THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 25, 1995 TAG: 9505250680
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY FLACHSENHAAR, SPECIAL TO FLAVOR
LENGTH: Long : 115 lines
NOW WE COOK with gizmos and gadgets, mixers and machines, pots and pans made of precious metals.
In the beginning, there were sticks.
We imagine the hungry caveperson stabbing a twig into a morsel of wild boar and holding it over a flame.
We know from the history books that the kebab (meat cut into small pieces, roasted on a spit and basted with oil and garlic) was a favorite meal in 16th century India.
And from experience we know that when a return to the simplicity of yesteryear is called for, we take our hot dogs and marshmallows into the woods, put them on the end of a stick and toast them.
The appeal of stick cooking is its simplicity. No pots, no pans, often no cookbooks are necessary. It's just the cook, the stick, the food, the fire.
The cook can be inexperienced. A child presented with the challenge of arranging brown meat, white onions, red tomatoes and green peppers in patterns on a skewer might be just as happy as a child with a toy. Give that child a brush, bowl of marinade and an order to paint the kebabs, and you might as well have given a new video game.
The stick can be as simple as the bamboo skewers that are sold with charcoal or housewares in most supermarkets. A package costs about $1.50, and it contains enough skewers to build a small house.
If company's coming, the stick can be decorative, like the set of six steel skewers from India, each topped with a different animal and priced at $18.50 at the new Williams-Sonoma Grande Cuisine store on Laskin Road in Virginia Beach.
As for the food itself, the edibles we slip on a stick are usually left whole and unadorned. This fits with our current penchant for natural, wholesome foods, no sauce, few calories, little fat. The fat in the marinades or bastes used to flavor kebabs can be reduced by increasing the amount of fruit juice, vinegar or wine while reducing the amount of oil.
The outdoor fire so essential for cooks centuries ago can today be substituted by an oven broiler, as long as you watch the food carefully. Kebabs will cook quickly.
Here are a few more tips for the newcomer to stick cooking. Wilma Flintstone and other cooks of her era probably had to learn some of these things the hard way:
Soak bamboo skewers about 30 minutes before using so they won't burn.
Partially precook the items that are tough to cook through on a grill or in a broiler, such as potatoes and whole onions.
For even cooking, group items that take the same amount of time. A shrimp will cook much more quickly that a thick piece of beef. One option is to put just one type of food on each skewer.
Delicate foods like shrimp won't flop as much when turning if two skewers are threaded through them.
To avoid losing meatballs or cherry tomatoes to the fire below, don't turn delicate foods often. Cook kebabs covered over a medium fire, instead of over a very hot fire, and you won't have to flip them as much. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
LAWRENCE JACKSON/Staff
The edibles we slip on a stick are usually left whole and unadorned
like the fruit and shrimp above.
Graphic
QUICK STICKS
Here are some other quick ideas for food on a stick. Try your
own variations.
Prosciutto and melon appetizer. Cut 1 cantaloupe into small
cubes, discarding rind and seeds. You will also need 1/2 pound very
thinly sliced prosciutto. To make each appetizer, gather up a slice
of prosciutto and skewer, then slice onto a melon cube with a small
wooden or plastic pick. Makes about 48. From ``The Book of
Appetizers'' by June Budgen (HP Books, 1986).
Avocado and shrimp appetizer. Cook, shell, devein 1 pound large
shrimp. Halve and pit 1 ripe avocado. Scoop flesh from halves with
melon-ball cutter. Or peel halves, then cut in cubes. Skewer 1
shrimp and 1 avocado piece on small wooden or plastic picks.
Sprinkle with lemon juice and serve immediately. Makes about 18.
From ``The Book of Appetizers.''
Smoked-beef appetizer. Stir together 2 tablespoons sour cream and
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish. Using 1/4 pound thinly sliced
smoked beef, spread a little sour cream mixture on each beef slice;
roll up and cut in 1-inch pieces. Skewer 2 or 3 pieces on each small
wooden or plastic pick. Makes 8 to 10. From ``The Book of
Appetizers.''
Smoked turkey and grapes appetizer. Cut 1 1/2 pounds smoked
turkey into 3/4-inch cubes. Arrange turkey cubes and large red and
green grapes on 6-inch wooden skewers. Make curried apricot
mayonnaise by mixing 1 cup mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon curry powder and 3
tablespoons apricot preserves in small bowl. Serve kebabs with
mayonnaise. Makes about 10. From ``First Impressions'' by Betty
Rosbottom (William Morrow and Co., 1992).
Shish-ke-dogs. Cut 1 pound hot dogs into 1-inch rounds. Cut 1
onion, 1 green bell pepper and 1 zucchini into 1-inch pieces.
Alternate hot-dog and vegetable pieces on long skewers. Brush with
olive oil. Grill over hot coals until hot dogs are browned and
vegetables are crisp-tender. Serve with mustard, ketchup, pickle
relish. Makes 4 servings. From ``365 Great Barbecue & Grilling
Recipes'' by Lonnie Gandara (Harper & Row, 1990).
Fruit kebabs, hot or cold. Slices or chunks of colorful fresh
fruit arranged on skewers can be as pretty as a still-life. Serve
the skewers cold or try them warmed over the grill, the method
recommended in ``The Random House Barbecue and Summer Foods
Cookbook'' by Margaret Fraser (Telemedia Publishing Inc. and the
Madison Press Ltd.). Brush skewers of fruit with melted butter.
Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Cook quickly on the grill, turning
often, just until glazed and warm. Serve immediately as is, or with
the warm chocolate fondue used in the recipe for Strawberry
Shortcake Kebabs.
by CNB