Cooking with Pete and Barb Marczyk: Grilled wedge salad with honey-jalapeno dressing

Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with a spacious kitchen. They often bring some of their market's choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast.

Whitney Ariss, the merchandising guru and recipe hunter at Marczyk of Fine Foods, is responsible for many of the dishes that you see at the market, and today's recipe, a grilled radicchio and cabbage salad glistening with a honey-and-jalapeño dressing, is indicative of salad season. "The whole month of August is salad-centric at the market," says Barb, "because this is the time of the year that we definitely don't want to turn on our ovens." The salad, bolstered by rainbow carrots and crumbles of queso, is a great backyard barbecue smash, too.

Grilled Wedge Salad with Honey Jalapeño Dressing serves 2

Salad:

1/2 a small head of cabbage, sliced into quarters 1 small head of radicchio, sliced into quarters 1 corn cob, husked 1 red onion, peeled and sliced into rounds Peanut oil 2 small rainbow carrots, shaved 1/4 cup queso fresco, crumbled 1 handful cilantro leaves, washed and stems removed

Dressing:

Juice of 2 limes 2 teaspoons honey 1 jalapeño 2 tablespoons peanut oil 2 tablespoons olive oil Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

1. Brush lettuces, corn, onion and jalapeño with peanut oil. 2. Place lettuces, corn, onion and jalapeño on grill and cook until all sides are lightly charred. 3. Remove vegetables from grill and season lightly with salt and pepper. Set vegetables aside and allow to cool slightly.

For the dressing, whisk lime juice and honey together in a small bowl until well combined. Slowly pour in the olive and peanut oils, whisking continuously. Season with salt and pepper and whisk in the minced jalapeño.

Assembly:

Arrange grilled wedges on plates or serving dish. Slice corn kernels off the cob, chop the grilled onions, and mix the corn, onion, shaved carrot and jalapeño together with 1/4 of the dressing. Drizzle desired amount of remaining dressing over lettuce wedges, then top with remaining salad ingredients. Garnish with queso fresco and cilantro leaves. Serve immediately.

For more from Pete, Barbara and Marczyk Fine Foods, visit the market website. And be sure to check out Pete's blog and Marczyk Fine Wines.