Guaranteed Good Time BBQ Food

Hello ladies, sorry for the belated post, but I'll try to make it worth the wait! We had our first summer BBQ last weekend so I thought I'd share our party favorites. Enjoy.

Portuguese Sangria (this is Cait's mum's recipe but has been a mainstay at our summer...and sometimes winter...parties)
1 bottle (750 mL) dry red wine
1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup orange-flavored liquer
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cans (or 3 cups) ginger ale
fruit

Mix all ingredients except ginger ale; refrigerate until chilled.
Just before serving, stir in ginger ale. Garnish with fruit.
Call a friend to drive you home. :)

Kendall's famous Pulled Bison on Baguette (not to be confused with "beef on a bun")
5-6 lbs Bison (any roast seems to work for me)

2 cups ketchup
3 Tbsp brown mustard
2 Tbsp worchestershire sauce
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup barbeque sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar

1-2 baguettes

Cook meat in water (almost enough to cover) with tight lid around 250 degrees for 8-10 hours (I use a slow cooker but you could do it in the oven). Drain off liquid and pull the meat apart using two forks. Mix sauce; add bison. Mix thoroughly and heat. Toast slices of baguette in broiler. Serve bison on baguettes.

Seafood Dip to feed a crowd
This is a multi-layered, pretty dip. I like to use a glass dish to show it off. Unfortunately for you, I don't ever use a recipe, so I'm basically making up the quantities. I really don't think you can mess it up though, so just go with what feels right. :) I use a 9X12 dish but you could do different sizes, it just makes your layers different thicknesses.

Base
1 block cream cheese, softened (feel free to use low-fat, I don't think anyone ever notices)
~1/2 cup mayonnaise
---mix ingredients together in bowl using electric mixer until smooth. Spread in bottom of dish.

Second layer (can substitute seafood dip if you prefer)
~5 Tbsp ketchup
~3 tsp horseradish sauce
3 glugs of worchestershire
--mix together in bowl, spread over previous layer.

Third layer
cut up crab (I use crab-flavoured pollock)
cut up pieces of shrimp (not necessary, but a nice addition)
--sprinkle over previous layer

Fourth layer
very small pieces of cut up tomato (as an uber-picky person, I use cherry or grape tomatos cut up small)
--ditto

Fifth layer
grated cheese (I prefer marble cheese)
--and again

Final layer
sliced green onions (one bunch is enough)
--done!

Chill for at least a half hour. Can be made the day before. Serve with tortilla chips. You can't leave it out too long, but it doesn't usually last that long so you don't have to worry.

Ritz Toffee Square (A.K.A. the most ridiculous recipe... but so darn good it hurts)

1 Box original Ritz crackers (~250g)
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk (300 mL)
1 package Hersey Chipits - Skor Toffee bits (200 g)

Crush Ritz crackers to crumb-like consistency (I do this before opening the bag - good to get your agression out) place in bowl
Add Skor Toffee bits
Add sweetened condensed milk
Mix thoroughly
Place in 8X8 pyrex pan (I don't have one this size so I use a metal pan, but I grease it up first)
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Let cool, then cut and serve.
Ridiculous.

Change your life BBQ Sauce
Okay, maybe it won't change your life, but the fact that I can make BBQ sauce, how I like it, whenever I want, changed the game in my house (oh how I loathe bottled barbeque sauce now!).
Here's the basic recipe, then you can get creative and make changes to suit your tastes:

1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup mollasess
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
salt and pepper

other exciting additions to try: minced chipotle chiles, jalepenos.

I also like to do a dry rub on the meat prior to saucing it up - it would include things like dry mustard, paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt, cayenne pepper. Mix these all together, rub on meat and let sit for a bit. Save a little bit and you can mix it into the sauce. Mmmmm.....

Happy grilling!