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Have you busted out your barbecue yet? It's about that time now, so if you haven't, get moving. It's time to start skewing around.
Skewers, shish-kabobs, or saute - regardless of what you want to call them, they're easy and full of mouthwatering goodness. They are also extremely versatile, so you can use whatever is on hand to make them.
Here's a quick and easy guide to making your own skewed creation:
- Use metal skewers or wooden ones soaked in water for an hour to prevent burning.
- Marinate meat overnight to get tastiest results (make your own or use a store-bought kind that goes with the kind of meat you're using).
- Cut meat sizes coordinating with cooking time. For good cuts of beef or lamb, cut in larger cubes if you'd like the meat to be a little more rare. For chicken and pork, cut in smaller cubes.
- Alternate so there are 2-3 of each ingredient on each skewer.
- Cut fruits and veggies to roughly the same size.
- Make sure to grease the grill you're using so the skewers don't stick.
- Cook skewers at a high heat to caramelize the fruits and veggies and sear the meat.
- SIMPLE BEEF Beef, cherry tomatoes, white onion, green bell pepper, zucchini.
- SUMMER CHICKEN Boneless, skinless chicken breast, cherry tomatoes, orange bell pepper, pineapple.
- SPICY TROPIC Large prawns, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, hot peppers, mango, yellow bell pepper.
- PEPPER BEEF Beef, green and yellow bell peppers, purple onion.
- SALMON LEMON Salmon steak, green bell peppers, lemon slices, cherry tomatoes.
- SUMMER FRUIT Peaches, strawberries, nectarines, plums.
- LAMB Lamb, green bell peppers, white onions.
- CARIBBEAN CHICKEN Boneless, skinless chicken breast, red onion, zucchini, yellow squash, sweet potato.
- CREOLE Large prawns, white onions, green and red bell peppers, spicy fresh sausage, boneless, skinless chicken breast, cherry tomatoes.
So, if you haven't yet brought out the barbecue, take it out, get it started, and take a stab at making yourself some tasty skewers.
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First, you wake up and shake off the hangover from your Bourbon Street experience the night before. Hopefully, it's just a mild hangover, not a crippling Mardi Gras one, and can be cured by a visit to the local greasy spoon. It's only fitting that the best place to eat away a hangover in New Orleans is on Bourbon Street as well, because one must always return to the scene of the crime. Clover Grill is just that place and once you step inside, you'll realize why no other place will do. The old school diner look makes you feel like you just went back in time 50 years, and you can smell the patina on the grill that's been building since 1939. And there are cooks behind the bar who, for my fellow Truebies, are almost certainly the inspiration for Lafayette's character in True Blood. But the food, friends, the food is what it's all about and breakfast time at Clover Grill is magical. Buttery grits and cheesy eggs and pork fat and chicken fried steak, omelettes, biscuits and gravy. It is a hangover slaughter house and by the time you're done, you'll forget you even ordered that 13th hurricane last night on Bourbon street. It's also incredibly affordable and the service is fantastic. Check out their web site: 
There's something in the air in Louisiana that makes the uncomfortable full feeling after a plate full of grits, eggs and sausage disappear in no time. After a couple hours wandering around the French Quarter, you'll start to feel the hunger pangs in your stomach again and this time you have choices. But only two. Lunch in New Orleans is served up best at Central Grocery or at Mother's Restaurant and amazing sandwiches are on the menu. At Central Grocery you can get a muffuletta which is a round, soft, Italian bread loaf as a sandwich bun filled until bursting with ham, salami and provolone, topped with an olive salad which is made up of chopped green and black olives, garlic, anchovies and olive oil. It's simple. It's easy. It took two of us to eat one and we still took home leftovers. Extraordinary tasting, filling and affordable, this is one of the best places I've had lunch anywhere, not just New Orleans. 923 Decatur Street in the French Quarter.
