~Amanda~
The end of summer is near, and with that comes the wonderful Labor Day festivities, barbecues, and fun. For one of the barbecues I went to this year, I was asked the morning of to bring an appetizer of my choice. I only had about 2 hours to run to the store to get ingredients, prepare everything, and drive to the party. I needed to do something quick and easy, but it had to be delicious and refreshing as well. I decided on two different kinds of mini skewers; Caprese skewers and Prosciutto Wrapped Melon skewers.
Caprese is a traditional Italian salad (“Salad of Capri”) made with Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella, Salt, and Olive Oil. Instead of making the traditional salad, I wanted to make a more party-friendly version. I decided to bring all of these amazing ingredients together on a skewer that guests can just pick up and pop in their mouths. They’re so simple, full of flavor, and fresh.
Sticking with my ‘Italian’ theme, I decided to go with Proscuitto Wrapped Melon skewers as my other skewer option. I first tried Proscuitto Wrapped Melon at an amazing tapas restaurant in Boulder years ago and have loved it ever since (even though I don’t really even like melon). The freshness of the melon is complimented by the saltiness of the prosciutto, making it such an exciting and flavorful bite. As I did with the Caprese, I condensed what is normally a bigger plate, into bite sized pieces on skewers for easy eating.
Both of these skewers were a hit at the barbecue and went very quickly! On a hot summer day, a nice refreshing bite of something so delicious is definitely very satisfying…and the nice little skewers are just the perfect appetizer; they don’t fill you up too much, so there’s plenty of room for all the delicious barbecue to come!
- 20 grape tomatoes
- 20 basil leaves
- 1 ball fresh mozzarella, cut into 20 cubes
- olive oil, to drizzle over
- balsamic vinegar, to drizzle over
- salt & pepper
- toothpicks/mini skewers
- Prepare all ingredients and have them ready to go in an assembly line.
- Assemble the skewers; place one tomato, one bail leaf (I fold them in half or thirds when putting them on the skewer), and one cube of mozzarella on each skewer.
- Repeat until all ingredients have been used up.
- Before serving, lightly drizzle all of the skewers with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (if you like), and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- *These can be made a few hours in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator until serving time.
- 1 package thinly sliced prosciutto
- 1 melon (cantaloupe)
- balsamic vinegar, to drizzle over
- salt & pepper
- toothpicks/mini skewers
- Cut prosciutto into 20 thin strips, about 1 inch in diameter.
- Cut melon into 20 bite sized cubes.
- Gently take one slice of prosciutto and wrap around one cube of melon, secure through the middle with a toothpick.
- Repeat until all ingredients have been used up.
- Before serving, lightly drizzle all of the skewers with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (if you like), and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- *These can be made a few hours in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator until serving time.
- *If you have extra time, you can elevate the dish by making a balsamic reduction to drizzle over the bites, rather than just balsamic vinegar. To do so, pour about 1 cup balsamic vinegar (option: stir in a tablespoon of honey) into a heavy bottomed saucepan and place over medium heat and bring to a low boil. Adjust heat to maintain a steady simmer, allowing the vinegar to reduce slowly. After the vinegar has reduced by about half it should have a syrupy texture and be ready to go, this should take about 20-25 minutes.
