Food: Shish Kabobs

We're in the middle of tailgating season right now and it just so happens one of my favorite things on the grill works pretty great as tailgating food: Shish Kabobs. In three simple steps (1. Marinate the meat overnight; 2. Skewer the morning of the game; 3. Place in gallon-size ziplock baggies for easy transporting) you have something easy and delish to throw on the grill. And since these bad boys consist of both veggies and meat, you don't need to pack a million side dishes to go along with them! If you're in charge of all of the tailgate food, you could turn this into a complete Mediterranean meal by buying some pitas and hummus and mixing up a quick tabouli mix with fresh, diced tomatoes. Ask a friend to bring some cookies or brownies and you're all set!

MM Note: I don't know why I don't make these more often. First of all, the marinade transforms any meat into something tangy, juicy and flavorful. And second, they're so easy! I generally do a mix of chicken and beef to keep the crowds pleased and alternate skewers with pearl onions (defrosted frozen pearl onions save time since they're already peeled), grape tomatoes, pineapple chunks, sliced green pepper, and garlic.

Shish Kabob Marinade
MM

Ingredients

• 1 c Cooking Oil (I like to use something with little-to-no flavor like Smart Balance)
• 1/4 c Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 1/2 t Kosher Salt
• 1 T Fresh Cracked Pepper
• 2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
• 3/4 c Soy Sauce
• 2 T Dry Mustard
• 1/4 c Fresh Parsley, chopped
• 1/2 c Wine Vinegar
• Juice from 1 Lemon
  

Food: Simple Stir-Fry (and not-so-easy rice)

On Friday I decided to make a recipe out of this month's Bon Appetit (May 2009): Stir-fried Beef, Broccoli and Yams. It turned out to be a very easy dish (minus our slight disaster with the short-grain brown rice) and was a nice combination of sweet, crunchy and spicy. Some slight modifications I made to the recipe included throwing in some water chestnuts and doubling the amount of red pepper (since we like things a little more spicy). I think the stir-fry would have also been good with peanuts instead of the water chestnuts, so I'll have to try that next time. The sweet potatoes in the sauce reminded us both of candied yams...so they definitely needed the beef, broccoli and heat to balance out the sweetness.

Stir-Fried Beef, Broccoli, and Yams

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper (or a little more if you want some heat)
• 1 1-pound flank steak, cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil, divided
• 4 cups broccoli florets (about 8 ounces)
• 1 8-ounce yam (red-skinned sweet potato), peeled, cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices (I used a regular sweet potato and it turned out fine)
• 2 teaspoons chopped peeled fresh ginger

PREPARATION

• Stir first 4 ingredients in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Set sauce aside. Place beef in large bowl; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add cornstarch and toss to coat.
• Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in large wok over high heat. beef mixture; stir-fry until no longer pink outside, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer beef mixture to medium bowl. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet. Add broccoli, yam, and ginger. Toss to coat; sprinkle with salt and pepper. sauce.
• Cover, reduce heat to medium-high, and cook until vegetables are just tender, about 5
  minutes. Add beef mixture. Toss until sauce coats beef, about 1 minute. Serve.