Shawarma Chicken Kabobs

I saw these curled circle kabob skewers at Home Goods on clearance of course. I thought how  these would look on my white plates to make a great presentation! Well what a pain these were. First they were a little difficult to hold on to while threading the meat on the skewer. It was easy to poke yourself with the metal tips, but then I always get poked with bamboo slivers on the bamboo skewers.

• Then once it was loaded it didn't fit very well on the large plates that I have. I kinda had to overlap them and hope they didn't fall off on the way to the grill. Not only that...they were hard to fit on my small grill. I could only fit two at a time. I tried to fit all 4 but there was just no way. When I went to turn them the tip would get caught under the grate...so it was quite an interesting grilling experience. Even having to do them in batches, once I got the hang of it, it wasn't so bad, and they sure did turn out tasty! I was lucky to think about it early enough in the day where I could marinate them for a few hours.  
• Ingredients:
• 3 - 4 chicken breast
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon prepared creamy horseradish sauce (optional)
• 3 gloves garlic
• juice from one lemon about 1/4 cup
• 2 teaspoons cumin ( or more, I like a lot of cumin)
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon black vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, (I used chives because that's what I had)
• salt and pepper

Cut up chicken into cubes and place in a glass dish. Mix together ingredients and pour over chicken and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 - 8 hours. Thread the chicken on the skewers and grill until done.

  I didn't really measure I just tossed it in the bowl I hope I remembered everything I added, but it's a very forgiving recipe. I salted and peppered them after the marinading time just before the grill.

 We all enjoyed it nice, tender and full of flavor. You can serve it with a garlic tahini sauce and wrapped in a pita, but we just slid them off the circle skewers and ate them!!! 

Ginger Lime Seafood Skewers

Okay a lot has been going on, as with all of you too I'm sure. I just don't handle it as well as you all do. Some fun things...a new teacher (this year) at our school co-owns the magazine Edible Sarasota, and they were throwing a launch party for Edible Sarasota Cook's, all the staff at our school was invited to this closed event for only 250 guests. It was held outside, in front of Whole Foods where they closed off that part of the street. The booths were offered to everyone who advertised in the magazine. It was fun to mingle with co-worker and some foodies in Sarasota. I just wish I could meet Jaden Hair, from Steamy Kitchen, and some new blogger twitter friends The Three Kitcheneers.

There was plenty of good food, from ahi tuna nachos, truffle oil, chocolate truffles, to pesto penne, brisket sliders, vegan brisket, and the best clam chowder! I was too busy trying and tasting everything to get many photos. Now I know what I have to work on before I go to any big food event! I will post the nachos, my favorite later. We all received a gift bag...

these plates were in our gift bag from a company called VerTerra, the plates are made from fallen palm leaves. They come in an assortment of sizes, and at the event that many booth used them to serve their food on, (I wasn't thinking, I should of saved some of those, now I really need to buy some more, I love them). In our gift bag we were given 8 appetizer size. So I had to try them out! Using my new hand crafted glass snowman appetizer skewers, Gulf shrimp and salmon...I made some tapas!


Ingredients:
1 pound mixed seafood, I used salmon and shrimp
1 clove garlic chopped
1 shallot chopped
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 tablespoon lime juice
lime zest
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon black and white toasted sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste (and red pepper flakes if you like)

Whisk together the ingredients in a non-metallic bowl, except shrimp, salmon, and sesame seeds. Clean and devein the shrimp, and cut the salmon into bite size pieces, you can remove the skin if you like. Add the seafood to the marinade, cover and let marinate for 25-30 minutes in refrigerator.

Thread the shrimp and salmon onto the skewers, if you are using wooden skewers be sure to soak them when the fish are marinating so they won't burn. Sprinkle with salt pepper and sesame seeds.

Grill, broil or use a grill pan, cook for 3 - 6 minutes until done. You can garnish with cilantro and lime or mint. Serve with a dipping sauce, but they were actually good just as they are.



This year for Thanksgiving, I went to my aunt and uncle's, I usually make the pies and a vegetable to bring. One of the students I take care of at school, her mother owns a French bakery, and my daughter and I usually visit there on Saturday mornings or Wednesday evenings when my husband participates in a 5K run held by Mr Beery's a couple of doors down from the bakery. Just look at the beautiful pie that she gave me the night before Thanksgiving...such a good thing to go there at closing time...and knowing the owners!


