Stick it On a Stick - Simple Seafood Kebabs

Kebabs are one of my favorite things to make when we're entertaining in the summer - they're visually appealing, easy to make in advance, and they cook quickly on the grill. When we had a wedding party for our daughter last summer, we served several kinds of kebabs which were marinated and ready to cook when dinner time arrived.
     We had salmon kebabs, marinated in Burhop's Herb Garden Marinade, swordfish kebabs marinated in Burhop's Tahitian Marinade, tuna kebabs marinated in our Shoyu Oriental Marinade, and shrimp kebabs in my own garlic basil marinade, recipe below. We also had a few chicken kebabs for non-fish eaters, just in case.
     All the ingredients were pre-cut, the fish by Burhop's staff, the veggies by my raft of helpers, even the bride. We used green, red and yellow peppers, red onion, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms with the fish (and chicken) kebabs, the shrimp were on their own. We soaked the wooden kebab sticks in water for an hour before the party started, and my two catering lady helpers assembled the kebabs when they arrived, and put them in the various marinades while guests downed a lot of appetizers. We had large containers from the store to hold the fish, which were great for marinating - we just took them back after the party. Then Jaime came from work and grilled everything to perfection - he is absolutely great at parties, let us know if you want to hire him for yours!
     Of course, you can also just get all the kebabs ready made from Burhop's - we happily do them to order.
     My other favorite kebabs, which we didn't do for the wedding party but we do for smaller parties at home are our Scallop Kebabs. I don't know why, but bacon tastes amazing with scallops. Here are the scallop and shrimp recipes:

Nancy's Sea Scallop Kebabs
Ingredients:
3 or 4 sea scallops (dry pack) per kebab, 1 kebab per person
2 squares of pre-cooked bacon per scallop
red onion cut into 2-layer square chunks
green pepper cut into squares
olive oil
Lemon Dill Sauce
Directions:
Cut bacon strips into squares and saute until partially cooked. Don't let it get too crisp, or it will break when you try to put on the skewers. (Remember bacon will shrink when cooked). Build kebabs starting with a square of pepper, a chunk of onion, a piece of bacon, a scallop, another piece of bacon. Repeat, ending with a piece of green pepper to hold everything together. If you are doing 4 kebabs with 3 scallops each, you will need 24 squares of bacon.
     Brush with olive oil and grill (or broil) for a total of about 5 minutes over medium high heat, turning once. Serve with a drizzle of Lemon Dill, some wild rice or Herb Roasted Potatoes and an heirloom tomato and basil salad.

And here's my favorite grilled shrimp kebab recipe.
 
GARLIC BASIL SHRIMP
Preparation time: 15 minutes   Serves 4 as appetizer, 2 as main course
Ingredients:
1 lb. E-Z peel shrimp, peeled & rinsed
Marinade:          

1 bunch fresh basil, ¼ cup
3 large cloves garlic peeled, slightly chopped
½ cup olive oil
2 Tbs. red balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. tomato sauce (ketchup works)
Red chili flakes to taste
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Directions: Mix the marinade ingredients in a blender or food processor until it looks well combined. Add chili flakes as desired for how much “heat” you prefer. Mix marinade with shrimp in a glass or ceramic bowl and refrigerate for up to an hour. Put shrimp on skewers (I used 2 skewers for the kebabs in the photo - it makes them easier to turn) and grill over medium high fire or broil for about 5 minutes total, watching and turning as needed. Serve with a chilled glass of rose or Sauvignon Blanc .