National Something on a Stick Day
An American Celebration..
March 28th is National ‘Something on a Stick Day’ in the United States, a day to celebrate anything edible that is cooked and/or served on a stick. What a great idea!
It actually isn’t quite as strange as it first sounds when you think about it more carefully. Sticks, skewers, poles and the like have been used in cooking for centuries, it was a means of holding and cooking food over an open fire for hundreds of years and those primitive methods are still used today across the globe in one form or another.
It lead me to think about one of my favourite ’street foods’, the satay from Singapore and Malaysia. Whenever I have visited these countries I have always headed for the satay stalls because you can never get enough of that peanut sauce! Strips of marinated chicken (you can use pork, beef or lamb) are thinly sliced, skewered flat and char-grilled. Ordered by the half dozen or dozen they are served with a spicy peanut or sweet chilli sauce and are incredibly moorish.
Then there are kebabs, both savoury and sweet to consider or on a somewhat larger scale a hog roast which is a throwback to the days of our ancestors who would slow cook whole pigs, wild boar and venison to feed a small community.
So I think this is a day worth celebrating, have a think about your favourite food on a stick and cook it on the 28th, let me know what you do. Meanwhile here’s a snapshot of some satay from a favourite food stall of mine in Singapore…
Miles,
I’ve had satays in Singapore and they were delicious. Don’t suppose my nostalgic vote for a maraschino cherry will count?
Toasted marshmallows…. well at least they’re fat free.
Cid
March 12, 2008 @ 7:43 pm
Wow! Now here is a holiday I hadn’t heard of. Must go to the store immediately to find a card to send to someone!!!
Of course, one of our BIG holidays is just around the corner. Why its St. Patrick’s Day, of course. Here in Ireland West, we celebrate this day in big ways with parades, dressing in green, and, my opersonal favorite, dyeing the river around Chicago green!!! There will be drunken celebrations in every bar and pub for miles around. Guiness will flow, Bushmill’s will be “thrown back (as in “throw back”/drink a bottle of beer),” and the bottoms of those who forgot to wear green will be pinched. Corned beef and cabbage will be on many menus. Everyone will try to sport an Irish accent, and even the Hispanics among us will claim Irish ancestry. Such a great day!!!
Annie FLINN
March 12, 2008 @ 9:36 pm
Ms FLINN!
Top of the morning to you! Sounds like great fun and I hope you have a good time. I remember about fifteen years when Irish pubs became all the rage in England and St.Patricks became a social event for nearly everyone. It is sad to say that if we, the English did the same for St.George’s day the equality police would be jumping up and down.
Miles
March 12, 2008 @ 10:22 pm
Cid,
Singapore satay is something special and I miss eating them on the fabulous quaysides.
As for maraschino cherries, if it’s on a stick-it’s in!
Miles
March 12, 2008 @ 10:24 pm