Kim Dannies: Lifestyle & Adventure writing

Hot Fun In the Summertime
July 22, 2004

It’s time to crank up the summertime fun dial. Meals can be fabulous without a lot of fuss when you serve individual shrimp, chicken and beef kabobs simmering in a pool of BBQ Marriage Sauce; freshly grilled corn, cold beer and lemonade complete this sizzling supper menu.

Here’s a cool tip for this hot meal: go to a party store and buy a package of the 4” wooden skewers; soak them in water for 10 minutes. This is a thicker wooden kabob stick that is the perfect handling size for individual portions. They don’t burn up like the long, thin skewers sold in supermarkets. Cut chicken breasts and beef into golf ball sized chunks and thread 2-3 pieces on each skewer. Grill turning once or twice, for about 3 minutes. (Chunks of zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant would work well, too.) For the shrimp, defrost a bag of uncooked large shrimp and skewer two shrimps onto each stick, top with a cherry tomato. Grill for 2 minutes, turning once.

Grilling the corn is easy. Simply peel it and toss lightly in olive oil. Place on a hot grill turning as the corn sugars begin to roast and brown, about 6 minutes. The corn will stay warm for up to an hour wrapped in heavy duty foil, so you may want to do this part first.

Marriage Sauce
This recipe was adapted from a Cantonese rib recipe that appeared in Gourmet many years ago. The writer declared that she still received proposals of marriage every time she served it, even though she’d been married for thirty five years!

Make this sauce ahead, it stores well in the refrigerator for weeks. In a medium sauce pan mix the following ingredients together and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring often. Yields 2 cups.

- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 cup medium dry sherry
- 1 cup brown sugar
- one half cup commercial orange marmalade
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

More Hot Fun:
Eating My Words, An Appetite for Life by Mimi Sheraton is a great summer read. A veteran food journalist, Mimi Sheraton was the food critic at the New York Times for eight years. She is a superb and irreverent storyteller, and serves this book up like a fresh, spicy meal for close friends. I loved it!