A Note From Dave

Dear North Market Shopper,

As we look to 2011, I believe that the Market is in the best shape ever.

The growing awareness to support local businesses and local economies coupled with the movement to eat locally puts North Market in the “sweet spot” of emerging trends.

In late 2010, we added two exciting new businesses and as we open 2011 we have two more that are equally great.

North Market Spices and their broad selection of unique spices and spice blends has been an instant hit. With a knowledgeable staff, they are the perfect complement to the terrific selection of fresh ingredients the Market has to offer.

Read the rest of Dave’s note here⇒ 

Fiery Foods Weekend

The North Market has been bringing the heat to dreary Ohio winters for the past seven years with our annual Fiery Foods Festival. Folks just can’t get enough of the fire when it’s February in Central Ohio, so this year we’re hosting a whole Fiery Foods Weekend! Melt away the mid-winter monotony at the North Market Fiery Foods Weekend on February 19th and 20th. From special vendors to fiery foods cooking and eating contests, plus kids activities and live music, there’s mild to wild fun to be had at the North Market Fiery Foods Weekend!  

Special fiery foods vendors for the weekend include: Aimee’s Blue Ribbon Spices, Black Swamp Gourmet, CaJohns Flavor & Fire, Chuck Evans’ Montezuma Brand, Crazy Uncle Jester’s Inferno World, Dragonfire Foods, Happy Trails! Chili Company, Heartbreaking Dawns, Mudflats Brands, Ole Ray’s Sauces, Race City Sauceworks and Urban Chefs. 

For a full schedule of Fiery Foods Weekend activities click here⇒ 

Speaking of Fiery Foods…North Market Vendors Excel at ZestFest!

John Hard (aka, CaJohn of CaJohn’s Flavor & Fire) attended the 7th annual ZestFest* in San Antonio last month and brought home FOURTEEN Golden Chile awards (1st place), as well as eight 2nd place and six 3rd place trophies. Pam’s Market Popcorn also scored a Golden Chile in the Salty Snacks category with her Southwest Shazam Popcorn. Congratulations to John and Pam for their exceptional spicy foods!

For the full list of CaJohn’s winnings click here⇒. And by all means come try the winning products in person during our Fiery Foods Weekend!

North Market open until 7PM on Valentine’s Day, Monday, February 14

Here ye, here ye all Valentine’s Day procrastinators! The North Market will be open until 7PM this coming Monday, February 14, which is, of course, Valentine’s Day. You have all day and into the early evening to drop in and pick up flowers, chocolate, wine, a card and/or the makings for your homemade Valentine’s dinner to woo your love. Most, but not all of our merchants will be here, but those you need to fulfill your Valentine’s presents will!

Valentine’s Dinner prepared by Chef Rocco G. Valentino of Pastaria

Impress your loved one with a five-course mealed prepared specially for you by Chef Rocco Valentino to pick up and enjoy in the comfort of your home. If you hide the boxes you can even pretend that you did all of the hard work yourself!

First course: Sauteed Feta Cheese with honey, pine nuts, raisins and basil.

Second course: Lentil and Vegetable Puree with tomato chutney crostini.

Third course: Classic Caesar Salad served in a parmesan basket.

Fourth course: Grilled Asparagus Lasagna with vodka sauce (vegetarian option); Potato-crusted Pacific Cod with champagne vinaigrette and melted leek compote (fish option); Seared Filet of Beer with Valentino sauce, gorgonzola cheese, French fingerling potatoes and spinach souffle (beef option).

Dessert: Creme Puff Couple, one filled with vanilla and one filled with chocolate.

This dinner for two is available for $65 from Pastaria. To include a bottle of wine from The Barrel and Bottle the cost is $85 and includes a choice of either the Piacere Pinot Grigio or a Fattoria Montellori Chianti.

Please place your order by noon on Saturday, February 12 by calling Pastaria at (614) 228-2850. Pick up is available from 11:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. on Monday, February 14.

John Hard (aka, CaJohn) attended the 7th annual ZestFest* in San Antonio last month and brought home FOURTEEN Golden Chile awards (1st place), as well as eight 2nd place and six 3rd place trophies. Pam’s Market Popcorn also scored a Golden Chile in the Salty Snacks category with her Southwest Shazam Popcorn. Congratulations to John and Pam for their exceptional spicy foods!

