Man, this has been a really weird start to the summer, with the coolest temperatures and least sunny skies that I can remember for these weeks (and weeks, and weeks).
The upside, however, is that it's been plenty warm enough to use my grill, without being so hot as to make me not want to grill.
Through May, I shared lots of recipes for cookouts and grilling, and this week I'm finishing the topic with the finale to a cookout: the dessert. While some years I like to share no-bake recipes to keep your house cool during the summer, today I'm taking the baking, or rather not-baking, out to the grill.
Grilling desserts is still kind of a novelty, but I feel like the grilled pound cake and grilled fruit skewer recipes have been out there for quite a while now. I tried to find some new ideas, but all of these still contain fruit in some form or other.
I have two recipes that involved grilling bananas, because frankly, bananas really do taste great when they're cooked at high heat. The first recipe I saw was for banana boats, a recipe that I remember making as an elementary-school aged Girl Scout on camping trips. Here you slit open a banana peel, tuck in chocolate chips and marshmallows, try to close the peel back up as best you can and wrap the whole thing into foil, creating a boat shape. Then you grill it for 5 to 10 minutes, until it gets melted and gooey. In Girl Scouts, we were usually too impatient to really get the banana part to cook, but it was still a very exciting and simple treat that I thought it would be worth mentioning.
The second banana recipe is for banana bites, which are little sandwiches with chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallow crème and brown sugar-coated grilled bananas. Again, very easy, but still a delight.
Third, a recipe for grilled peaches and blackberry sauce, which I thought would be great since those two fruits do mature at the same point of the season. Here you make the sauce indoors ahead of time, then grill the peaches, coated in butter, for about 10 minutes, then serve with frozen yogurt or ice cream and topped with the blackberry sauce. There are a lot of variations out there on grilled peaches, so I'm betting they have to be pretty good.
And finally, a sort of pineapples foster, made with a brown sugar and rum sauce with cinnamon, quickly cooked at high heat, then served with ice cream while it's still warm. They had me at rum sauce. Since this is a quick sear over the grill (or indoors in a grill pan or sauté pan), then recoated with the extra sauce, it may still be a bit boozy so you probably won't want to serve this one to kids. Give them the store-bought caramel sauce instead, since they probably won't know any different.
Enjoy!
Banana boats
4 medium unpeeled ripe bananas
4 teaspoons miniature chocolate chips
4 tablespoons miniature marshmallows
Cut banana peel lengthwise about 1/2 inch deep, leaving 1/2 inch at both ends. Open peel wider to form a pocket. Fill each with 1 teaspoon chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon marshmallows. Crimp and shape four pieces of heavy-duty foil (about 12-inch square) around bananas, forming boats.
Grill, covered, over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until marshmallows melt and are golden brown.
Source: www.tasteofhome.com
Grilled banana bites
6 Hawaiian sweet dinner rolls, such as King's Hawaiian
6 tablespoons peanut butter
6 tablespoons semisweet chocolate pieces
2 – 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 medium bananas
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Pinch salt
½ cup marshmallow crème (optional)
Split rolls in half horizontally, cutting the rolls three-fourths of the way through (like a hot dog bun). Spread the cut sides of each roll with 1 tablespoon of the peanut butter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the chocolate pieces. Close each roll and wrap in foil.
Place brown sugar in a shallow bowl. Peel bananas; cut each banana crosswise into thirds. Coat banana pieces with butter and roll in brown sugar. Insert one skewer* into each banana piece. Lightly sprinkle with salt.
For a charcoal or gas grill, place wrapped rolls on the rack of a covered grill directly over medium-low heat. Grill about 3 minutes or until warmed, turning once halfway through grilling. Place skewers with banana pieces on grill rack. Cover and grill about 3 minutes or until heated through, turning once or twice.
To assemble, carefully unwrap rolls and insert a banana piece into each roll, removing skewer. If desired, top banana pieces with marshmallow crème.
Note: If using wooden skewers, soak in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling.
Source: www.bhg.com
Grilled peaches with blackberry sauce
4 medium peaches, firm but ripe, halved
1 cup vanilla frozen yogurt (optional)
For the sauce:
6 ounces (about 1 cup) fresh blackberries
2 tablespoons water
2–3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat (350 to 450 degrees).
In a food processor, puree the blackberries with the water. Add sugar to taste.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Brush the peach halves all over with the butter mixture.
Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the peach halves over direct medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until they are browned in spots and warm throughout, 8 to 10 minutes, turning every 3 minutes or so. Remove the peaches from the grill and serve warm with the blackberry sauce and frozen yogurt, if desired.
Source: www.weber.com
Easy (& flameless) pineapple foster
1/2 cup dark rum
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (plus extra for dusting)
1 pineapple, cored and cut into about 6-8 rings (choose desired thickness)
Cooking spray
Favorite vanilla ice cream
In a small bowl, mix together rum, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Then in a glass baking dish (or other container), lay out the pineapple rings and pour the rum mixture over them. Toss to coat, then let soak for at least 15 minutes, flipping the pineapple midway through.
When you are ready to cook the pineapple, strain out the extra rum sauce from the pan of pineapple, and transfer it to a small saucepan. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until reduced by half. Set aside.
While the sauce is cooking, heat a grill pan, sauté pan or grill over medium-high heat until hot. Lightly grease the pan with cooking spray. Add pineapple slices in an even layer (you may need to do this in multiple batches) and cook for 1 to 2 minutes per side until browned and grill marks appear. Transfer to a serving plates, and set aside. Repeat with remaining pineapple.
Top each pineapple ring with a scoop of ice cream and drizzle with rum sauce. (If desired, you can also lightly dust the pineapple with some extra cinnamon.) Serve immediately.
Source: www.gimmesomeoven.com
