annual salmon roast at the hills market

even though salmon is not my favorite protein, the idea of a fresh fish being grilled for hundreds about a mile from my house was too good to resist. and i'm a sucker for food events. so the husband and i jumped in the car, met a friend at the hills market and got into a line that stretched almost to the end of the shopping center. the line moved quickly and hills had ingeniously set up product demos the entire way. the salmon sandwiches are served with the hills coleslaw and an onion sauce, both complimented the salmon well. this was a tasty sandwich! the aroma of the grill, the beautiful sunshine, live music and relaxed family picnic atmosphere really added to the experience. we chatted with the young men grilling the salmon, who told us the aroma of grilled salmon seeped into their pores enough that they didn't plan any dates for the couple of days following the roast. thanks for your sacrifice guys, it was well worth it.

the hills market maintains an excellent website where you can get tips on future food events (like wine tastings), read about featured products and all sorts of other tasty tidbits.

the hills market
7860 olentangy river road
columbus, ohio 43235
p: 614.846.3220

grilled pineapple

this is so tasty, it should be much more difficult to make.

i bought my pineapple already peeled and cored. all you have to do is slice it, sprinkle brown sugar on the slices, pour a little rum over it and let it marinate for a bit. then grill it on medium heat for 15 or so minutes, occasionally spooning the leftover brown sugar & rum until it's done. i had these with a meal of bison burgers and grilled vidalia onion slices.
so fresh and juicy and sweet. the perfect summer side dish.

grilled asparagus and strawberries with balsamic reduction

two summer foods that rule: asparagus and strawberries.

grilled asparagus and strawberries with balsamic reduction

1 bunch asparagus
1 lb strawberries
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
olive oil
kosher salt
fresh cracked peppper
3 tbs crumbled feta

place balsamic in a small saucepan and turn heat to medium low. allow to reduce by half or more until it coats the back of a spoon.
trim asparagus and hull and half strawberries.
toss asparagus in olive oil, pepper & kosher salt.
grill asparagus over medium heat. toss with strawberries. sprinkle feta over and drizzle with balsamic reduction.

i love the way these flavors go together. something very magical and heavenly happens when ripe strawberries, balsamic and feta get together. it is important to patiently cook the asparagus at medium. cook them too fast over high and you'll get char-y asparagus on the outside with centers that are still too raw.
tonight i served this with some grilled baguette, first drizzled with olive oil, grilled, then generously salted with kosher salt.

what's not to love about linked meats?

carfagna's is a wonderful local purveyor of italian foods. so good, in fact, that i'm having them cater my wedding this summer. more on that later.
i love linked meats and carfagna's has an extensive selection of house made sausage. pictured here is the spinach and feta pork sausage. it's really tasty, and i have only one point of criticism. i wish carfagna's would tie off the casing on each end of the sausage. the ends are open, more or less, and the fat runs out when you cook them. i can't get enough pork fat.

recently carfagna's started bottling their own sauce, and here it is paired with colavita pasta.

summer food rules

here are two of my favorite local summer foods: natural casing hot dogs from the house of meats and dog on good mustard from cajohn's. nothing beats the snap of a natural casing hot dog and this new mustard from cajohn's is awesome. it's a little spicy and the flavor can't be beat. yum!

hawaiian pizza kebabs

internal dialog day dreaming about hawaiian pizza the other day:

"i love hawaiian pizza.

warm pineapple is so good... i'd like to grill some pineapple and glaze it with brown sugar and rum. what if i used the toppings of hawaiian pizza for a kebab...? i should serve it with something bready, 'cause i love pizza crust.
you know, you can grill a pizza.

woah! what if i put the pizza dough on the kebab?
that might be a disaster. what if things go horribly wrong?
hmm.
what's the worst that could happen?"

so i did it, and here's how it turned out:

i really like the way the glaze tasted, especially on the pineapple. surprisingly, the pizza dough faired pretty well on the grill. just be sure to brush them liberally with olive oil prior to putting them on the grill. the dough had a nice crust on the outside and was soft (but not totally done) on the inside. overall i'm pleased with the way things went. next time i think i'll take some pizza dough and bake it in the oven with some of the glaze on it instead of incorporating it into the kebab.

hawaiian pizza kebabs

for glaze:
6 tbs dark rum
5 tbs butter
2/3 cup brown sugar

for kebabs:
canadian bacon
pineapple
green pepper
onion
1/4 ball of pizza dough, cut into quarter sized pieces
olive oil

boil ingredients for glaze gently until the liquid thickens slightly. meanwhile, prep kebab ingredients. precook onions and peppers in microwave with 1/4 cup water for 4 minutes. assemble kebabs and brush with olive oil. put kebabs on the grill and let cook for a couple of minutes. brush with glaze and turn. repeat brushing on glaze and turning until kebabs are slightly browned but not burnt.