CaJohn’s Fiery Foods Awards:

BBQ Sauce
1st Place-Alcohol Infused-CaJohns Select Grillin’-Spicy Bourbon
1st Place-Chipotle Base-CaJohns Select Grillin’-Smoky Bourbon
1st Place-Smoked-Jolokia BBQ Sauce 10
1st Place-XXX Hot-Jolokia BBQ Sauce 10

Condiment
1st Place-Mustard-Jolokia Mustard 10

Hot sauce
1st Place-Mild-CBC Restaurant Smoke
1st Place-Chipotle-CaJohns Bourbon Barrel Aged Chipotle
1st Place-International-Oaxacan (awarded 1st, 2nd, 3rd with CaJohns Sauces)

Salsa
1st Place-Fruit-CaJohns Select Salsa Jalapina
1st Place-Habanero-Holy Jolokia Salsa
1st Place-Hot CaJohns Select Salsa Manganero

Merchandise
1st Place-Apparrel- Holy Jolokia Camp Shirt
1st Place-Specialty-Texas Commemorative (1,2,3here too)

Best New Product Non-Food - CaJohns Ace Camp Shirt

Pam’s Market Popcorn Award

Salty Snacks - Southwest Shazam Popcorn

*ZestFest is hosted by Chile Pepper Magazine. Editor in Chief,  Rick McMillen will be in Columbus to experience the 8th annual Fiery Foods Festival as it expands to an entire weekend of events!

John and Sue Hard moved the production facility of CaJohns Fiery Foods to Westerville last month from the home of their former fire suppression business on the northeast side where they had operated for 13 years.  Their newly renovated facility just off the highway gives them 11,000 square feet of space encompassing offices, a state of the art production kitchen and a warehouse.  The roomy and well-laid-out new digs are key to facilitating the production of approximately 2,000 jars of salsa daily!

Within the walls of the unassuming facade are trophy cases holding some of the more than 350 awards that CaJohns has amassed throughout years of winning at fiery foods competitions across the nation.  The impressive haul includes 48 Golden Chiles (awarded by Chile Pepper Magazine), 6 from the annual Buffalo Wing Festival, 29 Texas Shoot-Out first place prizes garnered at the Texas Fiery Foods Show, and 2 Grand Champion titles from the Cajun Hot Sauce Festival. Needless to say, there are so many accolades that only a portion of them are on display at the office. I’m pretty sure he’s got “a few” at home too.

Another case holds what looks to be more than 100 bottles of hot sauce including CaJohns original line of labels and bottles traded amongst industry folks as personal souvenirs. More bottles can be found on the shelves in CaJohns office, on his desk and generally “around”. Original artwork, commemorative posters and other memorablilia are slowly working their way onto the walls around the facility. Piles of other artwork lean against the walls waiting to be hung. One of these days the place will be an amazing gallery of fiery foods memorabilia as well!

Let’s go on a  little photo tour of the place (put your cursor over the photo for a caption): 

If you want to stop by for a taste or a tour the new factory and store are located here:

816 Green Crest Drive, Westerville, OH 43081

Give them a call and let them know you are coming 614-418-0808.

In a few months when they are all settled they’ll work out the details for accomodating bus tours. In the meantime they are open for small groups.  Check out the place where CaJohns manufactures their 42 flavors of salsa, 56 hot sauces,  and 14 BBQ sauces (not to mention the spice rubs and numerous other items that make up their catalog of 180 products. To support the capsicum cause make sure you purchase a bottle of Holy Jolokia hot sauce. $1 from each purchase goes to support the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University.

Possessing more than 300 awards (and counting) from shows all over the country, John and Sue Hard own America’s most-awarded fiery foods company. Their CaJohn’s Flavor & Fire stand in the North Market caters to everyone from those merely chile-inquisitive to die-hard chile pepper enthusiasts. With an already impressive array of products, John and Sue are constantly testing out new items to add to their line of salsas, hot sauces and spice blends.

After a four course feast of indulging in many a Mardi Gras dish, one would think that dessert would be out of the question. But Chef Steve’s Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce (spiked with bourbon) was simply irresistable! And all of us in attendace for that Chef Series Class learned the literal translation of Mardi Gras, “fat Tuesday”, though in our case it happened to be a Wednesday.

Bread Pudding with Caramel (and Bourbon) Sauce!

Bread Pudding

1 C. golden raisins

1/4 C. bourbon

16 C. cubed day old bread

4 oz. melted butter

1 1/2 C. sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

4 1/2 C. heavy cream

1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

8 large eggs

In a small bowl soak the raisins in bourbon.

