When we moved into our neighborhood, we were so lucky to have a nest of people around us who were already friends or who easily became friends in the first five minutes. We treasure those relationships, as will our kids for the many years we remain in the “Stone Buffalo” neighborhood.

Recently some new neighbors arrived in the neighborhood, and while I didn’t know them personally, I knew their kin and they were already well-acquainted with some other neighbors, so it seemed like a no-brainer to have them over as a little “welcome to the insanity” gesture.

But not knowing them personally, I wasn’t sure what to cook. Are they vegetarians? Are their kids picky eaters? Are they afraid of spicy food or carbs? It was a risky prospect, especially because I count on them becoming the next set of neighborhood BFF’s, so I wanted to get it right.

Enter: the kebab. This way, everyone gets what he or she wants, and really, I get out of cooking. Genius, I know. I marinated chicken and beef, and cut up some produce from the gardens in my life, and poof, a dinner was born.

I wanted something more special than just regular old beef and chicken, so I created some seasoning marinades to elevate the kebabs just a bit.

For the beef, I did a balsamic molasses marinade, and for the chicken I did a buttermilk marinade with just a little kick. I do think this made for a better bite of meat and something a little unexpected.

Balsamic Molasses Kebab Marinade
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of cracked black pepper

I used a flatiron steak and just cut it into cubes, and then left it in the marinade for about 30 minutes, which I mixed directly in a 9-by-9-inch Pyrex baking dish.

Buttermilk Chicken Marinade
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons mustard (I used a sweet-hot mustard but Dijon would be nice as well)
2 tablespoons Sriracha
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey

This, I mixed in a 9-by-13-inch casserole. I had five good-sized chicken breasts, which I had cut into large bite-sized hunks. Again, I left it in there for about 30 minutes while I chopped other vegetables and prepared the sides.

You can put whatever you like on a kebab. For this, I went fairly traditional, not knowing what kind of eaters I was feeding: bell peppers in three colors, red onion, garden tomatoes, mushrooms.

I just left everything on the kitchen counter so people could assemble their own kebabs the way they like. My husband won’t touch a mushroom, and my kid will eat a sweet pepper and meat only. I, on the other hand, loaded mine up with everything in sight.

Hint: If you use wood or bamboo skewers, be sure to soak them for half an hour or so before you build your kebabs, or the skewers will burn up to nothing on the grill. Not that that has ever happened to me.

I served with “hobo” potatoes in foil packets on the grill, and our neighbors supplied beautiful salads and dessert. The kids swam, and we sat with full bellies and talked of times past and future. And I wasn’t exhausted from cooking dinner.

My husband, on the other hand, had to man the grill in 94 degree heat, so this may not have been a plan he was as excited about.