BBQ season…and I’ve got an incredible recipe to share that is not only tasty, but revolutionary in its brilliance. Kidding. A little.

I was given a challenge recently to develop a BBQ recipe using pork, veggies, and Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil for a post I wrote on Epicurious. (Yes, I was compensated for writing this recipe but all opinions are my own). I played around with some flavors, tried a few things out with my more-than-willing family of taste-testers, and came up with this:

What is so brilliant about this recipe, you ask? Part of the brilliance is this…the amazingly delicious spice rub (but that’s not all…):

If you know me at all, you won’t be surprised to hear that I like meals that are simple to make and don’t create a huge mess. These meals made in foil packets and cooked on the grill are just that – they are simple to throw together AND the foil packets practically eliminate all mess. Another bonus? The packets are portioned out for individual servings. So if someone in the family doesn’t want onions or peppers…leave them out of their packet before cooking.

made-to-order
no-mess
portion-controlled
delicious
need-I-say-more?

I was so excited about how easy these were to make AND clean up after that I’ve been grilling all of our meats in foil for the last month!

The whole family will love these made-to-order vegetable and pork medallion meals, perfectly seasoned and conveniently grilled in single-serving packets made with Aluminum Foil. Grilling with foil packets means moist and tender meat, flavorful veggies, and no mess to clean up!

Grilled Pork Medallions and Vegetables

Save Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

55 mins

Author: Lolli

Serves: 6

Ingredients

⅓ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 pounds pork tenderloin
4-6 medium potatoes, skin on, thinly sliced
3 medium zucchini, sliced
6 small sweet peppers, seeds removed and quartered
1 large onion, cut into large slices
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Prep:
PREHEAT grill to medium.
COMBINE brown sugar, minced garlic, seasoned salt, paprika and black pepper in a small bowl; set aside.SLICE pork tenderloin into 1-inch medallions; set in a large baking dish. Generously rub each side of the pork slices with seasoning rub. Set aside.
TEAR off 6 sheets (12x18 –inches each) of Reynolds® Wrap Aluminum Foil and set on a flat surface. Lay 2-3 pork medallions in the middle of one sheet of foil. Add one-sixth of the potatoes, zucchini, sweet peppers, and onions on top of pork. Drizzle vegetables with a small amount of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bring up foil sides. Double-fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Repeat to make six packets.
Cook:
GRILL over medium to high heat. When grill is hot, ADD packets directly to the grill, meat-side down. Lower lid and cook for 10-15 minutes.
TURN the packets over to cook vegetable-side down, with lid closed, for another 15 minutes.
AFTER 20-25 minutes total cooking time, check for doneness by removing one packet onto a plate and. OPEN packet carefully by cutting along top fold with a sharp knife, allowing steam to escape; then open top of foil packet
If additional time is needed, place packet back on the grill and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
SERVE: simply open packets and serve each individual portion on a plate.

Seriously. Make this. Or grill something. Anything…in foil packets. You won’t regret it.

To see my recipe post (and give it some votes…pretty please!) head over to Epicurious. There are tons of other “Make Meal Magic” recipes from fellow bloggers using Reynolds products, from grilled meats and veggies to breakfast muffins and desserts (go…my mouth hasn’t stopped watering after checking them out!)

5 Tips to Throwing a Great Backyard BBQ Get-Together #SummerwithSears

Lolli — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 11:02:26 +0000

Nothing says outdoors and grill like the Fourth of July. This week was made for grilling (really, it should be a crime to NOT cook something on the grill on the 4th of July, don’t you think?) and friends and family.

I love grilling during the summer months, mostly because I want to do anything I can to avoid making my house any hotter than it already is, and cooking dinner on the stove or in the oven every night not only heats the kitchen up, but it heat ME up as well. Trust me…I don’t need any help with that.

Most of the time when I’m grilling, I simply throw something together for the family (a few burgers and hot dogs, a quick salad, and we’re good to go). Summer parties and backyard get-togethers, however, are a completely different ball game.

When I entertain, I want things to move a little more smoothly than they might on a typical family night, and yet I want to maintain the relaxed, casual feel as well. Here are a few tips to make BBQs and summer-time outdoor get-togethers more enjoyable for the guests AND the hosts.

Tips to enjoy a relaxed and yummy BBQ party

Prepare as much of the food ahead of time as possible (cut veggies, form hamburger patties, marinate meats, etc) so that you aren’t spending your party time preparing.
Provide plenty of snacks for guests to munch on while the food is on the grill
Set the tone with some fun background music
Place chairs outside so that guests can join the griller outside for pre-meal conversation
Include a cooler full of ice and drinks right next to the grill. Nothing draws people onto the back porch like cold drinks!

These are just a few of my tips for grilling while also being the host. I would love if you would share your tips with me! One of my lucky readers who answers below will win a $25 Sears Gift Card!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sears. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

Our Recipe for the Perfect Grilled Steak – Just “Cross Your Fingers!”

Lolli — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:00:06 +0000

I asked my husband to share the story of how we learned how to grill the most delicious meats on the block.

“It doesn’t take a master chef to grill a good steak.” ~CandyMan

When Lolli and I got married, neither one of us was an amazing chef. I had worked in Richmond’s LeMaire restaurant in the Jefferson Hotel with a great head chef, but I never touched the grill.

We spent the first few years of marriage eating a lot of dry hamburgers, flavorless steaks and many other meat-challenged meals looking for the elusive magic recipe or grilling technique.

As luck would have it, shortly after moving into our current house, we became friends with someone who is not a chef, not professionally trained in France, not even a restaurant worker. He is simply a man from Argentina who knows his meats and his grill, and he shared with us the simple truths of fool-proof, great grilling.

Our friend taught us the “secret” of dry rub grilling. He had his own special blend of spices, and as soon as we could, we tried it on our own grill.

The secret: To make meat taste great, all you need is seasoned salt and any kind of spice you like.

The first time we tried this on our own, we mixed up some seasoned salt, Italian Seasoning, Montreal Steak seasoning, and a few other random spices (garlic, freshly ground pepper, etc). We didn’t know if it would be as good as our friend’s cooking, so we called our spice mixture “Cross Your Fingers.”

It ended up being a perfect blend, but we didn’t write down a recipe for it.

I pull out a piece of foil, then take my ribs, chicken, steak, or whatever I am grilling and place it on the foil. Then I baste the meat lightly in vegetable oil and sprinkle it with salt and spices.

I flip the meat over and baste the other side and sprinkle it again with seasoned salt and whatever spices I am using. I close up the foil so that the meat is completely wrapped and sealed. I then put the sealed foil on the grill and cook until it is about half way done. Then, I pull it out of the foil and throw it right on the grill to just singe it with the flames a little bit (Lolli’s favorite step).

Since that time, we have seen over and over again that all you need to do is baste your meat, lightly sprinkle with seasoned salt and then add your choice of spices. Cross your fingers or not, you’ll get a fantastic flavor every time.

And the best part about grilling for us (besides the savory meats)? Sharing the food with our friends, of course!

These are just some of the reasons why Grilling is my Happiness. Besides all of the tasty food, tell me what you love about grilling. One of my lucky readers who answers below will win a $25 Sears Gift Card!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sears. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.