Grandma Vina's marinade secret

Note: I'm posting this entry for my editor Bill Cieslewicz. He's too chicken to sign on to Blogger. Chicken... Somehow it always comes back to food... Nicci

It’s no secret that the key to successful grilling starts with the marinade. What’s surprises me is the number of people who still don’t know about my "secret’’ ingredient, which I’ve been telling the world about since the day Grandma Vina, our baby sitter in Reno, Nev., clued me in some 20 years ago. I don’t remember her full name, but she was from the Philippines, was about 4 feet 6 inches tall and loved my daughter to death. So much so that my wife, Lisa, became insanely jealous of Grandma Vina and quit her job.

Here is the secret ingredient:
A can (or two or three, depending on how much meat you are grilling) of Seven-Up or Sprite. Actually, any carbonated beverage will do. The carbonation drives the flavor into the meat. Note to vegetarians: I’ve grilled Tofu steaks with this marinade and it works well.

Some friends swear by Coke or Pepsi as the base. I’ve tried those, along with Dr. Pepper and a host of other soda pop, but I always come back to Seven-Up. Whatever, you do, AVOID avoid diet sodas in your marinade.

Here’s a recipe I turn to often:

Grandma Vina’s Marinade
A can or two of Seven-Up
1 packet of taco seasoning mix (try the hot/spicy version)
Half a bottle of soy sauce (I prefer low-salt Kikkoman)
Some Worcestershire sauce
Some sesame oil (if you have it; don’t’ go buy it for this)
Several squirts of a bottle of ketchup
Even more squirts of spicy brown mustard
Lots of garlic powder or diced garlic or whole cloves of garlic. You get the idea.
A few shakes of cayenne pepper
A few shakes of Sturkey seasoning
Hot pepper sauce (optional)
2 to 3 pounds of meat (I prefer boneless chicken breasts)

Mix everything up in a big Zip-loc bag and let it soak for 12 hours or more in the frig. Or if you buy chicken breasts in the big plastic zipper bag, use that. Cook thoroughly on a grill or bake in oven at 350 for about 45 minutes. I err on the side of overcooking. Serve it with green beans and dirty rice.

Mmmm.