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09/03/2004 Archived Entry: "Off To Italy, and Shish Taouk"

As planned a long time ago, I am off to Italy today. I have a week to scout new things to do and eat on future culinary trips, then I have group coming to Cook At Seliano. I’ll be in Rome for only a day, where I will visit with Iris Carulli, my friend and former assistant, and check out a couple of restaurants that New York friends have raved about. Then I go to Naples for three days, where I will visit with friends, eat in restaurants where I may be able to take groups in the future, and do some culture stuff – like visit the cave of the Cybil, a mythic character, and check out a Caravaggio and church or two that have eluded me. Then I go down to Paestum, where I will drop my bags at Cecilia’s farm before we go to Matera and visit some towns in Puglia to scout outings for next year. The famous semolina bread of Altamura. The burata (cheese) of Corato. The butcher-shop restaurants of Lecce. After that, we have 13 people coming to Seliano, so it’s a full house.

Whew! Some vacation. But it is work that I very, very much enjoy. Maybe you can join us in December. We still have a few slots for the week between Christmas and New Year. And there’s March and other dates in 2005 to be announced soon. See Cook At Seliano Culinary Vacations.

I leave you with a wonderful recipe that I developed for a promotional program I was going to do with Food Emporium and WOR. It’s a good one for this Labor Day weekend, or for whenever you fire up your grill (although it can easily be cooked in your kitchen broiler, too).

Middle Eastern Chicken Skewers
(Shish Taouk)
Serves at least 6

Here’s a tip: Marinating meats, poultry, and fish in a mixture that contains oil and an acidic ingredient (wine, lemon juice, or vinegar) can add succulence, tenderness, and flavor, but if done for too long marinating will make a food dry and fibrous.

3 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 ½ teaspoons crushed dried mint
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into roughly 2-inch pieces
Salt
3 sweet bell peppers, any color, cut into 2-inch squares
2 medium onions, cut into at least 8 wedges each

In a large bowl, combine the garlic, oregano, mint, oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and chicken. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours; or better, 8 to 24 hours, but no longer.

Skewer the chicken, preferable on flat skewers, pushing the pieces close together. Sprinkle the skewered chicken with a little more salt.

When all the chicken has been skewered, toss the peppers and onion in the remaining marinade (or a little additional oil). Skewer them separately from the chicken. (Or, you can alternate vegetables and chicken on the skewers, but I like to have my chicken cooked longer than the vegetables often take, so I do them separately.)

Cook the chicken and vegetable skewers over hot coals or on a broiler rack placed about 4 inches under a kitchen broiler. Cook about 8 minutes, turning once or twice.

Variation: Use the marinade on whole boneless