Shish Kebabble

Shish kebabs, does anyone even call them that anymore? We grilled shish kebabs in the summer all the time growing up, usually some combination of veggies and chicken or shrimp.

I think the name is more complicated than what it really is… food on sticks.

Although I don’t have a grill, I still love to cook up kebabs on the stovetop or in the oven. This time I used: shrimp, steak, red onion, white onion, cauliflower, bell pepper, and cantaloupe.

It’s a good idea to blanch cauliflower or broccoli before you skewer them, because they take longer to cook than everything else.

I always like to mix sweet + savory when making kebabs. Cantaloupe, pineapple, mango and apple are all delicious when coated with BBQ sauce.

The bell pepper came from the freezer, originally purchased last month downtown at Haymarket.

Once I had assembled all the ingredients, I got ready to skewer.

If you are grilling, you should soak wooden skewers in water before using them, to avoid burning. I find in the oven or stovetop, they don’t burn.

You can either marinate everything before hand, or do what I did and paint each kebab after it was assembled.

How colorful and delicious do these look?! All the different colors from my ingredients really came together for an appetizing summer meal.

I made about 20 skewers from all the prep work I had done.

Then, I poured some BBQ sauces into a bowl and slathered it all over the kebabs. I was careful not to miss a spot.

These can cook up for about 3-4 minutes per side, depending on how to choose to cook the kebabs. I just set them on a hot, wide pan on the stove, and they browned up beautifully.

Unfortunately, I was too eager to eat and I forgot to take an ‘after’ picture. I’ll have to let you imagine how amazing these turned out.

Here are a few other kebab ideas to try out:

Veggie Lover – skewer broccoli, cauliflower, mushroom caps, squash, zucchini and carrots, coat in BBQ sauce.

Buffalo Kebab - skewer chicken/steak/shrimp, carrots, celery, onion, and bell pepper, coat in buffalo sauce.

Hawaiian – skewer chicken/pork/shrimp, pineapple, bell pepper, onion, coat with pineapple glaze.

Chicken Broccoli – skewer chicken, broccoli, onion, and coat with lemon pepper sauce.