Fire For The Barbecue

 Barbecue food can be somewhat routine. It's the same old burgers and dogs or ribs and chicken. The salad are blah as are those ears of corn. What do do ? Add some spice and fire to your grilling.

Fiery marinades are nothing new. They've been in Asian cooking foe centuries, livening uup all sorts of meats and veggies.One such ingredient chili crisp is becoming flavor of the summer with many home chefs adding it to their menus.It's actually an easy make and can be used in not just grilled food but to liven up omelets and even spaghetti and pizza sauces.It starts with frying shallots and garlic in peanut oil. Since it;s the crisp part that makes it so special, you can also add some peanuts or sliced ginger. Add to tat sugar soy sauce and the appropriate heat.Gochugaru, or Korean chili flakes is highly recommended but if you can;t find it a mix of cayenne and paprika will do the trick..Also add a cinnamon stick and star anise which brings some sweetness as does the sugar to the chili crisp. The peppery mix is added to the shallots and garlic after they've been removed from the oil.This allows them to  crisp up and give the mix that nice crunchiness. They're added back into the oil while the cinnamon stick and star anise pods are taken out. The entire oil is them left to refrigerate , usually overnight. Use a few tablespoons of this on burgers or even slather ribs in it before grilling.

Of course sriracha also works well in spicing things up. Add a few drops of it to ketchup to liven up sliders and any sausages. Sriracha mustard is another great condiment that can be drizzled on dogs or added to any potato salad. It's an easy make by combining a cup of yellow mustard with a quarter cup of the hot sauce, two tablespoons honey and a teaspoon of lime juice. Mix and serve how you like. Simple salads such as macaroni can easily get a lift from diced pepperoni. Spiced ham can also be added to this to make it more substantial. A teaspoon of pepperoncini flakes can also bring up the heat and make any salad  - even three bean much more interesting.Even grilled seafood can get a lift from some tasty fire. Whip up some bang bang shrimp sauce that's a signature Bonefish Grill dish.It's combining  half a cup of mayonnaise with two tablespoons Thai chili sauce (this can be found in your grocery's international aisle) with one tablespoon Sriracha sauce . A teaspoon of rice vinegar is added to thin it out. This is also good on grilled crab legs too.

Liven up your Memorial Day barbecue by adding some heat.  There's nothing like  some zing with the hamburgers or hot dogs, ribs chicken or shrimp. It's makes for a more exciting grill.

Hi Mountain Bacon Seasoning Making Bacon Better

Can bacon be improved? Are we not happy with the salty , smokey flavor? Surprisingly it seems we're not. That's where Hi Mountain Seasonings comes in with their latest creation  - flavor sprinkles for those strips in three exciting flavors.

Hi Mountain Seasonings is devoted to improving meat. They're more known for beef jerkies - which are amazing  - and marinades. Carnivores can also buy  the company's curing and smoking equipment such as aromatic cans to have highly flavored cuts. They came out with burger seasonings and it made sense that they should create one for bacon.I decided to try it, to amp up the flavor  of vegan soy bacon.

As you can see vegan bacon does leave a lot to be desired. The plus side is that's it not super soaked in its' own fat and  it is healthy for you. There are three flavors are Black Pepper & Brown Sugar, Sticky Bun and Pineapple Sriracha.

It's just liberally sprinkling on the flavorings and microwaving for two minutes.

The Sticky Bun flavor was sweet and full of vanilla. I can see it topping a French toast strata. As for the brown sugar and pepper, it would be great if you were serving pancakes or griddle cakes, with the strips on top. As for the pineapple blended with sriracha , think appetizers where the flavored bacon is wrapped around pineapple or mango chunks.If you're into snacking a bowl of bacon - as decadent as that sounds - then sprinkle the flavorings over it - or mix it with popcorn - for real movie time treat.

Can bacon be improved? Yes!Dash some Hi Mountain Bacon Seasonings on it for a new spin on a classic favorite.

Halloweenies And Fright Burgers

It's the start of Halloween week and that means one thing  -fun food!! It 's getting creative and coming up with ghoulishly good treats and meals. Make these scary dogs and fright burgers for dinner or for a weekend of parties! They're sure to be loved by big and little trick or treaters across the board.

Hot dogs are one of the best mediums for All Hallow's fun. They can be dressed in as  costumes just as  real dogs can. One of the most fun is mummy dogs, These are simply taking a sheet of Pillsbury crescent rolls and first pressing the perforations to seal them. Take a knife and then cut each dough rectangle into ten thin strips.Also, cut slices of American, cheddar, or Monterey Jack cheese into four pieces..  Wrap four dough strips around the dogs and cheese and leave a 1/2 inch space for a 'face'. Bake for thirteen to seventeen minutes or until golden brown. Use a toothpick and mustard to draw on faces.Serve with any kind of mustard , from honey to spicy Dijon. For a healthier spin use soy dogs and soy cheese. You can also make your own gluten-free dough too.Another cool ghoul idea is monster fingers. It's just simply cutting the franks so  they look like fried, boiled or - really creepy - grilled fingers.Slice a square top layer off so it looks like a nail bed. Then slice two lines an inch below the nail and three lines midway to resemble knuckles. Make it look even gorier by putting a thin line of ketchup along the nail bed and maybe a little oozing out of the "knuckles".Serve on pita rounds cut square  to resemble bandages.

Burgers are another versatile "dress up" dinner. They , too, can be turned into yummy mummies. It's just taking any of your favorite sliced cheese  and  cut it into strips. Place haphazardly across a cooked burger, leaving a space for eyes. Cook burgers and cheese for five minutes or until cheese gets melty. Put two dots of mayo  in the eye space. Top with olive quarters. Jack o lanterns are another fun dinner, Use slices of good sharp cheddar and a paring knife to cut out eyes, nose, and teeth, Place cheese on burgers five minutes before serving or until cheese melts around the edges. You can make homemade devil burgers, patties that carry a huge amount of heat. It's taking a regular hamburger recipe and livening it up a dash of chili powder. This is perfect for teens and teens, but be careful with younger kids - who many not be used to hotness. Sriracha sauce can be subbed in  for the chili powder. Serve your devil burgers not with ketchup or barbecue sauce but with a cool ranch dressing or dip.This ices down the burgers a lot and it also goes well with onion rings and fries which have to be served.You can also make devil meatballs too to go with an equally fiery arribiata sauce.

Hot dogs and hamburgers are even better to decorate than pumpkins. There are so many neat methods to serve them for  Halloween week. Discover the fun! Make them for  tasty treating.