"Hamburger Sticks" a Hit

After a while, I just get tired of preparing macaroni and cheese, pizza, and spaghetti for my little ankle-biters. So last night I decided to try a recipe for Thai meat skewers out of a Marks and Spencer cookbook (they're the authority on all things Thai, don't you know). The recipe included little green things, garlic, and chili paste--yuck-o. I figured I'd better have a backup plan, so I served plain rice and edamame on the side.

Rather than call them "Thai meat skewers" (ho-hum) I called them "Hamburger Sticks" (wow!). I'd cooked them using metal skewers, which I removed before serving. But for the boy's plates I reinserted bamboo skewers so that they boys could pick them up and eat them without forks.

After one bite, Henry said, "I like this!" and went to town on it, finishing every scrap of food on his plate. And Jack ate as well as I'd expected from a two-year-old. I was flabbergasted.

So the lesson here is never to give up!

Thai Meat Skewers (from a Marks and Spencer cookbook, Thai, with some adaptations)
1 lb. ground pork
3 scallions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 T cilantro, chopped
1 t freshly grated ginger
1 t Thai curry paste
1 egg

Put all ingredients into a food processor and blend into a paste. Divide the mixture into six parts. Form each part into a sausage shape, mush a skewer into it, then pat the mixture around it to enclose the skewer. Refrigerate the skewers for at least an hour, then grill on a medium hot barbie or grill pan until done, about 8-10 minutes. Serve with sweet chili sauce for dipping (or ketchup if you want to swallow your pride in exchange for your kids' membership into the Clean Plate Club).