Welcome to my Summer Kabob Party. This is the first of a weeklong series featuring a different skewered delight every night.

This party started when Natasha at 5 Star Foodie asked me to do a guest blog post for her. Her only request was that I makeover some classic dish as part of her famed makeover series she does monthy at her blog.

I immediately knew I wanted to do a makeover to the ubiquitous backyard shish kabob. They seem perfect for seasonal grilling because the prep can be done in advance. The cooking is so simple even the non-cooks amongst can handle the culinary task. Leaving you time to throw your magic behind some other aspect of the meal.

Kabobs just lend themselves to makeovers too. Because just about anything can grace the skewer and still be considered a kabob, as long as it’s grilled. Meat, shellfish, fruit and vegetables all make terrific kabobs.

So if they are so easy and so versatile, how come so many of today’s backyard kabobs are just plain inedible?

Light as air these pea and ricotta gnocchi are easy to make. I finish them with bacon and mint so the flavors are full and diverse, making the airy texture all the more exciting. After a week of cooking my mother's recipes followed by a cocktail that took me a couple of days to recover from, I am happy to say I am back in the kitchen cooking my own stuff.

I say my own because I did not follow a recipe here. Instead I applied what I learned from my Tyler Florence cooking experience last month and adapted the process for this version of gnocchi. The notes I took during both excercises became the recipe you see here. I am particularly proud of this recipe. I also like the photo very much.

That's because I spent the weekend honing my blogging skills at CampBlogaway. This photo represents a few new food styling tricks I picked up from Denise Vivaldo. Most importantly I learned the importance of treating my garnishes with as much love and precision as I do the stars of the plate. Garnishes can also be used to artfully hide small flaws and even help guide your eye through the frame. Not that there are any small flaws on this plate... or at least any you can see! If you want to pick up some of these tricks yourself you can because Denise has a book on the art of food styling coming soon called The Food Stylists Handbook. You can pre-order it by CLICKING here. I plan to.