For your grilling pleasure, here’s an alternative to burgers and other red meat from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

Food on a stick is great fun for kids, and the entire family can help prepare this simple kabob recipe.

Children can skewer the meat, which cooks in minutes on a grill or indoor George Foreman-type grill. Then everyone assembles his/her own pita sandwich, customizing the garnishes to their preferences.

This recipe is classic Greek: roasted meat with tzatziki, the Greek yogurt-cucumber sauce, and whatever garnishes you like:

And did we mention, it’s quick?

Find more delicious recipes at Williams-Sonoma.com. Photo courtesy Williams-Sonoma.

RECIPE: QUICK KABOB PITA SANDWICHES WITH TZATZIKI

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
For The Tzatziki (Yogurt Sauce)

Preparation

1. MAKE the tzatziki. Combine all ingredients and stir well. Add salt to taste and set aside. This can be made several days in advance and stored in the fridge; serve it at room temperature.

2. PREHEAT the outdoor grill to medium-high. For an indoor grill, place the grill plate on the lower level and the griddle plate on the upper level (Williams-Sonoma used the Cuisinart Elite Griddler). Preheat both sides to 450°F.

3. STIR together in a small bowl the paprika, cumin, cinnamon, ginger and salt. In another bowl, toss the meat with the oil and 1 tablespoon of the spice mixture.

4. THREAD 5 or 6 meat cubes onto each skewer and place on the grill (or the grill side of the electric griddle). Cook, turning the skewers occasionally, until the beef/lamb is cooked to medium, about 8 minutes, or the chicken is cooked through, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Meanwhile…

5. LIGHTLY toast the pita bread rounds on the grill or the griddle side of the electric griddle, 1 to 2 minutes per side.

6. CUT the toasted pita rounds in half crosswise, then pry open. Fill the pockets with the meat, lettuce, tomatoes, onion other garnishes. Top with the tzatziki and serve immediately.

 
OUR FAVORITE NEW SKEWERS

Grilled kabobs is easy until it’s time to remove the cooked food from the skewer. New skewers from Williams-Sonoma (photo above)solve the problem with a sliding disk that lets you push food onto the plate in one swift motion.

An added bonus: The square shape of the rod prevents foods from spinning when you turn kabobs on the grill. You’re guaranteed even cooking!

This Williams-Sonoma exclusive is dishwasher safe, too. A great gift for grilling enthusiasts.

Get yours at Williams-Sonoma.com.
  

The horned melon, Cucumis metuliferus, goes by a variety of names: African horned cucumber or melon, blowfish fruit, English tomato, hedged gourd, jelly melon, kiwano and melano. The horns are called spines by botanists.

The fruit is an annual vine in the cucumber and melon family, Cucurbitaceae, which also includes pumpkin and the other squash.

The exotic-looking, the spiky, orange colored shells contain a soft, juicy bright green seed-studded flesh. The flesh isn’t sweet, but more of a cross between a cucumber and a zucchini. The seeds are edible, like cucumber seeds. Some people eat the peel, which is very rich in vitamin C and dietary fiber.

Kiwano, or horned melon. Photo courtesy Melissas.com.

Look for horned melon in specialty-food markets and some upscale supermarkets. The fruit should range in length from 3 to 5 inches and not have any bruises or soft spots. When ripe, the melon will have a bright orange shell.

Horned melon is available year-round but its peak season is summer. California-grown varieties are available now; in the winter, they’ll come from New Zealand, where the seasons are opposite.

You can buy horned melons at Melissas.com. If you’re lucky to come across them in the flesh, don’t hesitate to buy and try.

Once peeled, they can be added to fruit salads or green salad. Sliced unpeeled, they can be used as a garnish. Here are some popular uses:

 
For Beverages

 
Play around, have fun with kiwano and tell us how you like it!
  

Bruschetta and crostini are two of our favorite nibbles to serve with cocktails, wine or beer.

Both are Italian traditions, and can be made from scratch or topped with leftover cheese, meat, seafood and/or vegetables. Bruschetta can be made indoors or on the grill. Crostini, which are smaller and can fall through the grill grate, are made indoors under the broiler.
BRUSCHETTA VS. CROSTINI: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

The answer is twofold: the size of the slice, plus grilling versus toasting. Bruschetta (three or four inches in diameter) are cut from a baguette and grilled; crostini (about two inches in diameter) are cut from a thinner loaf (called a ficelle) and toasted.

Bruschetta (pronounced broo-SKEH-tuh) are grilled bread slices rubbed with garlic and topped with any variety of items. The toppings can be as simple as extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, to diced tomatoes and basil, to almost any spread, vegetable, cured meat or cheese—even fruit.

Bruschetta originated in the Tuscany region of Italy; in modern times is a popular snack or appetizer. It may have been the original garlic bread.

Crunchy crostini with summer vegetables and melted cheese. Photo courtesy Castello USA.

The word comes from the verb bruscare in Roman dialect, which means “to roast over coals.” If you have access to a grill, grill the bread for authenticity. If not, you can toast it.

The word bruschetta refers to the grilled bread, not the topping. Some American manufacturers and others in the food industry misuse the term, using it to refer to the topping only and selling jars of “bruschetta” (it should be bruschetta topping). Show your superior knowledge and don’t allow the term to be distorted.

Crostini (cruh-STEE-nee) are croutons—not in the American sense of small toasted cubes of bread used to garnish soup or salad, but thin slices of toasted bread. The word is the plural of crostino, “little toast” or “little crust.”

Smaller than bruschetta, the slices are typically cut from a ficelle, a thinner baguette one to two inches wide (the word is French for string). The slices are brushed with olive oil, toasted and then topped with spreadable cheese, pâté or other ingredients. Plain crostini are served with soups and salads, (in the manner of the formerly fashionable melba toast) or set out with cheese.
 
