My husband and I enjoy putting together charcuterie boards (French) or antipasto (Italian) salads/platters for meals as we really enjoy variety when we eat. For this Instructable I put together an antipasto platter on skewers! A fun meal, but also a great appetizer or snack for groups of people. No one hovering over food, just grab a stick and go!

Supplies

Skewers

Variety of Meats

Salami

1/4-1/2 Prosciutto

Pepperoni

1/4lb Ham (I used a slow baked ham from Whole Foods)

Anchovies

Variety of Cheeses

Mozzarella

1/4lb Provolone

Parmasean/Asiago

Accompaniments

Olives

Peperoncino

Tortellini

Cherry tomatoes

Pickled Artichoke

Pickled mushrooms

Toasted bread

Red onion (cut into chunks)

Dressing- Optional

Italian

Greek

*The above is just ideas, there are tons of different meats you can use for an antipasto.

Step 1: Prep Accompaniments

Cook tortellini according to package directions. When finished, remove and let cool. Toss with Italian, Greek, or preferred dressing.

While the tortellini is cooking, slice and toast the bread. The bread can be cut into smaller sizes for skewering after toasting. Or you can leave it on the side of the platter.

Pepperoncini's can be cut into chunks or left whole. I slice the stems off only because they're a pain to eat, but it does also make a mess and juices/seeds may come out.

I like to buy cherry tomatoes that are fresh, local, and small enough that I don't need to cut them.

Red onion should be cut into chunks to make them easier to skewer.

I wasn't paying attention to the $1.79 package of herb and lemon olives I bought at Trader Joe's, but they had pits and couldn't be skewered so I used the regular green olives and put the fancy olives in dish.

Step 2: Prep Meats

Depending on how thick you want your meat on the kabob you can roll up the meats and cut them in thirds or fourths OR fold each slice over on itself a few times. Pepperoni doesn't need to be cut, it can be folded.

I'm using Trader Joe's salami, which I cube in small chunks for skewering.

Anchovies can be cut in half or left whole. I didn't end up using them this time because I didn't want my hands to smell like fish :)

Step 3: Prep Cheeses

Prep cheeses by cubing any cheese in blocks (parm, asiago). Sliced cheeses can be rolled up and cut smaller, or folded over on itself. I chose to roll and then cut into quarters.

Asking for the provolone to be cut thin sliced will make it easier to roll and cracks less. You can also save space on your skewer by rolling the provolone and a sliced meat together.

Step 4: Putting It All Together

When I skewer things, I like to put heavier items (tomatoes, some olives, blocks of cheese/salami) on the bottom and then try to distribute them more evenly across the skewer. I also tend to sandwich the lighter items or items that may slide (mozzarella balls) between heavier items.

Leftovers can be wrapped and refrigerated or de-skewered and put into a bowl of salad with some nice dressing.