Place the bread cubes in a large bowl and drizzle with melted butter. Mix 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon together and sprinkle over the bread, tossing to distribute evenly. Heat the heavy cream, 1 cup sugar and remaining cinnamon over low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. DO NOT let the mixture boil! Place eggs in a bowl and slowly whisk in the warm cream. Pour cream mixture over the bread, mix in the raisins and allow to stand 45 minutes to 1 hour, mixing a couple times during this period. You will know it is ready when the bread cubes are no longer dry in the center.

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Butter a 9×13 baking dish and pour in the bread mixture. Place the dish into a larger baking pan and place in the oven. Carefully pour hot water into the larger pan until it comes halfway up the side of the dish. Bake for 1 hour or until the center is set and a knife tip inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let stand until the inner pan can safely be removed from the outer pan. Serve with caramel sauce (below).

Caramel Sauce

3/4 C. heavy whipping cream

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

1 C. sugar

3 Tbs. dark corn syrup

4 Tbs. butter, chilled and cut into pieces

Bring the cream and the vanilla bean to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes. Remove the bean, scrape out the tiny seeds with the tip of a sharp knife and add to the cream. Set aside.

Place the sugar and corn syrup in a 3 quart saucepan and use a wooden spoon to mix the sugar and syrup. Heat the pan over medium heat and the sugar will begin to break down after 3-4 minutes. Stir once or twice mixing the undissolved sugar into the warm liquid. It will become foamy after a bit, once it does stop stirring. Continue heating until the mixture turns medium brown. Whisk in the butter a little at a time and continue whisking until the mixture comes together. (I think an undisclosed amount of bourbon was added to the sauce at this step in our class too). Remove from heat and very slowly whisk in the cream a little at a time. The caramel is extremely hot and will bubble up as the cream is added. Return the pan to the burner over low heat and stir until the mixture is completely smooth. The sauce will thicken as it cools. Serve warm. This can be kept in a covered container in the refrigerator until you need to use it. Simply reheat slowly over low heat before serving.

Get great Mardi Gras decorations like these at Yankee Trader next to the North Market!

John Hard (aka CaJohn) and Chef Steve Lawrence of CaJohn’s Flavor & Fire created a spectacular Mardi Gras feast for the North Market Chef Series Class last week. Attendees were treated to colorful decorations, Mardi Gras trivia (with beads tossed as prizes), sumptous Cajun foods and the engaging banter of CaJohn and Steve. The menu featured a stunning five courses of traditional New Orleans favorites. Since Mardi Gras is a mere week away I’ve reprinted the recipes from the dinner for you to create your own Mardi Gras repast. I’d go with the BBQ Shrimp for sure and then pick from among the gumbo, jambalaya and etouffe for a main course as most of us were rolling out of the Dispatch Kitchen last week after sampling all three!

Course one: Barbeque Shrimp on Mardi Gras Rice

Barbeque Shrimp is an easy and delicious recipe!

1# Shrimp 20-25 ct.

1# butter

1 tsp. CaJohns Cajun Seasoning

1 Tbs. CaJohns Creole Seasoning

2 Tbs. minced garlic

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbs. Lil’ Kick hot sauce

Peel shrimp, but leave the tail on and rinse in cold water. In a high wall skillet over medium-high heat melt the butter. Add the seasonings, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce and stir until combined. Add the shrimp and shake until they are fully cooked, about 2 minutes. Lay on top of Mardi Gras Rice and drizzle with pan liquor.

Mardi Gras Rice: Prepare rice according to manufacturer’s instructions as to ratio of uncooked rice to water. Rule of thumb: 2 cups water per cup of rice. Add CaJohns Creole Seasoning to taste to water before cooking and stir (Chef Steve recommends 1-2 Tbs. per cup of rice). Cook rice, stirring occasionally. When rice is cooked stir once more to evenly distribute the seasoning.

Course two: Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

Chef Steve actually made this for the class with duck instead of chicken which made the dish even richer! Feel free to make up your own substitutes as well. It was also served with rice as were/are most of these recipes. It was all stick-to-your-ribs tasty!

