The Days Are Shorter...

But there's still time for another cookout or two, and if you live in the US, Labor Day draws nigh. I usually cook up a grigliata mista, or platter of mixed grilled meats. and it usually goes over very well.

However, there is one major drawback to the grigliata mista: There can be a run on a particular kind of meat that leaves some licking their chops and others muttering as they pick over the platter -- I had this happen once when the chicken was especially good, and those who didn't snap it up were making faces about bistecca alla fiorentina and agnello scottadito (grilled lamb chops). One answer to this problem is to make spiedini, by sticking foods on short skewers (spiedo is spit, spiedini are little spits), grilling them, and giving each diner one or two spiedini.

The spiedini pictured here, which were prepared by a butcher in Florence's Mercato di San Lorenzo, are best suited to roasting because it's all too easy to burn sliced bread over the coals. But they do give the idea, and I've put together a quick and tasty collection of Italian spiedini recipes perfectly suited to a hot grill. Enjoy!