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megram - dwsummer - Index

Looking for inspiration for your next barbecue? Think kebobs! They come in all sizes,
shapes and flavours, and easily fit into every part of the meal, from appetizer to dessert.
As well, if you let each person prepare his own kebob with his favourite ingredients,
you’ll please even the pickiest eaters at the table.
Start With The Stick!
Keep a selection of skewers on hand. Bamboo skewers in several lengths can be
found in every supermarket. Use short ones for appetizers, medium for desserts and
longer for the main course. Softer foods, such as fish and fruit, sometimes slip around on
the skewers so you may want to use two parallel wooden skewers to solve this problem.
Soaking wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes before using helps to slow the
burning process. If you keep the food pieces close together and touching each other,
the skewers won’t burn in the middle and break into pieces.
Metal skewers also come in many lengths and shapes. Use the flat, thicker ones for
meat and other dense foods. Because vegetable pieces such as bell peppers are crisp,
they sometimes break while they are being threaded onto skewers. Choose thinner
skewers to help keep the pieces intact. Prepare separate skewers of meat or fish and
vegetables if one takes longer to cook than the other.
Add Flavour
Marinades and basting sauces need not be complicated. Olive or canola oil
flavoured with crushed garlic, pepper, chopped fresh herbs and spices is perfect
for both marinating and basting. Only prepare a small quantity, as this mixture
can only be refrigerated safely for one week. I often use purchased or homemade
salad dressing for marinating and basting. If you plan to use the marinade
for basting, you must first boil it for five minutes. You might also want to check
out what’s available commercially for marinating and grilling. Choose a flavour
that matches the rest of your menu — perhaps Italian for vegetables and chicken,
something with lemon and dill for fish, Greek style for lamb.
Ready to Grill
Racks or baskets that hold several kebobs together simplify the grilling process.
These can be purchased or you can easily make your own. Place the filled skewers between
two (oiled) metal cake cooling racks. Use metal twist ties at the four corners to tie the
racks together. This makeshift kebob holder can easily be flipped over during grilling.
Why not plan a kebob party the next time you entertain? Here are some menu
suggestions to wet your appetite and get you started. Be sure to plan your menu
around fresh, delicious local produce as it comes into season and onto market and
grocery store shelves.
Appealing Appetizers
Grilled Antipasto Skewers (recipe follows) are attractive, delicious and easy
to prepare. All the goodies normally assembled on an antipasto platter are
threaded onto skewers and grilled. Add crusty bread or breadsticks to complement
these tasty tidbits.
For a cool starter, wrap chunks of melon or whole strawberries in prosciutto
and thread onto short skewers.
A popular Spanish Tapas called Banderillas features small skewers of bite-size
chunks of tuna, roasted red peppers, olives, cooked potato wedges, marinated onions
or artichokes, cooked shrimp, smoked ham, grilled chorizo sausage pieces and many
other tasty morsels served with garlic mayonnaise for dipping. These are not grilled so
can be assembled ahead, ready to serve.
The Main Attraction
Dinner kebobs can be made with just about any meat, fish or poultry. Choose vegetables
such as asparagus, mushrooms, small zucchini rounds (insert skewers through skin,
not centre of zucchini) and onions to complement your choice.
Try Cajun catfish (purchased already seasoned) with onion pieces, zucchini rounds
and rainbow peppers. Brush lightly with flavoured oil during grilling.
Grill shrimp or chicken pieces with fruit chunks such as pineapple, peaches, oranges,
mango or strawberries (recipe follows).
Marinated Beef and Vegetable Kebobs (recipe follows) are the usual choice for summer
birthday dinners in our family. Leftovers are great piled onto crusty rolls.
Other combinations that work well include lamb kebobs with tzatziki to dip,
Indonesian saté (such as chicken, pork, beef) with purchased peanut sauce or teriyaki
glazed salmon. Commercial marinades are available for all of these international dishes.
CAJUN CATFISH SKEWERS
GRILLED ANTIPASTO SKEWERS
Ottawa Page 2 Due West/Due East Magazine • Summer 2008