In the heat of the big game, tension runs high. Your team is losing, there’s no more beer, and the sound of your friend rooting for the opposing team while sucking the wing sauce off his fingers is enough to drive you over the edge. Fret not, there is at least a solution to that annoying sticky-finger sucking. Put your vittles on a stick.

There’s nothing more manly than impaling your culinary bounty on a wooden or metal skewer. Here are a few skewer recipes to consider for the big game so you can avoid having to hear a gloating buddy sucking the sauce from his fingers. As for your team losing? Well, there’s not much that food can do to change that.

 

Garlic-Mustard Grilled Beef Skewers

Directions

• 1 (2-pound) beef tenderloin, halved and cut into 1-inch slices
• 6-inch wooden skewers, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes

Garlic-Mustard Glaze, recipe follows

Heat grill to high. Skewer 2 pieces of the beef onto 2 skewers so that the meat lies flat. Brush the meat liberally on both sides with the Garlic-Mustard Glaze. Grill the meat for 2 to 3 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked to medium-rare doneness, brushing with the remaining glaze while grilling. Remove from grill and serve.

Ingredients

Garlic-Mustard Glaze:

• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup grainy mustard
• 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons Spanish paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey

Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before using.

Courtesy of www.foodnetwork.com

 

Party Antipasto Skewers

Marinade

3/4 cup Italian dressing

2 teaspoons garlic , minced

1 tablespoon capers (mashed, just use a fork to mash them)

Skewers

1/2 lb salami , sliced 1/8-inch thick cut into cubes

9 ounces cheese filled tortellini , cooked and drained

1 (15 ounce) can water-packed artichoke hearts , cut in quarters, not too small

12 cherry tomatoes

12 stuffed green olives

Peppadew pepper

Optional

mozzarella cheese , balls

pepperoncini pepper

sopressata

prosciutto

cocktail onion

mushroom

Garnish

parmesan cheese

fresh basil

Directions:

These are rough estimates on the amount of ingredients, because you can make as many skewers as you want, and you can skewer them any way you want, and lastly, you can use any combination of ingredients you want.

Skewers — There is no right or wrong to this. And you can use 3”, 6”, or 8” skewers. So just add what you want. I like to add 1-2 of each for the bigger skewers and maybe just 1 of each on the smaller ones. I just used the inexpensive wooden skewers found right in the grocery store.

I might put an artichoke heart, olive, ravioli, then a tomato, salami, another ravioli, olive, salami and artichoke. But you get the idea. Just have fun with them.

Marinade — Mix the bottled dressing, garlic and capers and pour over the skewers in a glass (non reactive pan) 13×9” pan. Make sure you roll them around so they are covered well. Cover with saran wrap and marinate 2-24 hours.

Note, depending on how many skewers you make you make need to make additional marinade.

Finish — Remove from the marinade and grate some fresh parmesan over the skewers and garnish with a little fresh chopped basil.

Courtesy of www.food.com

 

Ham-and-Cheese Skewers

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound (3/4-inch-thick) sliced smoked Virginia deli ham
• 1 (5-oz.) blue cheese wedge
• 1 large Gala apple, sliced
• 1 bunch fresh watercress
• 60 (4-inch) wood or metal skewers

Preparation

1. Cut ham into 3/4-inch cubes. Carefully break cheese into 60 small pieces. Cut apple slices into thirds.

2. Thread cheese, apple, watercress leaves, and ham onto skewers. Stand skewers upright, ham ends down, on a serving plate.

Note:

Assemble up to one hour ahead of time, cover with damp paper towels, and chill. Serve coarse-grain mustard or chutney alongside the skewers.

 www.myrecipes.com from Southern Living Magazine

 

Pomegranate-Blueberry Albacore Skewers

Marinade:

• 1 cup POM Pomegranate-Blueberry Juice
• Juice of 2 limes
• Diced sweet onion
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp honey or agave

Cut fresh Albacore tuna steaks (about a half pound per person, I used three pounds; can substitute ahi or other tuna steak) into 1” to 2” cubes. Toss in a bowl with marinade, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Submerge skewers in room temperature water (to prevent burning), and set aside.

Cut into 1” to 2” cubes:

• 2 peppers (red, yellow, orange or green – mix them up!)
• 1 bermuda onion or red onion
• 2 cups mushrooms, I used portobello
• 2 tomatoes (or 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes)
• 2 peaches, stoned
• 2 small zucchinis

Toss veggies and fruit with a small amount of olive oil (enough to lightly coat), and set aside.

When your fish is ready, thread the albacore and vegetables onto the soaked skewers. For best flavor, bracket each piece of fish with a piece of onion on one side and peach or pepper on the other.

Grill on medium high heat, turning frequently to avoid burning, until the vegetables are tender; about 15 minutes. Sesame seeds are a wonderful garnish, especially black sesame.

Courtesy of www.glutenfreehippie.com

 

 Grilled cheese skewers

Ingredients

• 9 thin slices sandwich bread, such as Pepperidge Farm Very Thin white bread
• 6 deli-style slices cheddar cheese
• melted buter

 Directions:

Preheat a grill to medium-high. Arrange 3 thin slices sandwich bread, such as Pepperidge Farm Very Thin white bread, on a work surface. Top each with 1 deli-style slice cheddar cheese, another slice bread, another slice cheese and another slice bread. Trim and discard the crusts. Brush the sides of each stack with melted butter. Quarter each diagonally to form 12 triangles. Spear a 6-inch skewer into each quarter and butter the cut sides. Grill each side.

Courtesy of www.rachaelraymag.com