Italian Meatball Kabobs

Three weeks until Amber's wedding. I am officially in maid-of-honor mode, which means my phone is 50% wedding logistics, 30% Amber's emotional temperature, and 20% pictures of centerpieces that all look the same but are apparently "completely different, Sarah, HOW do you not see the difference." I don't see the difference. I see peonies in a vase. All peonies in all vases look identical to me. I have many skills. Floral distinction is not among them.

I'm planning the bachelorette party. Amber wants "something fun but not crazy," which in Mitchell family language means: dinner at a nice restaurant, maybe a bar afterward, absolutely no male strippers because Mama would find out and the punishment would be biblical. I booked a dinner at a restaurant in Chattanooga for the girls — me, Crystal, Amber's two college friends, and Darren's sister. Seven women, one long table, a bottle of champagne that I will not drink but will happily watch others enjoy. Budget: $200, which I saved from my last three paychecks, because the maid of honor pays for the bachelorette dinner and I am a maid of honor who can afford to pay for things now. That sentence still tastes new in my mouth.

Chloe asked if she can be in the wedding. She's not a flower girl — that's Darren's niece — but Amber said Chloe can hand out programs at the door. Chloe has been PRACTICING. She stands at the apartment door and hands me imaginary programs and says, "Welcome to the wedding. My aunt is the bride. She's very beautiful." She does this forty times a day. She is six years old and she is a one-woman welcome committee and Amber doesn't know yet how lucky she is to have Chloe Mitchell greeting her guests.

Jayden asked if he has to wear "the itchy shirt." The itchy shirt is a button-down I bought him for the wedding. It is not itchy. It is a perfectly normal cotton shirt. But Jayden has decided that any clothing with buttons is itchy, and I have decided that he will wear the shirt anyway, and this is the hill I will die on because my son is going to his aunt's wedding looking civilized if it is the last thing I do.

I made a practice batch of the appetizer I'm bringing to the rehearsal dinner — bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese. I've never made anything this fancy in my life. Bacon-wrapped dates. With GOAT CHEESE. Old Sarah would have laughed. New Sarah bought dates from the fancy section at Kroger and goat cheese from the cheese aisle (not the regular cheese aisle — the FANCY cheese aisle, the one I used to walk past like it was a museum) and she wrapped bacon around them and baked them and they were incredible. Sweet, salty, creamy, smoky. Mama tried one and said, "What IS this?" I said, "Bacon-wrapped dates." She said, "Why would you wrap a date in bacon?" I said, "Because it's delicious, Mama." She ate four more. Lorraine Mitchell: questioning the concept, consuming the execution. Always.

After that practice batch of bacon-wrapped dates went so well, I got a little bold — because apparently that’s who I am now, a woman who just “gets bold” in the kitchen. These Italian Meatball Kabobs are going on the rehearsal dinner table right alongside them, because if I’m going full fancy-cheese-aisle energy, I might as well commit. They’re the kind of thing that looks like you fussed, but the prep is manageable even when your phone is blowing up with centerpiece photos that all look the same.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 8 (about 24 meatball kabobs)

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (80/20 blend)
1/2 lb ground Italian sausage
1/3 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce, warmed, for serving
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
8–10 small skewers or decorative toothpick skewers
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
Olive oil, for brushing

Instructions

Preheat oven. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and lightly grease it with cooking spray or a thin brush of olive oil.
Mix the meatballs. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, Italian sausage, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, egg, garlic, Italian seasoning, onion powder, salt, pepper, and milk. Mix with your hands just until combined — don’t overwork it or the meatballs will be dense.
Roll and portion. Roll the mixture into balls about 1 1/4 inches in diameter (roughly the size of a large marble). You should get about 24 meatballs. Place them on the prepared baking sheet, spaced about an inch apart.
Bake the meatballs. Bake at 400°F for 18–20 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned on the outside. Internal temperature should reach 165°F. Let cool for 5 minutes before skewering.
Assemble the kabobs. Thread each skewer with a cherry tomato, a piece of bell pepper, and 2–3 meatballs, alternating as you go. Arrange on a platter.
Finish and serve. Lightly brush the assembled kabobs with olive oil and sprinkle with additional Parmesan. Serve warm alongside the heated marinara sauce for dipping, garnished with fresh basil leaves.

Nutrition (per serving)

Italian Meatball Kabobs — When You’re Bringing Something Fancy to the Rehearsal Dinner