Cooking on a Stick: Grilled Caprese Kabobs

Our ancient human ancestors have been cooking with fire for over one million years. This new magazine feature will take us back to our primal beginnings, but with better ingredients and more ingenuity. Cooking "On a Stick" isn’t just for the campsite though. The backyard firepit is the perfect place to brandish the skewers and roasting sticks...no running allowed! We are going to bring you ideas beyond the hot dog for fun and delicious food. Caprese Salad, the classic tomato, mozzarella and basil trio, a simple but sure to please combination, done with a twist that brings out even more flavor. These are best made when the tomatoes are in season.

Serves: 6 Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

These are incredibly simple to make and taste like a fresh, summer caprese salad. Enjoy! But what makes this dish better than a salad? It’s cooked on a stick over a bed of hot coals so the cheese gets gooey and the tomatoes roast so they burst with their summer flavor.

These are so easy to prepare ahead of time and then you can cook them over the fire when you’re ready. I recommend making the balsamic glaze at home and bringing it with you. But if you want to do it all at the campsite, that’s possible too - you’ll just need a pan to reduce the balsamic vinegar. The instructions are below.

Ingredients: Balsamic glaze

Balsamic vinegar 2 cups

Honey or brown sugar 1⁄2 cup

Instructions for the balsamic glaze (recommend to do at home for ease) 1. Mix balsamic vinegar with brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until glaze is reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Glaze should coat the back of a spoon. Let cool and pour into a jar with a lid; store in the refrigerator. 2. Substitute any other flavored balsamic vinegar to suit your taste. Instead of brown sugar, substitute molasses, honey, maple syrup or agave nectar. The flavor is intense and should be used as a drizzle only. Some of my favorite ways to serve are with gorgonzola cheese and green onions on pasta or portobello mushrooms, on grilled beets and carrots, with salmon or pork, or as a dressing on salad.

Instructions for making the Grilled Caprese Ingredients: Caprese Kabobs 20 small tomatoes 20 medium fresh mozzarella balls 30 fresh basil leaves (tear or fold large leaves) 6 kebabs/sticks olive oil kosher salt and black pepper

1. Take your skewers or stick and thread 2 tomatoes and 2 mozzarella balls and 3 basil leaves on each kebab (alternating). 2. Drizzle the kebabs with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 3. Cook each side for about 2-3 minutes over your hot coals until the tomatoes get soft and slightly charred and the cheese is melting. Turn frequently so your cheese doesn’t melt off! 4. Place the kebabs immediately on a platter to serve and drizzle with balsamic glaze.