Phew! I thought the weekend would never get here. I've wanted to add to my blog all week, but there is so little time and so much for one person to do by themselves.

I want to continue on with my www.crowdtap.com BBQ. For those who are not familiar with Crowdtap, it is a business that helps other Brand products/companies test products, get feedback from consumers and promote their brands. It's really very simple, you just host parties, try out free merchandise or give reviews of products. And you earn $$$ and free goodies.

This month I was invited by the McCormick Brand of spices to host a Grill Mates BBQ. Since I was going to be traveling to Niagara Falls to visit my daughter, I thought that would be a great place to have the BBQ. We planned it for 5 PM on May 25th. The day dawned clear and warm and all was well with the world.

Around 1PM, big old thunderheads started to roll in and threatened to annihilate my party.














But checking my wonderful new iPod4S, it showed that the showers should be over by 3 or 4 at the latest.
We never did get the rain, just the gloomy weather for a few hours and by 4:30 we were outside setting up the grill.

Here are a few shots of me being fussy as usual. You can see the dark sky in the distance, but it's pretty and blue overhead.

At almost exactly 5 PM.. the sky cleared and the weather turned blue and beautifully warm for everyone to enjoy.

 

 Here is a video that gives a small panorama of the party area. If you look close at the gazebo, you will see all the adults hiding out there...LOL. The kids knew how to have a great time and they spent most of the time in the pool, on the swings or eating.

So, the main feature of the event was the fantastic McCormicks Grill Mates seasoning, rub and marinades. 

Here is an array of all the different spices that Crowdtap and McCormick sent me.

 And now a look at the finished product: There was ribs made with the Classic Memphis rub, then brushed with the Brown Sugar Bourbon BBQ sauce. Oh yum on that one. Out of 10 pounds there were only 2 ribs left at the end of the day.

RIB TIP: Never put raw ribs onto the grill unless you like eating shoe leather. I always bring a big pot of water to a boil and pop the ribs in until you see fat floating on the water. Take them out and then they are ready for the grill. 

I used the Spiced Brandy and Herb Marinade on the  chicken and let it soak in overnight. Then I grilled some of the chicken with just the marinade on it and some I grilled and then coated with bread crumbs and popped in the oven for 15 min. There's some of both on this plate.

The pork chops were sprinkled with the Molasses Bacon Seasoning and OMG.. were they good. They had a wonderful smoky bacon flavor with a little bit of sweetness.

The burgers were cooked with the Montreal Steak seasoning. It added an extra tang to plain old burgers. There were only 4 burger left at the end of the day. The hot dogs were totally gone. (I tried them with some of the Brown Sugar Bourbon BBQ sauce and they were really tasty.

The last thing I grilled was some corn on the cob. I just wrapped them in tin foil and popped them on. The chicken is also cooking here between the corn.










The BBQ turned out to be a huge success. So thank you Crowdtap and thank you McCormick. Hope I get to do another one soon.