Skewers

Hot Dinner Happy Home received a cry for help from an Anonymous Reader who I have never met, is not related to me, and who certainly never ripped my Barbie's head off when she was a toddler. This Anonymous Reader (heretofore referred to as A.R.) had volunteered to help her boyfriend get ready for a housewarming party at his new digs. Being a woman known for her party-throwing prowess and excellent hostessing skills, she was perfect for the job. That said, she was feeling a bit daunted at the prospect of preparing food for the large gathering of people...especially since guests would be arriving at the open house throughout the day and late into the night. 

After a series of telephone calls to discuss the fete, A.R. and I came up with a perfect plan for feeding the hungry masses about to converge on the new house: kabobs. These were the perfect meal solution for several reasons:

1. They can be prepared ahead of time.
2. You can thread your skewers with a variety of ingredients to please even the pickiest of palettes. 
3. Kabobs can be cooked throughout the party so guests have something warm to nibble on whenever they arrive. 
4. By filling skewers with veggies and/or fruit in addition to meat, kabobs are a budget-friendly meal for a large group.

On the morning of the housewarming party, I woke up bright and early and drove down to Illinois, where the festivities were set to take place. A.R. and I set to work preparing about a million kabobs. For meat, we used a variety of cubed steak, chicken, and shrimp. We interspersed the meat with slices of onions, red and green peppers, and mushrooms. We were in a bit of a hurry, so we didn't marinate the meat, but we did sprinkle the beef kabobs with Penzey's Chicago Steak Seasoning and the chicken and shrimp kabobs with Penzey's Mural of Flavor. Although, I'm sure a healthy dose of salt and pepper would have been delicious as well.

The prepared kabobs waited patiently for us until the guests were getting hungry, and then the new homeowner manned the grill. He prepared several batches of kabobs throughout the evening as additional revelers arrived, grilling kabobs for about 10 minutes each, until the meat was cooked to the desired temperature (165 degrees for chicken and 125 degrees for medium-rare steak).

All in all, the party was a huge success. My favorite part, though, was spending an afternoon cooking and chatting with my wonderful little sister, uhhh, I mean, an Anonymous Reader with whom I have never shared bunk beds.