Do you count the days between camping trips? Do you dream of golden roasted marshmallows? Do visions of crispy blackened sugar balls haunt your sleep? Well, my friend, there is a better way.
1 Pack of marshmallows
1 Block of chocolate; shaved, grated, chopped, (or cut into decadent slabs)
1 Packet of graham crackers, shortbread cookies, ginger snaps, (or Oreos twisted open, depending how sacrilegious you’re willing to get)
Just like you would at a campfire. Skewer the marshmallows. Hover them over the grill; close, but not too close.
A temperature of 500-600 F works perfect for me. I simply rotate the marshmallows over the heat for 30 seconds or so, and I’m done.
Slide the marshmallow(s) onto your cookie surface of choice.
Add some chocolate.
Properly squish it.
Eat.
And there you have it. S’mores in 30 seconds, at the end of every grilling session. Who needs camping?
David B. April 7th, 2014
Posted In: BBQing HowTos, Desserts & Fruit, Recipes
Utterly shocked. That’s how I felt after trying this the first time. Hyperbole? Well a little. If you’re mad about apples, applesauce, or apple cobbler, you’ll find this just as good.
A nice simple desert after a cooking session. What’s really great about this, is the smokey deliciousness that mixes with the apples.
4 to 6 apples (or pears as a variation)
4 tablespoons of butter4 tablespoons of brown sugar
4 graham cracker crumbs, ground almonds, or hazelnuts
1 teaspooon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 or 3 cinnamon sticks
—
A small handful of wood chips
Prepare your BBQ for indirect cooking. Soak wood chips.
Core the apples or pears. You effectively want to dig a large hole out of the top, removing the core, but leaving a good 1/2 inch of core at the bottom. You can use a melon scooper for this job, but I prefer a sharp knife and butter knife.
Cream the butter and brown sugar, just like you would cookies, then add graham crumbs, vanilla, zest, spices. Mix, then fill the cored apples. Pop half a cinnamon stick in the top of each one and they’re good to go.
Add your wood chips, and cook until soft and done looking. You’re looking at about 30-60 mins, depending on your bbq temperature.
All done. These apples are begging for a few scoops of vanilla ice cream, if you’re of that persuasion.
David B. December 23rd, 2013
Posted In: Desserts & Fruit, Recipes
The holiday season is here at last; time for family, for friends, and for food.
I wanted to try something a bit different for this post, a twist on a traditional thanksgiving dish. Pig candy came to mind (bacon caramelized with brown sugar, something I’ve wanted to try for awhile), and candied yams. Now that sounded like a fantastic combination.
And it was. Unfortunately I got too excited and forgot to take pictures before the sticky goodness was scoffed by my family. There were no yams left for a second round, but I did have a jar of pineapple chunks, and another pack of bacon. Salty-sweet caramelized bacon wrapped around the juicy bite of pineapple? Oh yes, it was meant to be.
I used a grill of course, but I imagine you could cook these in a frying pan (or even in the oven) just as well.
Ingredients
1/2 pound of bacon
Pineapple chunks (fresh or canned)
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)
If you’re using a fresh pineapple, cut and prepare the pineapple into chunks.
Preheat the oven, and cook the bacon at 350 degrees for approx 20 mins. The bacon should be cooked, but still soft.
Wrap each chunk of pineapple with a strip of bacon (cut the bacon if it’s too long), and skewer this bundle with a toothpick. Now rub thoroughly with brown sugar.
Preheat grill to low, and cook.
Because your bacon is already cooked, the grilling step only really involves caramelizing the brown sugar and crisping bacon. What you don’t want to do is burn the sugar so watch vigilantly and move them to a cooler spot on the grill or remove them entirely, if needed.
(Be forewarned that grilling any sugar makes a mess, be prepared for a little clean up afterwards. It should not be more than a little elbow grease.)
David B. November 20th, 2012
Posted In: Appetizers, Desserts & Fruit, Recipes
If you’ve never tried it, grilled pineapple may sound a bit strange. But trust me; this is one of the simplest and most delicious desserts you could make. Not to mention it has the added benefit of being fun! Who could resist dessert on a stick dipped in bowls of molten chocolate?
This recipe is part of our Memorial Day Menu.
Serves:Â 6-8
Ingredients:
Step 1: Start your Grill and Prepare the Skewers
– Preheat your grill to low heat.
– Soak the bamboo skewers in cold water
Step 2: Prepare the Chocolate Sauce
– Grate the chocolate.
– Put the cream in a pot and bring to a boil (or close to one).
– When the cream is very hot, remove from the heat and add the grated chocolate, stir until melted.
