Shrimp, sausage and bison... Together! On a stick!

Roll with me on this one. These Middle Eastern-style skewers combine a potent but delicious seasoning blend (gobs of black pepper and ground star anise) with a mix of ground sausage, bison and shrimp. The result is deliciously meaty and warmly spicy.

And since the holidays are a time to entertain, we prepared these as tiny party-friendly skewers. If you would prefer them for dinner, you could use larger skewers with more meat (you'll need to adjust the cooking time). You also can skip the sticks entirely and form them into meatballs.

While I favored bison in this blend because it is naturally lean, you also could use lean ground beef or turkey.

If you want to offer a simple dipping sauce for these skewers, mix together equal parts toasted sesame oil, seasoned rice vinegar and soy sauce, as well as a bit of garlic powder and finely diced fresh chives.

Middle eastern sage-shrimp bison skewers

Start to finish: 30 minutes

Makes 40 bite-size skewers

1 star anise

1 teaspoon black (or mixed) peppercorns

3 uncooked sweet Italian turkey sausages

1/2 pound raw shrimp, shells and tails removed

1 small yellow onion, quartered

5 large leaves fresh sage

1 pound ground bison

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

Heat the oven to broil. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a spice grinder, combine the star anise and peppercorns. Grind until reduced to a fine powder. Set aside.

In a food processor, combine the sausages, shrimp, onion and sage. Pulse until coarsely ground. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the bison, salt, star anise-pepper mixture and the panko. Use your hands to mix well.

Break off a walnut-size chunk of the mixture and form it in an oblong about 1-inch thick at the center. Repeat with remaining meat mixture, arranging the meat on the prepared baking sheet. You should have about 40 oblongs. Broil for 3 minutes, then turn and broil for another 3 minutes, or until cooked through. Insert toothpicks or short skewers lengthwise into each oblong just before serving.

Alternatively, the skewers can be cooked on a medium-high grill for about 3 minutes per side. Be sure to coat the grill grates liberally with cooking spray. When grilling, the skewers can be inserted prior to cooking. Avoid this when using the broiler; the more intense heat of the broiler will burn the skewers.

Nutrition information per skewer (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 50 calories; 25 calories from fat (50 percent of total calories); 3 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 20 mg cholesterol; 1 g carbohydrate; 5 g protein; 0 g fiber; 115 mg sodium.

Food Editor J.M. Hirsch is author of the cookbook "High Flavor, Low Labor: Reinventing Weeknight Cooking."