Perfect Weather for a Kabob Party

While August usually gets a bad rap for its weather, I actually enjoy the month because every now and then, you get those cool nights that remind you fall is on the way. After finding so many fun kabob recipes in this summer's Everyday Food, I decided to invite a few friends over and have a kabob sampler that included Shrimp, Beef, Pork, and Butternut Squash (recipes for all are below).

Kabob Rock Star

Tips for A Successful Kabob Party:

• Skewer Ahead of Time. Because of the risk of cross contamination when it comes to raw meats, I chose to do all the hard-core assembly beforehand while saving the sauces for the party itself.
• Have a Grilling Partner. You will be busy making sauces, entertaining friends, and prepping what is going on the grill next, so for the best outcome you should assign someone to the grill itself.
• Always have a pineapple on hand. No sauces, no seasoning---just caramelization at work on a delicious fruit.

Beef with Veggies, Squash with Indian Spices

Flank Steak Kebabs with Peanut Sauce
Everyday Food

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural)
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon hot chili sauce, such as Sriracha
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped roasted salted peanuts
• 1 pound flank steak, cut against the grain into 1/2-inch slices (halved crosswise if long)
• 1 large zucchini, cut into 3/4-inch half-moons
• 1 large bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 lime, quartered (optional)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

1. Heat a grill to medium-high. Clean and lightly oil hot grill. Place a small flameproof pot on grill; add peanut butter, coconut milk, chili sauce, and fish sauce and whisk until smooth and heated through. Transfer sauce to a serving bowl and top with peanuts.
2. Alternately thread steak, zucchini, bell pepper, and lime onto four 8-inch skewers, beginning and ending with steak. Season with salt and pepper and grill, turning occasionally, until steak is browned and cooked medium and peppers are crisp-tender, 7 to 9 minutes. Serve with peanut sauce.

Indian Spiced Squash Kebabs
Cooking Light, June 2008

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 pound baby pattypan squash, cut in half crosswise
• 1 medium red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh mint leaves (Optional)

1. Note: Due to the season, I was only able to secure a Butternut Squash. While the end result still ended up quite tasty, the squash took a lot longer to cook until tender (ending up charred), and it was hell getting them on to the skewers. If you are in the same boat, slice the pieces smaller to shorten the cooking time, or consider blanching them first to soften them up before placing them on the grill.
2. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl; toss well. Thread squash and onion alternately onto each of 8 (10-inch) skewers. Place skewers on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 10 minutes or until tender, turning frequently. Drizzle with juice. Sprinkle with mint.

Shrimp Boil Kebabs

Shrimp-Boil Kebabs
Everyday Food

• 1/2 pound small new potatoes (Requires Precooking)
• 2 small ears corn, cut into 1 1/2-inch rounds
• 1/2 pound andouille, cut into 1-inch rounds
• 1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 4 teaspoons hot-pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
• Lemon wedges, for serving (Optional)  

1. Note: Of all the kebabs I made, this was the only one where things were not cooking at the same time. Resist the urge to grill the shrimp and andouille on the same skewer, as the sausage will end up underdone. Instead, split the skewers so the shrimp cooks with the pre-cooked potatoes and the andouille is with the corn.
2. In a medium pot, bring potatoes to a boil in salted water over medium-high. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 12 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Alternately thread potatoes, corn, andouille, and shrimp onto four 8-inch skewers.
3. Heat a grill to medium-high. Clean and lightly oil hot grill. In a small bowl, combine butter, hot-pepper sauce, and Old Bay Seasoning. Grill kebabs, turning and brushing with butter mixture occasionally, until shrimp are opaque throughout and corn is tender and beginning to char, about 8 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

And of COURSE my famous Pork Kebabs with Hoisin Glaze

Finally, we grilled the trusty, most amazingly sweet/savory kebab you will ever try, the Everyday Food recipe for Pork Kebabs with Ginger Hoisin Glaze. Still amazing.

The Most Amazing Kebab You Could Ever Grill

The glamor pose

Amazing how much a good recipe can turn around your entire outlook on cooking. Step one to get me out of my malaise was get a good food magazine—and just like that, Everyday Food arrived the next evening with a feature on Kebabs. Perfect for Memorial Day.

The Prep Table (with magazine as a guide)

Firing up the Grill

Color is half the fun of a kebab

Charring Up on the Grill

Ginger-Hoisin Glaze
(Makes 6-8 kebabs with 4 meat chunks each)
1/4 c hoisin sauce
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. rice vinegar
1 T. finely grated, peeled fresh ginger  (really, REALLY key)

Everyday Food paired the glaze with pork loin, snap peas, and scallions---which we tried first and immediately devoured. That's when we pulled out the frozen chicken breast, and discovered the glaze was EVER BETTER with chicken. Snap peas and onions really added to the flavor, but adding in some red pepper for color was fantastic as well.

Pretty much, anything is great with this sauce. Make it immediately.

Shrimp Kebab with Sriracha-Lemon Glaze
Because we had no idea the sauce would be that amazing, we also made a second kebab with shrimp and pineapple. Not wanting to throw it on without its own sauce, I whipped up a quick sauce of lemon juice, sriracha, olive oil, and garlic powder. The spice was nice, but this in no way compared to the hoisin glaze.

Fun with shrimp heads.

Shrimp on the grill

And, of course, for dessert we threw some pineapple smothered in brown sugar on the grill. Enjoy the inspiration--let me know if you like it as much as we did.