– When you’re ready to serve the dessert, pour the chocolate into little bowls for people to dip their pineapple into. (If the chocolate has cooled too much, you can reheat it very gently on the stovetop)
Step 3: Prepare the Pineapple
– Cut the top and bottom off the pineapple, then slice all the scaly skin off the sides.
– Cut the pineapple into quarters, vertically, and cut each of these quarters into three slices, lengthwise.
– Remove the woody strip from all the pineapple slices. (Make sure this is totally removed, there’s nothing worse than biting into a succulent piece of pineapple, only to find something hard)
– Slide the pineapple onto the skewers, lengthwise.
– Coat the pineapple heavily on all sides with brown sugar.
Step 4: Grilling
– Place the pineapple on the grill, make sure it’s not too hot or the pineapple will burn instead of caramelizing.
– Flip the pineapple when the underside looks like it has caramelized nicely.
– It is done when both sides are golden and slightly scorched.
Step 5: Serving
– Serve on a large platter with the chocolate sauce (this can be reheated on the stovetop very gently on low heat if it has cooled a bit), dip and enjoy!
David B. May 29th, 2010
Posted In: Desserts & Fruit, Recipes
4 bananas
3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 teaspoons grated orange rind
2 tablespoons orange juice, or rum, or brandy
Plain yogurt or cream to garnish
Place bananas in skins on hot grill and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until they turn brownish-black in color.
Mix the butter, brown sugar, orange rind and juice together and set aside.
Place the cooked bananas still in their skins into individual dessert bowls. Using a sharp knife, slit the skin of each banana, then open out enough to be able to spoon in a little of the flavored butter.
Serve immediately with yogurt or cream.
David B. February 9th, 2010
Posted In: Desserts & Fruit
1 large fresh pineapple
3 tablespoons brown sugar
Zest of three oranges
4 tablespoons dark rum
1.8oz. butter
Peel the pineapple and cut into quarters, remove the core and cut each quarter into six pieces.
Butter one side of a 13.8″ x 17.7″ rectangle of foil, fold in half and seal two sides to form a pocket. Combine the pineapple pieces with the remaining ingredients and carefully pour it into the foil pocket. Seal the last side.
Place on the grill and cook for 8 – 10 minutes.
Remove, unfold and serve with ice cream.
Cherries, apricots, bananas and oranges can be substituted for the pineapple.
David B. February 9th, 2010
Posted In: Desserts & Fruit
1 kg ripe pears
4.4oz. unsalted butter
5.3oz. super fine sugar (caster sugar)
1 – 2 tablespoons Poire William brandy (or a combination of pear nectar and brandy should work) (optional)
Vanilla ice cream
Quarter, core and peel the pears.
In a baking pan or large heavy frying pan, melt 100g of the butter over a low heat. Sprinkle in 3.8oz. of the sugar, swirling it around so that the whole pan is coated.
Remove from the heat and place the pears in the pan. Return to a moderate heat and cook for 10 minutes. Turn pear quarters, and dot each with the rest of the butter and sprinkle with the rest of the sugar. Cook over a low heat for a further 10 – 15 minutes until the pears are golden and caramelized. Keep warm.
If desired sprinkle the pears with the liqueur at the last minute.
Serve with vanilla ice cream.
David B. February 9th, 2010
Posted In: Desserts & Fruit
4 spicy fruit buns
2 eggs
½ cup milk
Butter or Oil for cooking
4 bananas
Maple syrup
Cut each fruit bun into three slices. Lightly beat eggs and milk together until combined. Heat butter or oil on a grill hotplate. Dip each bun slice in egg mixture. Drain off excess and cook on hotplate until golden and crisp. Turn to cook other side. Place bananas in skin on grill and cook while French toast is cooking.
Cook bananas for about 10 minutes or until soft.
To serve stack French toast on a plate. Slit banana skin to reveal banana and drizzle banana and toast with maple syrup.
David B. February 9th, 2010
Posted In: Desserts & Fruit
Oat cake Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup flour
½ cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon oil
Canned peaches, apricots or nectarines
Athol Brose Ingredients
½ pint cream
½ cup oatmeal
1 tablespoon icing sugar
2 tablespoons whisky
Oat cake recipe
Beat eggs, milk and vanilla together until combined. Mix flour, oats, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add milk mixture. Mix with a fork until combined.
Heat oil on a grill hotplate. Cook quarter cupfuls of mixture over a low heat until bubbles start to form. Turn and cook other side until golden and cooked. Serve warm with drained canned fruit and Athol Brose.
Athol Brose recipe
Beat cream until it just starts to hold its shape. Mix in oatmeal, icing sugar and whisky until combined. Serve with warm Oat cakes and drained canned fruit.
David B. February 9th, 2010
Posted In: Desserts & Fruit
4.7