Sunday, August 5, 2012

Rosemary Stem Kabobs

My mother-in-law, B, has the most successful Rosemary Plant I have seen!  It's been in an ideal spot for over 13 years an resembles a shrub.  When it gets growing in the hot part of the summer, the stems get woody, which she suggested, is perfect for skewers, and she was right.  She apparently gave a bundle of (8) 2 foot long pieces to anyone who would take them about, 10 friends.  I was lucky enough to get on that list.  Then the fun part, as the days passed, everyone began reporting back to her what they did with them and I don't think any two were alike.
I was already planning on round 2 with the sk Zucchini Fritters so I needed to keep my idea simple.  As it was, I was cutting, shredding, waiting and then cooking, ala minute, the fritters.  Now add preheating, scraping the grill, and running in and out in order to baste and not over cook anything.  It was a huge success, and I got gold on both fronts, but the simple way would've been to assign someone to the grilling.
I bought 4 Chicken Breasts and cut them into 1" cubes.  Next, I cut the Woody Rosemary Stems into 12" Lengths without including the tender new growth.  I threaded the chicken breast onto the skewers fairly close, without jamming them together, and lay them flat on a platter.  I had our family barbeque sauce already prepared so I basted them and let them rest for about 30 minutes.  (Use your favorite sauce or marinade.)  I placed the skewers on a very hot grill, sauce side down, and basted the upward facing side.  I turned once, basting the cooked side.  (NOTE: Don't let the grill flare up or it will burn the skewers and you will be left with cubed chicken to tend to.)  These cooked for about 10 minutes on an infrared grill on a medium setting.   When done, I placed the cooked skewers on a foil line sheet pan and placed them in a 350 degree oven to finish for the last 8-10 minutes.  In the meantime, I cleaned up and set the table.  When served, we all ate in silence.
As soon as we were done, I called B to tell her of our good success with her skewer idea!  For the next time, I invited them to dinner.  These would be awesome with Lamb, Beef, Shrimp, or Pork.  If you were going on a picnic, these wood be fun to cook with easy cleanup.

No comments: