Whether you’re looking for an innovative way to serve an entire meal or a fun way to present a dessert, hors d’oeuvres or garnishes, skewers are a delicious answer.

Sometimes called picks if they’re short, skewers come in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials, depending on their use. A humble toothpick can be considered a skewer, as it can hold small bits of food.

Individual skewers also become a means to control portion size, especially for hors d’oeuvres. Instead of offering a large bowl of somewhat costly shrimp, a single shrimp can be skewered with veggies and served with a small cup of dip, making a more economical alternative.

Skewer types

Skewers can be single-use or reusable, depending on the material they’re made from.

Bamboo and wood are common and inexpensive materials used for skewers. These natural fiber options can be round, square or flat spikes. Some bamboo skewers have decorative knot handles, while some wood skewers have shaped handles like little knobs, stars, etc., for easier grasping. Bamboo and wood skewers are usually tossed after use.

Paddle skewers are usually bamboo and have a flat head suitable for writing on, so you can personalize them with the diner’s name or ingredient information. These work well when grilling meats and offering them in varying degrees of doneness by writing rare, medium, etc., on the flat portion so diners can choose.

Metal — whether aluminum, chrome or stainless — are permanent tools of the trade. Also available in flat or round, these picks may have handles or not. Depending on the skewer, handles can be made of wood or matching metal and can include a number of elaborate curls, decorative shapes or even numbers to help identify individual diners’ fare.

Flexible skewers are made from stainless steel cable and may have handles or not. These are especially handy for fitting dinner-size quantities of skewered food onto a plate, as they can curve around the plate’s contour.

For noncooked items, assorted types of plastic skewers and picks are available. Varying in length from toothpick size to a foot or so, most come in bright colors to accent the food lineup.

Double skewers offer two parallel metal rods for threading food. They offer a better hold for items that tend to slip around on a single-rod skewer.

Pronged skewers offer a forklike end on a single shaft. They’re great for roasting marshmallows and come in extended lengths to keep both kid and adult toasters far from the fire itself.

Some special features available on skewers include a nonstick finish, stay-cool handles and grooves to help keep foods from spinning on the spike, resulting in uneven cooking.

Preparation

Before using bamboo or wooden skewers for cooked food, it’s important to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes to prevent burning and splintering.

Any skewers can also be coated with cooking oil or marinades prior to use for an extra bit of flavor. The oil also helps the foods slide off easier for eating.

Grilling

If you plan to skewer food for grilling, keep it close together on the spear so it stays put and cooks evenly.

Watch your kebabs carefully, as dripping fat from meat can ignite bamboo skewers, even after soaking. Also, small bits of food can sometimes fall off the skewer and catch on fire.

For easier grilling of skewered food, opt for a special grill pan to hold the skewers in place while they cook. The notched edges of this pan keep skewers elevated off the grill surface and prevent the food from sticking to the grill rack.

Skewered food can also be cooked indoors in an oven or on an indoor grill.

During cooking, the food can be brushed with any number of sauces, spices or marinades.

Cooking cautions

Some foods take longer to cook than others, so precooking or partially cooking those foods can be helpful, especially when combining chunks of meat with more delicate veggies. The amount of time needed to cook steak chunks is considerably longer than button mushrooms, so partially precooking the meat is a great idea.

Crisp veggies like carrots, broccoli and water chestnuts tend to stay put on skewers while cooking, while those that are more water based, like tomatoes, tend to distort and slide around.

Skewered food options

The world is your oyster, so to speak, for skewered food combinations. You can make a meal on a skewer, add some fun to a dessert offering, line up some tasty appetizers or create some clever beverage accents, all on skewers of one type or another.

Small skewers are ideal for appetizers and finger foods of all kinds, from stabbing a single cherry tomato to lining up several different veggies on a stick. Add bits of tofu, meat or seafood for protein, or create colorful mixes by threading some greens on the stick as well.

Create a salad on a stick by skewering some cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, small mozzarella balls and some greens. Serve it up with a small cup of dressing for dipping.

For a tasty hot appetizer, group some chunks of precooked sweet potato with marshmallows and just toast to slightly melt the marshmallows. Add a dribble of maple syrup.

Or perhaps wrap some bacon around a single scallop and grill to perfection.

Roll up some sliced sandwich meats with cream cheese in a colorful tortilla, then slice crosswise and skewer with an olive or pickled onion.

If you’re basing a meal on your skewered creations, include meat or seafood and some veggies on the same spear. Or offer a cold meal using precooked meat or seafood and raw veggies.

Dessert spears

Don’t overlook the possibility of dessert skewers — they’re fun and colorful and make a light finish to a meal.

Skewer individual pieces of fruit, like strawberries, slices like kiwi or banana and segments of fruit like oranges or tangerines. Melon chunks are ideal for skewering as well. For a sweet touch, drizzle your fruit with lines of chocolate, or serve with small cups of marshmallow cream. For fruits that tend to discolor, brush the kebabs with lemon juice if they’re made ahead.

Bits of cake or brownies also can be served on skewers, as can some candies like soft chocolates or peanut butter cups. For added color, use a peppermint candy stick — like for skewering fudge brownie chunks.

Mini-skewers or picks are great for drink accents and colorful soda straws can be used for taller creations. Skewer some mini marshmallows and chocolate candies for hot chocolate, or line up some strawberries, orange slices and pineapple chunks for a fruity cocktail.

Serving tips

Your culinary creations can be eaten directly off the skewer if they’re appetizer-size or slid off onto a plate for more substantial offerings.

Serving long skewers of food on a platter is ideal, so that the food doesn’t overhang the plate. If it’s a meal skewer, consider the flexible cable spears so you can curl it onto the recipient’s plate in style.

Dessert, raw vegetable or fruit skewers can create an edible centerpiece by sticking one end into a hard cheese ball, bowl or foam half-ball so they radiate out as spikes from the center point making a multicolor bouquet.

— Reporter: gwizdesigns@aol.com