This is Mama Miche, and today, in my magic kitchen: Surf and Turf Skewers

It's the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day, when Americans remember the soldiers who died for our freedoms. God bless them and their families.

It's also the season of food on a stick. From fairgrounds to backyard BBQs. If you were with us last summer, you know that kebabs or skewered foods of any kind are magical to me. I don't know what it is; it's just a vibe.

This is Mama Miche, and today in my magic kitchen: Smokin' BUTT* Shoulder

Y'all know I medicate with cannabis. I micro-dose all day, and that includes smoking it, but when it comes to smoking meat? My hubster is a rock star. He truly is the king of the grill and smoker, and when he upped his own damn game by coming up with the recipe for our Memphis Mojo Rub, he took the smoker to a whole 'nother level. There's an art to smoking meat, and he is the Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh, and Klimt of the smoker.

The unofficial start to summer is Memorial Day, and what a great way to spend it: smoking meat! Any of the long summer holiday weekends are perfect for this delicious recipe. But why wait for a holiday? Make any weekend special with a great smoked butt! (or shoulder)

This is Mama Miche, and today in My Magic Kitchen: Grilled Lobster Tails with Garlic Butter for Momster on her birthday, 9/1/23. This year, she would've turned 84.

My Momster. You hear a lot about this woman not just because she was my mother, from whence I came, but also because she was my very best friend. I can't celebrate her birthday with her anymore. It will be 10 years since she left for the great beyond this coming October, making Fall difficult for me to get through. It remains my second favorite season, but it's also my least favorite since she died.

She wouldn't want me harping on the negative, so I always find myself looking for ways to celebrate her in her absence. It's usually through food. Maybe it's a Jewish thing or just an “us” thing. On the anniversary of her birthday this year, my daughter asked me what her favorite food was, and without hesitation, I said, "Lobster." The funny thing about my Momster and lobster is that she was very allergic to shellfish, and lobster caused the most severe reaction: her eyes and lips swelling and her lips tingling or numb. It was always worth it to her. She would deal with the allergy whenever she treated herself to lobster.

This is Mama Miche and today in My Magic Kitchen: Kebabs Part 4

The final installment on kebabs. For now. We started with lamb and we will end by doing some lamb again, but oh so differently. We're using ground lamb. This recipe is similar to a Middle Eastern kofta but uses that fantastic and versatile marinade. To the lamb and marinade, we add the crumbs of bread. In the case of the ground lamb meat kebabs featured in this video, gluten-free breadcrumbs and lovingly made using our fabu air fryer as a toaster and our awesome immersion blender attachment. These are bomb kitchen gadgets, and if you don't have them, you should get them. I use them both all the time, if not daily.

Been thinking and talking a lot on these videos about being different and doing things your own way. Not just in the kitchen but in life. Obviously, do what you want BUT harm no one. The Wiccans, Christians, Buddhists, Jews, and most world religions have their own way to express the same sentiment. Many of the same sentiments, in fact.

This is Mama Miche and today in My Magic Kitchen: Marinated Chicken Kebabs (Part 3 in my kebab series)

Chicken thighs. My oh my! These are some juicy and tasty thighs using the same base of compound butter/oil for marinating that we used on the lamb and the vegetables. I'm not gonna lie. This was an experiment gone terribly right. I made a large enough batch of the marinade base and kept it refrigerated. I wanted to try it for a bunch of different recipes to see how versatile it is and I'm impressed. The ingredients of the marinade tenderize meats and they melt in your mouth. It works on vegetables, fish and I'm sure it would flavor plant-based meat substitutes too.

I'm Mama Miche and I'm here to Make Your Kitchen Magic.

This is Mama Miche and today in My Magic Kitchen: Kebabs Part Deux - Featuring Vegetables

This is so easy to make. Pick your favorite vegetables. Maybe even some of your not-so-favorites, because putting them on a stick and grilling them taste different than any other way they are cooked and served. You can always intersperse the vegetables between meats but I like to keep 'em separated sometimes. Obviously, if you keep a vegetarian diet, this is a no-brainer. The veggies I love most on a stick are peppers, maters, shrooms, zucchini, squash, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, onions... you get the picture. They're all good. I marinate them for an hour or two. They don't need more time like meat to absorb the flava flavs. Cook times depend on size and texture as well as how high your heat is. Medium heat y'all, or you'll scorch them. 10 minutes is good for most but some take a skosh longer. Put a fork in 'em to test tenderness. These are great as a side or main.

This is Mama Miche and today in My Magic Kitchen: Kebabs

Meat on a stick. Vegetables on a stick. One must admit that food on a stick just sounds fun. The Turks lay claim to the origin. Turkish soldiers would grill freshly slaughtered chunks of meat. The Greeks make delicious kebabs. The Chinese have amazing meat on a stick too. I mean, if you’ve got a good thing, it’s gonna spread like wildfire, especially if it’s meat grilled over an open fire.

We’re starting another series featuring kebabs. For this short series, I made a variety of kebabs all using the same base marinade, and cooked it all the same day but served some of it another time. Meal prep, bitches. So, you’ll see the next recipes in the series cooking next to each other but it was too much to squeeze in an under a minute or two video.

This is Mama Miche and today in My Magic Kitchen: Smoked Ribs and Chicken with Memphis Mojo Rub™!

Yes, this week in My Magic Kitchen, we won’t be in the kitchen much at all. It’s officially summer and summer means we smoke! We will let Jeffro do the main course, cuz he is smokin’ ribs and chicken! I smoke the cannabis and he smokes the meat. And today, the meat is some smack yo’ mama fall-off-the-bone, slow-cooked Memphis Mojo Rubbed ribs and chicken. Low and slow. That’s the secret of perfect smoked meat. That and his special Memphis Mojo Rub™.

Entirely his creation that we went through many versions to arrive at. If you know my hubster, you know the Virgo in him makes him profoundly focused and he experimented and kept records of every single detailed alteration of his recipe. It really went from great to mouthgasm. To top it off, he created a delectable BBQ sauce. If you like it saucy, you’ll love this! Now, here’s the shocker about our new blend & sauce. No added sugar!