Of course I had to sneak some beach photos in my post. A few weeks ago they held the second annual Masters Sand sculptor completion at Siesta Beach. I was there early...before the crowds, but got to watch some of the artist at work.


The fine, white, quartz sand is perfect for this kind of thing. They gather piles of the sand in front loaders for each team. After them completion on Monday they let them stand until 5:00 they bulldoze them down. It seems such a shame, almost as bad as when they wash down the streets and sidewalks after the chalk art fair the week before. I guess it disposable art at it's finest!

Oh I made sesame noodles to go with the seafood skewers...Maranda gobbled them up!
More tapas to come....I received some beautiful salt plates too!
See you soon!

Kafta - Lebanese meatballs on a stick!

Since I made the Lebanese seven spice mix I just had to find something so I could use the spice in. It smelled so good with all the fresh ground spices all mixed together...I couldn't resist. So I decided to make some kafta, you know how good food on a stick is...and meatballs onre y a stick?...what could be better? :D I didn't use the grill this time, but I think next time I will. I've seen them shaped in patties, like footballs, cigars, eggs or hot dogs wrapped around the skewers...anyway you make them I am suou'll like them, so much flavor here.



Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound ground lamb (or you could use half beef)
4 green onions chopped
1 bunch parsley chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped (can you believe I ran out of garlic!.. so I used garlic chili paste instead)
a handful of mint chopped
1 tablespoon Lebanese seven spice or sometimes called mixed spice
1 tablespoon garlic-chili sauce (you can add your own heat preference or not, some like cayenne)
1 egg lightly beaten

Mix it all together (in a bowl of course) and cover and rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes to get the flavors merging all together nicely and the meatball will form easily. If using wooden skewers soak them for the same 30 minutes so they won't burn on the grill. I don't like to form the meatball too firm so it won't be too dense after cooking...just my preference.

You can grill them or make them on a, grill pan stove-top, I browned them on the grill pan first and transferred the pan to the oven and finished them off. You would grill them like you would burgers, just make sure the meat is cooked no longer pink, but try not to overcook them.


Serve with a warm pita and your favorite chutney, garlic tahini sauce or like I did a cucumber yogurt sauce...

( I almost didn't post this photo, but it was the only one with the sauce)


For the sauce I mixed some1 cup Greek yogurt, 1/2 cucumber shredded or chopped, 1/2 tsp dill more if using fresh, a dash of garlic powder and a squeeze of lemon juice.


They were tasty and so good hot, room temperature or cold, perfect for my bento box lunch.


Here is the bento that I made from the leftovers. I made enough to freeze the extra, but they were so good for lunches!

Pork Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce

There is just something about eating meat on a stick! It is fun and casual and always tastes better eating something from a stick! The dipping sauce doesn't dampen the fun either. The other day I found some thin sliced center cut boneless pork loin chops on sale. I figured slice that thin it would be a quick meal. Then when I got them home they were extremely thin so I decided to make satay and just sliced each one in half lengthwise, I loved how easy it was to prepare the strips.

For the marinade I used a combination of several recipes that I have run across over the years.

Marinade ingredients:

1 shallot (or you can use onion)

3 cloves garlic - smashed and chopped

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon mirin (or any sweet wine you might have)

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 tablespoon chili oil

2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

dash of paprika and chipotle chili powder (optional)


I didn't use any sugar in the marinade...just my personal preference. I just used the mirin to sweeten it just a touch. I also didn't use peppers...my husband's preference. So if you like it spicy you can add some peppers or cayenne to spice it up.

Place the meat in the marinade and let it set in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 hours. Soak the bamboo skewers in water so they won't burn when grilling or broiling the skewers.

Run the skewers through the strips of meat weaving in and out. Place on a broil pan, and broil for 3 minutes per side, until done.

I don't have a gas grill so I figured it would be better to broil them, instead of waiting for the charcoal to be ready when they are on the grill for such a short time.

For the peanut dipping sauce you can make it several ways, but this is what I did.