Rather have a Po' Boy? Mother's Restaurant is where it's at but be prepared to stand in line. I'm going to tell you the single most important piece of information about Mother's Restaurant right now, read carefully and remember this: even if the wait is more than an hour, it is worth it. It really is. The smell of their homemade baked ham should make this fairly clear. When you do get your chance to order, you can go real New Orleans style and order a shrimp or oyster Po' Boy but, as is the case with me, the word debris on their menu really piqued my curiosity and I absolutely had to order the Famous Ferdi Special, described as having baked ham, roast beef, debris and gravy between the buns. How do you argue with this logic? Plus, the aforementioned baked ham smell is going to have you thinking porcine before you can even mutter the word oyster, though I'm very sure Mother's oyster Po' Boy is just as good as any other sandwich on the menu. If I'd had a day extra in wonderful NOLA, I'd have most certainly stood in line for their gumbo as well. Heck, I'd have stood in line for anything they make, 'cause a diner with "Meat - Side Order" on their menu is a-okay in my books. Check out the web site for Mother's Restaurant and be sure to browse the menu: 
If you've decided to go both ways and you find yourself strolling between Central Grocery and Mother's Restaurant, you'll probably pass an outdoor cafe covered in icing sugar called Cafe Du Monde. This is the perfect stopping point for a mid-afternoon what-have-you to put a bounce in your step and kill the desire for an afternoon nap. The menu fits on the side of their napkin dispensers and consists of Cafe Au Lait using their blend of coffee beans and chicory, and beignets which are served under a mountain of icing sugar about twice the size of the beignets themselves. All around the city, you'll spot lazy tourists with patches of white on their chin, their shirts, pants, even their shoes and when you sit down to have a beignet at Cafe Du Monde, you'll understand why. There is really no escaping it. There is only one rule to their beignets: they must consumed as soon as they are served. Check out the web site: 
The difficulty with dinner in New Orleans is deciding where to go. I tried a lot of places, from local fare all the way to sushi, and one place sticks in my mind as the best dinner experience NOLA has to offer and that, my friends, is NOLA. Emeril Lagasse's NOLA that is. I dove right in to his menu and ordered the fried chicken. When in Rome, no? Just listen to the description: Buttermilk Fried Breast of Chicken with Bourbon Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Country Ham Cream Gravy and Sautéed Sugar Snap Peas. Tell me you didn't just die a little inside. Now, imagine what it tastes like. Aside from far too many Bam! jokes, this place is perfection. The menu consists of simple dishes, cooked with local food in the local tradition and there's really no way to screw that up. Check out the web site: 
I had the supreme pleasure of living down under for a couple of years a long time ago. Not a lot of people consider Australia a real culinary destination, as far as traditional Aussie food goes. Sydney has some amazing restaurants and famous chefs but real aussie fare, is definitely underrated. Here are some of the things I learned to love while I lived in Perth and Adelaide:
Pies and Pasties - The Australian meat pie is to Aussie Rules Football as the hot dog is to baseball. It also blows the hot dog out of the water whether it's a dodger dog, a Fenway Frank or an Oscar Meyer wiener. Meat pies are hand held treats, filled with beef, and a gravy-like sauce. They are contained in a pie crust often made from puff pastry and are served with ketchup. A Pasty is a savory pastry built similar to a calzone or a Jamaican Patty. They can be filled with just about anything, but the meat and veggie types are the best in my opinion. I used to walk to the end of my street in Wembley, Perth, to John's Deli and buy pies and pasties all the time. You can order them in the USA here: 
Aussie BBQ - This is not the same as a North American BBQ. A barbecue in Australia is usually covered in snags, yabbies, bacon, shrimp and sometimes even emu. Steak and chicken make frequent appearances but you won't see hot dogs or hamburgers very often. A snag is a sausage, and I saw them of all shapes and sizes. Sometimes served in a bun but any North American who's been to Australia knows, this is not even remotely close to a hot dog. The snags we used to get were long, skinny, and neon pink. And they taste like sausage. Delicious with a little barbecue sauce. Yabbies are similar to crawfish, little crustaceans with big flavor. There is always beer, and everyone usually brings a dish of some kind. It's always barbie weather in Australia.
Shark - I know, I know, the gasps, I can hear them. When I tried shark, a) I had no idea it was shark and b) no one really knew that any sharks were endangered. It was 1986 and I was 8 years old. We used to go down to the fish and chips shop on the beach at Port Noarlunga in Adelaide and grab some beer-battered shark and chips. We'd go sometimes in the winter and be the only ones on the beach. Being Canadian, we found the weather warm while the locals would only brave the outdoors to replenish their food supply. We'd sit and stare out at the long jetty and eat our shark, which was admittedly delicious. I will never again, for the rest of my life, eat shark knowingly. But it does not stop the fact that it was yummy. Does anyone know if they still serve it there?
Pavlova - Oh my God, dessert of all desserts, pavlova is so delectable just the thought of it is making me salivate. It's a meringue covered in fresh fruit and whipped cream. My grandma came to visit us in Adelaide and took home the recipe. For years afterward she would cook it at all family gatherings, except she left the meringue a little chewy in the middle. It was so good. Wherever I find it now, it never has my Grandma's chewy middle and it's disappointing, but it is spectacular nonetheless. My favorite topping is strawberry and kiwis but any fresh fruit will do. Tropical fruits always taste the best though. Passionfruit is popular and tasty. Here's a great 
. Now they've come out with a new Disney movie, starring another favorite of mine, Johnny Depp, and I'm super excited. I wish I could go see it tonight! In honor of Alice in Wonderland's opening night, I give you a snippet of Heston Blumenthal's Wonderland Feast:
Spring Chicken Salad
