The Teen Gourmet: Ordinary Fare With Flair
As you may remember, my son expressed an interest in cooking some “more gourmet-ish” foods recently. And when our schedule (and his homework load) allows, he cooks dinner for us one night a week. This particular week I perused a few cookbooks to find some foods that would provide a bit more flair to our ordinary fare.
That’s when I happened to think about the grill that we use occasionally when we’re in the mood to grill—indoors. With a non-stick griddle on one side and a ridged grill on the other, we’ve actually been able to place it over the gas stove for (almost) barbecued flavor from turkey burger, regular ole burger, boneless chicken—even marinated tofu and veggies. While it doesn’t impart that true barbecue grilled smoky flavor, it does give that hot sizzled flavor that only cooking on a hot grilling surface can.
So, this could be perfect for our next foray into gourmet cooking. This whole gourmet endeavor strikes me as a bit unusual (and rather funny) because I’ve never considered myself to be a gourmet cook, much less to be knowledgeable in it. The times that we’ve eaten in such restaurants, they’ve seemed too fussy, a bit too over done with the food ultimately disappointing. While the flavor was fine, it was the presentation and the fancy, no-kids-here attitude that I just don’t go for. I would much rather have a laid-back family dinner with laughter, conversation and good ol' home-cooked food (be it vegetarian or meat-lovers') to truly hit the spot.
So when I refer to our gourmet dinners, please know that it is tongue-in-cheek, per se. It’s a step up in preparation and skill level, for sure—but considered true gourmet fare by a gourmand? Don’t know.
Back to our dinner.
After a day at school, my son loves to be out of doors, so he usually takes a long bike ride. And on this day, as I was thinking what we could make together, I decided to prep the veggies so that when he got back from riding, he could do the final steps and the actual cooking. And hey, isn’t that the best part—and the most fun part?!
So in preparation for grilling some indoor shish-kebabs, I washed and chopped the veggies, soaked the skewers and cut the meat into 1-inch cubes. And by the time he blew in the door, it was time to slide everything onto skewers and preheat the grill. The great thing about making shish-kebabs for a meal is that you can alternate the ingredients and personalize the skewers to each family member’s preferences. So if you have vegetarians, use tofu, tempeh or Boca burger cubes interspersed with the veggies.
Shish-kebabs also make it fairly easy (and tasty) to get your kids eating vegetables. As finger food, it’s fun and informal to have everyone sitting around sliding those goodies right into their mouth. We’ve had zucchini, onion, red and green pepper and cherry tomatoes all pass with flying colors.
So how about having your kids try their hand at some shish-kebabs at your house soon—perhaps you could even hint that it would make a nice Mother’s Day gift. One thing’s for sure: I wouldn’t mind any meal—much less this one—that my kids are willing to cook for me. And who knows, you might even get to enter the gourmet zone too.
Made with boneless chicken, tofu, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, pearl onions, red bell pepper, water, peanut butter, green bell pepper, soy sauce
Serves/Makes: 6
- 12 wooden skewers (10-inch size)
- 1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 pound boneless chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 pound tofu, cut into 1-inch pieces (optional)
- 1/2 pound button mushrooms, cut in half
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 12 pearl onions (or onion slices)
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- crushed red pepper flakes, to taste, optional
Preheat the grill to medium heat. Lightly oil the grates.
Soak the wooden skewers in water for 10 minutes (or skip this step if using metal skewers).
Combine the Italian dressing, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and garlic in a small bowl and mix well. Add the chicken and/or tofu to a shallow container or zip-top plastic bag. Add half of the Italian dressing mixture and toss the chicken and tofu in the mixture. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes.
Place the mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, pearl onions, and bell pepper pieces in another shallow container and toss with the remaining dressing mixture.
When the meat has finished marinating, thread alternating pieces of chicken/tofu and vegetables on the prepared skewers.
Place the kebabs on the preheated grill and cook for 12-15 minutes, turning the kebabs every 3-4 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
Meanwhile, stir together the peanut butter, water, 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce, and crushed red pepper flakes in a saucepan and mix well. Cook for low heat, stirring frequently, until thickened. Transfer the peanut sauce to individual dipping bowls.
Serve the kebabs with the dipping sauce.
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