Peanut dipping sauce:

1/2 cup organic natural peanut butter (homemade or store-bought)

1 small shallot chopped fine

1 clove garlic chopped fine

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/3 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce (a spicy sweet sauce) I was able to sneak in a little heat :D

fresh chopped cilantro

With a little vegetable oil or sesame oil in a sauce pan and saute shallot and garlic until soft about 4 minutes. Add peanut butter and the other ingredients and heat through. Add some fresh chopped cilantro after removed from heat just before serving.

You can adjust the liquids depending how thick you like the sauce.

Enjoy as a meal or snack.




On Mother's Day we just enjoyed the morning at Sarasota Bayfront, where we had breakfast sitting outside enjoying the beautiful weather. We were back again today with my husband's brother and girlfriend that came down for a visit.

Tucker always like it because we can take him along with us when we go. Everyone treats him so nice and makes an old dog like him feel so special.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day and enjoyed it as much as I did...I know it's late. So if it's too late I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend this week!

My last post was dropped and I had a few comments that were lost as well. I might try to re-post it, but I know with the last weeks of school I am just looking forward to the summer! I'll have a lot more time to play around here!

Ginger Sesame Grilled Shrimp Skewers

Since I just posted the recipe for the rice in this photo... I thought I would share how I made the shrimp. Now I don't eat shrimp, but I do make it for my family. I always get these skewers already cleaned and skewered when they are on sale at Publix. That way I can make my family happy and I don't have to clean shrimp. When I make recipes that call for shrimp I usually just replace the shrimp with scallops. This time I did the shrimp for them and bought a few scallops for myself, but them Maranda wanted to try a scallop...so I let her have one of mine.

I just marinade it all with a sesame dressing that you can use for a dressing or marinade.


Ingredients:
1 piece about 1" peeled ginger root (minced)
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped shallot
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons mirin
1 pinch salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
sesame seeds
If using it for a dressing I add some pureed carrots and celery.
Whisk together ingredients and marinade the shrimp in a zipper baggie. It works well for scallops, and tuna steaks too. I usually sprinkle the sesame seeds on later. If doing a seared tuna I roll it in black and white sesame seeds before searing.

Grill the skewers on a hot grill for around 3 minutes per side until nice and pink. Grill or pan fry the scallops.


Just a few shots taken at the Ringling Museum grounds.

and another Gulf of Mexico sunset refection.

See you all tomorrow!

Ginger Miso Tuna Skewers ~

I have been trying to get this post up most of the day, my internet has been up and down. So frustrating!
This is a nice way to grill fish, it's easy to handle while cooking and if you want help to skewer it I'm sure you'll get it. Kids seem to like most anything if it is in bite size and on a skewer. I used some fresh tuna and you can use any fish that will hold up on the skewers.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup white miso (fermented soybean paste)
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoons tamari sauce
2 tablespoons minced green onions(optional)
1-2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon dijon style mustard
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola oil or olive oil
pinch of red pepper flakes
mixed sesame seeds to sprinkle on
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Soak the skewers for at least 30 minutes before using them to keep from burning too badly.
Cut the tuna in cubes or strips so they will fit on the skewers easily, place them in a zip top plastic bag or you can use a glass dish. Whisk together all ingredients and pour over the tuna, refrigerate for at least 30 min. Once the tuna is on the skewers sprinkle with the sesame seeds. I used back and white sesame seeds.
Make sure the grill is nice and hot before placing the tuna on it. Grill for 3-4 minutes on each side, until cooked through the way you like it.

Serve it with a wasabi mayo or I like it with sriracha and mayonnaise. Again there are so many dipping sauces that would work well here. Or like my daughter, she just ate them as is.

Perfect for tailgating!

This was an interesting sky we noticed as we were walking the dog. By the time I ran in to get my camera the jet was already down the line. It seemed to follow a slight line that was left by a prior jet. You can also see the moon was out.

See you all tomorrow for Tailgating Time!

Lamb Kabobs

I made these a little while ago but never posted it because of the photos, (they were not as dark as they looked in the photo), and they sure taste better than they look.

I only had a pound of ground lamb, because I wasn't sure if my daughter would like it or how these would turn out. All the recipes that I looked at was for 2 pounds of meat so I adjusted it for our small family. I just combined the flavors that sounded good to us...or me!