WHY USE FRENCH BREAD WITH AN ITALIAN RECIPE?

Bruschetta began as peasant food, thought to originate in medieval times when it was common for Italian peasants to eat their meals from slices of bread instead of using expensive ceramics plates. The originators would have used any bread available to them.

Over time, the recipe became refined as an appetizer (antipasto), on more easily handled small toasts. While both countries make a large variety of delicious breads, the Italian repertoire didn’t include long, thin loaves like baguette (the French word for stick) or ficelle (the French word for string).

Here’s an overview of the differences between French and Italian breads.

Now, let’s eat! The crunchy, cheesy appetizer recipes that follow are from Castello Cheese, which has a website full of recipes with cheese.

The first recipe uses their Aged Havarti; the second their Creamy Havarti. You can substitute any semi-firm cheese that can be shaved (examples: Alsatian Muenster, Gouda Monterey Jack, Port du Salut, Reblochon, Tilsit, Tomme de Beaumont).

Prep time is 30 minutes.

RECIPE: CROSTINI WITH SUMMER VEGETABLES

Ingredients For 18 Crostini Servings
 
For The Crostini

 
For The Topping

Preparation

1. MAKE the crostini: Preheat the broiler to high. Brush the bread slices with olive oil and arrange them, oil side up, on a baking pan. Place under the broiler until the bread turns a golden brown, about 4 minutes. Remove and season the crostini with chives and salt. Set aside.

2. MAKE the vegetable topping: Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and pan fry for 1 minute. Add the onion slices and continue cooking until they soften and become translucent.

3. ADD the tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms and chiles and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and top the crostini with vegetable mixture, then with thecheese.

4. PLACE the crostini under the broiler just before serving, until the cheese melts, about 1 minute. Serve warm or room temperature.
 
RECIPE: BACON & HAVARTI CROSTINI

This recipe takes less time than the vegetable crostini: 16 minutes. Castello used its Creamy Havarti.
 
Ingredients for 8 Servings

 
Preparation

1. BRUSH one side of the bread slices with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and herbs.

2. ARRANGE the slices on a baking pan and place under a broiler until the edges of the bread crisp to a golden brown, about 3 minutes.

3. REMOVE the pan from the heat and top each slice of bread with a layer of crumbled bacon and shaved cheese. Return the pan to the broiler and heat until the cheese melts, about 3 minutes.

4. REMOVE and immediately sprinkle with remaining chopped herbs. Serve while hot or at room temperature.

Grilling caramelizes the crust the way a wood burning pizza oven does. But you don’t need the wood-burning oven—just the backyard grill you already have.
 
IT’S EASY TO GET THE RIGHT RESULTS

Some people have tried grilling pizza at home without success. The new cookbook Grilled Pizza The Right Way provides the fail-safe technique to do it perfectly.

Award-winning chef and barbecue pitmaster, John Delpha, has been grilling pizza for 20 years. He honed his skills at the famed Al Forno pizzeria in Providence, Rhode Island that is credited with popularizing* grilled pizza.

Loaded with photos, this book of more than 85 grilled pizza recipes gets you started with the right techniques. Hot off the presses, it’s a must-have for home grillers, and a great gift to bring whenever you’re invited over by a griller.

The book that will change your summer grilling. Photo courtesy Page Street Publishing.

Once you know Chef Delpha’s technique, the grilling combinations are endless, including sweet dessert pizzas (oh, the Bananas Foster pizza!).

The instructions are easy to follow; you can make the dough and toppings ahead of time for a quick weeknight pizza, or use store-bought dough for even quicker eating.
 
CONVENTIONAL & CREATIVE TOPPINGS

Channel your inner pizza chef with varieties galore, from pizza parlor standards to gourmet toppings (goat cheese, lamb and many others) to porting over concepts from other favorite foods—Reuben and cheeseburger pizzas for example.

This weekend we’re making our own combo of ingredients we had in-house—asparagus, bacon, caramelized onions and corn—plus the book’s recipe for pickled jalapeño crema.

We’re are also experimenting with toppings of pâté, cornichons and Dijon crema thanks to a gift of luscious pâtés we received from the pâté pros at Le Trois Petits Cochons.

GET YOUR COPY

Hungry yet? Click over to Amazon.com to get your copy of “Grilled Pizza the Right Way,” plus more for gifting.

Then plan to throw grilled pizza parties all summer. Guests will clamor for the next flavor to come off the grill.

Can’t wait for the book to arrive? Start this weekend with a recipe and tips from Jim Lahey of New York City’s Co Pane restaurant and pizzeria.

His grilled beauty in the photo at left uses béchamel sauce, grated Parmesan, mozzarella, garlic, fresh basil and red-pepper flakes, topped with cherry tomatoes and raw corn.

Find the full recipe at Details.com.

It’s a tube of hummus packaged with a packet of gluten-free crackers. Neatly boxed, it’s a tasty alternative for anyone who wants to keep a better-for-you snack in a car, locker, desk drawer, gym bag, etc.

In fact, if you’ve bought a hummus snack pack on an airline, it was probably Wild Garden.

A small cardboard box includes your hummus flavor of choice in a 1.76-ounce single-serve Tetra-Pak (67 calories; with the crackers the snack is around 200 calories). Squeezing out the hummus is easy and mess-free. Flavors include:

Small, easy-to-pack boxes with nutritious, delicious snacking inside. Photo courtesy Wild Garden.

 
We tried all of the varieties, and pronounce them delicious.
 
The MSRP is $2.29 per box (serving). MyBrands.com sells it for $2.50.