1 C. vegetable oil

1 C. flour

1 1/2 C. onion, diced

1 C. celery, diced

1 C. bell pepper, diced

1# andouille sausage, 1/2″ slices

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 bay leaves

6 C. chicken broth

1# boneless chicken, 1″ chunks

1 tsp. CaJohns Cajun Seasoning

1 tsp. CaJohns Creole Seasoning

1/2 c. green onion, chopped

1 Tbs. file powder

Combine the oil and flour in a large cast iron or enameled soup pot over medium heat. Slowly stir constantly for 20-25 minutes (Chef Steve recommends having a beer or two to keep you company) until the roux turns dark brown the color of chocolate (DON’T burn it, if you suspect you have, time to crack another beer and start over). Add the onions, celery and bell peppers and stir for 5 minutes or until the onions are opaque and the peppers and celery are wilted. Add the sausage, salt, cayenne and bay leaves. Continue to stir 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken broth. Stir until roux and broth are well combined. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally for 1 hour. Season the chicken with the Cajun blend, add to the pot and simmer for 2 hours. Skim off any fat that rises to the surface. remove from heat. Stir in Creole Seasoning, green onions and file powder. Remove bay leaves and serve in deep bowls.

Course three: CaJohns Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya

3 # boneless chicken breast & thighs, chopped

2 # smoked sausage/andouille sliced

1/2 C. olive oil

2 C. onion, chopped fine

1 C. bell pepper, chopped

1/2 C. fresh parsley, chopped

1 C. green onion, chopped fine

3 C. uncooked rice’

8 C. chicken broth

1 Tbs, garlic, chopped

Salt to taste, 2 Tbs. Hot Spots/ Lil’ Kick (more if you like it HOT)

In large stock post or high-walled chicken fryer, brown the chicken in olive oil, stirring frequently so the chicken doesn’t stick to the pot. After the chicken has browned, remove from hot, but leave oil. Add onions, bell pepper, green onions and parsley. Saute until the onions are transparent. Add sausage, broth, garlic, chicken , rice, salt and Hot Spots. Cook until broth level falls just beneath the level of the rice. Reduce heat and cover with tight fitting lid. Simmer for 1 hour until rice is fully cooked. DON’T PEEK FOR 1 HOUR! Serve with a bottle of Hot Spots- Spark Hot Sauce to turn up the heat!

Course Four: Chicken Etouffee

4 # (total) boneless chicken breast & thighs

Salt

Garlic powder

Cayenne pepper

1 1/4 C. flour

Vegetable oil for frying

1/2 C. onion, finely chopped

1/2 C. celery, finely chopped

1/2 C. bell pepper, finely chopped

4 C. chicken broth

3 tsp. CaJohns Cajun Seasoning

1/2# butter

3/4 C. green onion, very finely chopped

Rub all sides of chicken pieces with a generous amount of salt, garlic powder and cayenne making sure it is evenly covered. Refrigerate 30 minutes. In plastic bag combine flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder and 1/2 tsp. cayenne. Add chicken pieces and shake until coated. Reserve excess flour.

Heat 1 1/2 inches of oil in a heavy high-walled skillet to 375 degrees. Fry the chicken pieces until browned and meat fully cooked (5-7 minutes per side). Drain on paper towels and set aside. Carefully pour oil into large glass measuring cup, leaving as much of the browned bits in the skillet as possible. Scrape bottom of skillet with spoon to dislodge stuck particles, and return 1/2 cup of oil to skillet.

Heat oil over high heat until it starts to smoke. Meanwhile, measure 3/4 cup of flour from chicken coating (add flour if needed to 3/4 cup). In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup of each of the “trinity”, onions, celery and bell peppers. When oil is hot, remove from heat and add flour. Use long handled metal whisk to stir until flour & oil are blended. Return to medium-high heat and whisk constantly until the roux is dark brown, being very careful not to burn the roux OR you! Immediately remove roux from heat and whisk in the trinity. Continue whisking until the roux stops turning darker, about 2-3 minutes.

Bring 3 1/2 cups of chicken broth to a rolling boil in a saucepan. Add the roux by spoonfuls, stirring until each spoonful is dissolved. Bring the finished mixture to a rolling boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring almost constantly. When it becomes the consistency of thick gravy, set aside.

Melt 1/4# butter in large skillet. Add remaining trinity and saute over very low heat until the veggies are completely wilted (10-12 minutes). Add the roux and the seasoning and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add the green onion and saute 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken and the roux mixture and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and let rest 15 minutes. Skim off surface oil. Place back on medium burner and reheat. Place chicken on a bed of rice, cover with sauce and serve immediately.

There’s bread pudding for dessert, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for that recipe!