Sometimes, in our harried lives, we forget what this day is all about. We are excited to have an extra day off from work or school and we spend it trying to fit in time with family and friends, often celebrating with barbecues and/or picnics.
I am personally spending the day finishing up a garage sale. We are hoping to put our home on the market tomorrow since we have already found a house that we love and have put a bid on. We did attend a bbq with family and friends at Frank's sister's house yesterday and it was nice to take a break from all of the hard work we have been doing to get the house and yard ready to be shown.
Besides being Memorial day today it is also time for a Special Secret Recipe Club. Secret Recipe Club or SRC, as we call it, is a fun little group that gets together once a month usually to secretly go through another members blog and recreate one of their recipes. On months with 5 Mondays we have an extra SRC reveal day where we may be assigned members who belong to other subgroups.
This month, I was pleased to be assigned to Tara of Tara's Multicultural Table. I am very familiar with Tara's blog from this and other groups to which we both belong and I LOVE it!! Tara's blog features great recipes from all around the world, using mainly fresh and local ingredients whenever possible. Yep, a girl after my own heart. She belongs to a CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) as well and, like me, loves to get her basket and come up with exciting recipes for items no widely known.
Since Reveal Day is on Memorial Day our theme this month is......you guessed it.....Picnics and Barbecues.
Tara's recipe index is set up by Continent and by Categories. I went with the Categories this time as I knew I wanted to make a main dish on the grill. Straight to the meat category for me and boy....what choices I was given!!
I looked at Cachorro Quente which are Brazilian Hot Dogs and will be made this summer, just not this time. They remind me of our chili dogs. There was also a Hawaiian Teriyaki Burger that I know Frank is going to love. I finally decided on the Citrus Beef Skewers and was so happy that I did. I served these alongside a wonderful Hot O'Brien Potato Salad and grilled asparagus. It was the perfect meal.
These delicious little bites of meat and veggies couldn't be easier. Simply let them marinade for a few hours, place them on skewers and grill for about 10 minutes. Easy peasy and delicious....the perfect recipe!
I made just a couple of very slight adaptations to Tara's recipe. I used chunky garlic paste from Gourmet Garden instead of minced garlic and dried thyme as I was out of fresh for both of those items. I also used a sweet Vidalia onion in place of the red onion. Other than that I followed the recipe because there is no sense in messing with perfection. Thanks Tara for a great recipe!!
Citrus Beef Skewers
very slightly adapted from Tara's Multicultural Table
2 T. olive oil
1/4 c. dry white wine
1 T. chunky garlic paste or 3 cloves garlic, minced
Juice from 1 grapefruit
1 t. dried thyme or 1 T. fresh
1 lb. sirloin steak, cut into 1" squares
1 onion, cut into chunks
2 red bell peppers, cut into chunks
12 oz. cherry tomatoes
Place the olive oil, wine, garlic, juice and thyme in a gallon size sealable plastic bag and shake vigorously to combine. Add the steak chunks and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Alternate the meat chunks with the vegetables onto skewers. If using wooden skewers you will want to soak them in water for half an hour before using. Place the skewers on a hot grill for about 5 minutes per side, brushing often with the leftover marinade. Print Recipe
Yum! They look meaty and satisfying!
ReplyDeleteThey were Jamie.
DeleteThese look fabulous. I love skewer meals :)
ReplyDeleteMe too Kirstin
DeleteOooh grapefruit in them!! I love kebabs - they are so good :)
ReplyDeleteThey certainly are Sarah.
DeleteYummy! I love this...and love Tara's blog, too. Nice job. Thanks for reminding us about the meaning of Memorial Day, Wendy.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cam, I was excited to get Tara's blog and it is easy to forget why we have this day
DeleteInteresting using a citrus marinade. I have to try this. I love kebabs - so easy and nice to have the whole dinner in a stick.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Katie
DeleteLove all things kebabs! These look delicious. Visiting from SRC
ReplyDeleteAlso thanks for the reminder about the Memorial DAy and all of those who have served..
Thanks for stopping by Julie and the kind words.
DeleteOoo - love the wine and grapefruit!
ReplyDeleteVery tender and delicious Sarah.
DeleteSo glad you enjoyed the skewers! Thanks so much for the kind words.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great recipe Tara.
DeleteThese sound really good. We were going to have Chicken skewers today but we changed it to Tacos. Did you already put up your pool and now you have to take it down?? Hope the garage sale was a huge success!
ReplyDeleteNo the pool was scheduled to be put up on the 26th. We canceled that and ordered sod instead. Then Frank had to tear down the deck that led to the pool and Spence and Lili are the proud new owners of a brand new swimming pool.
DeleteLucky duckies!!
DeleteYUMM!! Perfect BBQ food - I adore kebabs. These look wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThey were Rebekah.
DeleteLove the twist of using grapefruit juice! They look delicious!
ReplyDeleteYes, Heather, I'm sure any citrus would work but I was lucky enough to have the grapefruit on hand.
DeleteWe love kebabs! These are sensational!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michaela
DeleteI love the use of citrus with your kabobs. I can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Denise.
DeleteExcellent choice! Good luck with the move.
ReplyDelete