Of course you can add or subtract and adjust for the way you like it. Feel free to double the recipe. My daughter liked it until she found out that it was lamb. Then I told her she ate a lot of lamb when she was younger, and she liked it!
Ingredients:
1 pounds lean ground lamb
2-3 oz goat cheese
2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
2 teaspoons green chile paste
1 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoons paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup vegetable oil
skewers soaked for around 30 minutes
Directions:
1.In a large bowl, mix ingredients, you can cover and refrigerate until ready to skewer.
2.Mold handfuls of the lamb mixture, to form sausages around skewers. Make sure the meat is spread to an even thickness. Refrigerate until you are ready to grill.
3.Preheat grill for high heat.
4.Brush grate liberally with oil, and arrange kabobs on grill. Cook for 10 minutes, or until well done, turning as needed to brown evenly.

I did take three photos and here is the one that didn't make the cut even though the color was more correct.

I will definitely make these again, but the full size, 2 pounds, and invite some guests for dinner. Served with a saffron rice.

You can serve it with a dipping sauce and of course yogurt goes very well with the lamb. Here is a recipe from David Lieberman.

Mint-Parsley Yogurt Sauce:

1 cup plain yogurt (2 percent or whole is best)
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, pressed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and garlic in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the chopped fresh herbs and gently stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

So I thought you would like to look at something a little prettier so I would like share a few photos of our lanai and the gate to our side yard of our house...

Okay, I'm just kidding! I wish! You probably already know that this was taken at The Ca d'Zan which is John Ringling's Mansion here in Sarasota. I have many more to share if you'd like to see them!

Suya ~West African Shish Kabobs~

First off I do apologise for the lousy photos. Really no excuse for that other that I was in a hurry and was lucky to catch any shots of the food at all. I am back at work and I'm getting back into the work schedule. It's hard not blogging or catching up as often as I would like to. Maranda and the kids at my school start back on Monday! I will try to squeeze a post in when I can.

I first saw these when Ozoz posted it on her blog Kitchen Butterfly now over there you'll always see stunning photos! I love her site, she puts such care and love into everything she makes. As you know I love trying foods from different regions and this was one from her home of Nigeria. I was excited to try it when I found some nice sliced sirloin, so this made it super easy, if you slice your own she had a great suggestion to putting the meat in the freezer a bit for easier slicing.

It seems the suya spice uses shelled and de-skinned (groundnuts) peanuts and is ground to a powder careful not to grind it into a paste. They even go to the point of removing as much oil as you can and spices a added to this, such as paprika, cayenne, ginger, garlic, onion. I had some fresh made natural peanut butter (I usually make my own but I found this one cheaper at my health food store). I t was fairly oily a lot oilier than my is so i thought I would use it in the marinade, since you add oil to it. I added a little macadamia nut oil to make it a thick cream consistency, actually I made it a little thicker.


Ingredients:
3 T or fresh-ground roast peanuts, or naturally ground peanut butter
1 tsp cayenne or chili pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 T fresh lime juice
1 lb meat (beef, chicken, lamb etc) cut into slices.
Of course the seasoning is adjustable to your taste, and you can use fresh ginger and garlic if you prefer. I love onion powder with my beef so I always stick with that, you can't go wrong there.

Mix all ingredients, add the meat, and coat well with the mixture, it easiest to just dig in and use your hands, marinate for at least 30 minutes, but try to go longer.

Thread the meat on skewers, place on a hot grill and cook until done.

It was raining and when Wade gets home later for dinner it's hard to time something out on the grill... So again I took the easy way out and just baked it in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Yeah I know...but you get the idea right? By the time I remembered to take a photo it was already in the oven so I opened the oven door to snap a click, I was afraid the lens was going to steam up! That's some cauliflower that I threw in the mix to roast along side it.

These West African shish kebabs are popular all over Nigeria, and are often served with red onions and tomatoes.

I had caramelized parsnips, roasted cauliflower and a salad with mine.
Maranda didn't think it sounded very good with peanut butter in it, but she did try it and loved it. The peanut taste didn't overpower it at all. I even added some ground peanuts to give it a little more chunks...I guess it would be like "chunky" peanut butter. It was really good. I just wish I made more so I could use some leftovers for lunch! I will definitely be making this again, but on the grill!