Changes, hints and thoughts for the future:

- the chicken marinade was from a recipe I came across on eGullet, I just did a sort of give-or-take thing with the ingredients and added the yogurt as my own touch

- S. called his dad to check on the beef kebab recipe before we made it and his instructions were to mince the onion and parsley until it was "water"...I used the food processor and it worked like a charm

 

 

 

Grilled Chicken with Yogurt Marinade & Grilled Middle Eastern-Style Beef Kebabs

Chicken Kebabs
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, cut into 2" cubes.
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup yogurt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon dried Zaa'tar (sesame seeds mixed with powdered SUMAC and dried thyme)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon Sumac
1 1/2 teaspoons Baharat (Middle Eastern Seven Spices)
8 wooden skewers (soak them in water before use)

Instructions:
1. Mix together everything but the chicken, tasting marinade and adding pepper, salt and any of the other spices to personal taste.
2. Add chicken cubes, cover and let sit in fridge for 2 hours or overnight. Remove from fridge 3/4 of an hour before grilling and put onto soaked wooden skewers. Grill on medium-high heat until crispy and browned.

Beef Kebabs
Ingredients:
2 pounds lean ground beef (or turkey, or veal)
1 medium onion, finely minced
1/4 cup parsley, finely minced
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons Baharat (Middle Eastern Seven Spices)
16 wooden skewers (soak them in water before use)

Instructions:
1. Mix together everything in a bowl with your hands and press in long "tubes" around skewers.
2. Chill in fridge until ready to barbeque. Cook, over medium-high heat for about ten minutes (they cook really quickly so keep an eye on them).

We served these two great grilled dishes with grilled vegetables (marinated with olive oil, salt and pepper), my mom's homemade warm potato salad (a recipe which I intend to get soon), as well as her delicious coleslaw, delicious grilled artisan bread (from Loblaws, if you can believe it) and some really scrumptious samosas and pakoras from a little Indian take out place S. stumbled across a few weeks ago. A huge, delicious dinner...completed so nicely with that oh so sexy cheesecake. Yum.