When I am at a cookout with friends, I always admire the stainless steel skewers when my meal is served. The type of skewer the host uses says a lot about how he or she feels about the occasion, the guests, and the meal.

If you have been using wooden skewers, I recommend investing in a good set of steel skewers. They are economical and add sophistication to a kebab. Wood skewers are great for a tight budget, don't get me wrong. But, if you can, pick up stainless steel set. This time if year, grilling accessories are going on clearance and you can probably pick up a good set for under $20.

_{Photo of Weber Skewer and Kebab Set}

Having guests for dinner and don't know what to make? You are not alone. Even I get stumped sometimes wondering just what to prepare for my dinner guests. If I am hosting an informal dinner, I usually make this grilled chicken breast recipe. A long time ago I learned that you really cannot go wrong with chicken. Aside from vegetarians, just about everyone likes chicken. This grilled chicken recipe is a classic and one that you will make over and over!

So now that you have figured out what to serve as the main dish, what are you going to make for your sides? Grilled chicken breast goes exccellently with rice, couscous, and veggies. I usually go with lemon couscous and grilled asparagus, without the lemon and mint.

Od course, you cannot forget dessert! Your guests would never forgive you if you didn't have some delicious treat like a fruit salad, chocolate baklava, or coconut dates.

There are times when we are cooking for our family or having a get together with friends, and we want to serve a dish that is exciting and fun. Many times our family members or friends do not like to eat the same thing, and it can be frustrating to find a dish that will please everyone. I have come across this situation many times, and I have the perfect solution for it: the kebab bar.

A kebab bar allows your guests to choose their own meats and veggies for their kebabs. After assembling them, they hand them off to the chef (you) to be grilled! Here's how to make a kebab bar at home!

I am going to be honest here with you. I am not really into strangely exotic foods or what could really be considered delicacies. You won't find me voluntarily munching on rattlesnake or even eating escargot. Call me boring, but I am a comfort food kind of guy.

I was flipping through the channels this morning and just happened to stop at a show called Bizarre Foods on the Travel channel. The host, Andrew Zimmern, I have deducted is either being paid quite generously for eating such foods or truly has a strange interest in eating, ummm, well bizarre foods to say the least! The episode I caught this morning featured Zimmern enthusiasticly searching a market for bull testicles. Lo and behold, he found them and ate them after they were fried in olive oil, of course. I was sickened by it, yet I still watched. He moved onto eating the entrails of steamed crabs. Heavily piled onto what appeared to be a cracker, the green mush of digestive bliss was comsumed by Zimmern without hesitation. And that is when I had to turn it out. You see, I have eaten the entrails of steamed crab. As a child, someone put one on my plate. They forgot to tell me how to eat the thing. Little did I know that the stuff in the belly of the crab was off limits. A taste I had forgotten, but brought back by viewing Bizarre Foods.

Bizarre Foods of the Middle East?

The show did get me thinking about bizarre foods in the Middle East. While you can find sheep's brain and testicles in some markets, its not as if people eat them daily or even are popular. Personally, I have no interest in eating those parts of animals. But could find such things if I truly wanted to. I guess taste in is the mouth of the beholder.

What kind of bizarre foods have you eaten? Let us know in the "Comments" section below!