Grilled Fruit Desert.

2644125546 3e0d9ff317 m Grilled Fruit Desert.How about a quick, easy and delicious desert? Grilled Fruit? Yes, fruit is perfect for the grill because it is so easy to prepare, just clean slice core and cook. All fruits are made up of water and sugar. By grilling fruit you can concentrate the flavors by caramelizing the natural sugars. Fresh fruit is healthy and simple, the fruits sweet flavors are enhanced further by placing the fruit over a fire. And all of this takes about 15 minutes!

Fruits like apples, pears, and pineapples that are naturally hard are the simplest to prepare as well as holding their shape and texture while cooking. Pick fresh firm fruit, you will want a fruit that is solid enough to hold together and maintain its texture on the grill. Your softer fruits like peaches, nectarines, plums and mango’s take more care to prepare and will become soft and mushy if overcooked. Take your time cooking the softer kinds of fruit. 2644127778 c69904f289 m Grilled Fruit Desert.

I choose Pineapple, Mango and Nectarines for my grill. Two soft fruits and a firm one, that meant paying close attention to the grill. I had to cut the Mango in wedges because the pit is so large. The Pineapple and Nectarine was a simple prep. I oiled my grill and placed the Pineapple over the center heat and the Nectarines and Mango around the cooler edges.

Depending on your heat and the height of the grill, your cooking time will be about 8 minutes per side.

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The first flip produced those beautiful grill marks everyone wants to see.  The Pineapple was an easy flip, soft fruit is a challenge and my Mango and Nectarines were up to that challenge. I should of had a spatula handy, my tongs tended to squeeze just a bit to much. I had to get my fingers in there to help with the flip, no damage done to the fruit and my fingers survived. Another 8 minutes on this side and I was ready to serve!

Tip: Chill your fruit in ice water for 30 minutes just before grilling.

 

2644126208 33b3066238 m Grilled Fruit Desert.The final result were fantastic! Grilled to perfection, the juices were sweet and bold. I added some Vanilla Ice Cream and Caramel topping to produce a fast delicious desert.

You can try some other variations also:

  • Marinade your fruit in spiced water.
  • Make fruit kabobs.
  • Baste with spice butter. Cinnamon, ginger, etc.
  • A mixture of rum, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg make a delicious marinade.

Here are a couple of recipes from Recipe Goldmine to try:

Cherry-Honey Grilled Pineapple recipe

4 slices fresh pineapple
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons cherry brandy
1 teaspoon lemon juice

To marinate, combine honey, brandy and lemon juice in a nonporous glass dish or bowl. Mix together and add pineapple; coat well with marinade mixture. Cover dish and marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Heat grill to medium heat and lightly oil grate.

Remove pineapple from dish or bowl, discarding any leftover marinade. Place pineapple wedges directly on rack or in a basket and grill for about 10 minutes, turning, until pineapple is hot and caramelized.

 

Grilled Paradise recipe

Glaze:
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch

4 slices fresh pineapple, about 1/2 inch thick each
1 teaspoon cracked dried green peppercorns or
cracked black peppercorns
4 scoops vanilla ice cream

To make the glaze: In small saucepan combine the glaze ingredients and whisk until smooth. Bring to boil over medium-high heat and cook until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Keep the glaze warm or reheat when ready to serve.

Season both sides of the pineapple slices with the peppercorns. Grill over indirect medium heat until well marked, 6 to 8 minutes, turning once halfway through grilling time.

Serve each pineapple slice with a scoop of ice cream and some of the glaze drizzled over the top.

Makes 4 servings

 

Skewered Cantaloupe recipe

4 servings

1 medium cantaloupe
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

Heat grill for medium heat.

Thread the cantaloupe chunks onto 4 skewers.

In a small saucepan, heat butter or margarine with honey until melted. Stir in mint. Brush cantaloupe with honey mixture.

Lightly oil grate. Place skewers on heated grill. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, turning to cook all sides. Serve with remaining sauce on the side.

 “Get out of the kitchen! Light the fire! Start cooking outdoors”



South African Potjiekos

This is a guest post from my friend Lynda. She writes a daily blog about farm life in East Africa.

7 close up of potjie pot 150x150 South African PotjiekosPotjiekos is a South African dish which is basically a meat and/or vegetable stew cooked in a 3 legged cast iron pot over an outdoor fire. The word ‘potjiekos’ is an Afrikaans word (one of the languages spoken in South Africa) which directly translated means ‘pot food’ and is pronounced “poy-key-cos”. 

The only thing limiting you when it comes to making potjiekos is your imagination ! You could have a lamb/mutton, beef, pork, chicken or even a seafood potjiekos. You can add whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand, and liquids added can include stock, wine or even beer ! Potjiekos curries are also popular, as is “pot brood” which means “pot bread” and is bread baked directly in the pot.

The pot which I use measures 23 cm (9 “) in diameter and is about 22 cm (8.6”) high without it’s lid on. (It is very heavy, as you can imagine !)4 close up of pot on fire 150x150 South African Potjiekos

To make a fire I usually just use wood (you could use charcoal if you prefer) and I start the potjiekos when the fire is still quite hot (but not too hot) – this is when I usually brown the meat and onions for example, and then once the flames have cooled down a little, I add the rest of the ingredients and leave the potjiekos to simmer over the smoldering coals until everything is nicely cooked and the flavors have all developed. 

Here is one of my favorite potjiekos recipes -:

 Beef & Vegetable Potjiekos

 3 tbsp Flour

 1 tbsp Mixed Herbs

Olive Oil

3 Onions, cut into wedges

8 cloves Garlic, sliced

1 x 400 gm (14 oz) tin peeled Tomatoes

2 Potatoes, cut into wedges

4 Carrots, sliced into rounds

1 bunch Leeks, (tops removed), sliced into rounds

3 large Zucchini (Courgettes), sliced into rounds

3 cups Beef Stock (I use 2 stock cubes in boiling water)

Salt & Pepper to taste 

 1 the ingredients 150x150 South African Potjiekos  3 the veggies are added in layers 150x150 South African Potjiekos

2 browning the meat onions 150x150 South African Potjiekos

Mix the flour & herbs together & toss the beef cubes in the mixture so that they are well coated. Next, pour some olive oil into your pot and fry the onions, garlic and the beef until browned. Add the tin of tomatoes and stir. (You can add some salt and pepper now, if you like.) Then layer the vegetables on top of the beef/onion/tomato mix, according to how long they take to cook. For this recipe I place them in the following order – potatoes, carrots, leeks, zucchini. Now pour the beef stock into the pot, add some more salt & pepper and close the lid. After 1 hour, remove the lid & gently stir and then leave for a further 15 minutes before removing from the fire and enjoy served on a bed of rice.6 the finished product 300x225 South African Potjiekos

Thank you Lynda!!!

 

Please visit Lynda’s blog for more recipes and stories about her life on a remote farm in the foothills of Kilimanjaro, East Africa 

  

 

 http://foodfunfarm.blogspot.com/

     

Note:

  • Potjies come in various sizes from size 1/2 (1.7 liters) to size 3 (8.8 liters). A size 3 is ideal for a family of four. There are two types of potjie’s a ”Plat Potjie” (no legs) and a “Traditional Potjie” (with three legs).

  • If you are interested in doing a guest post on Cooking-Outdoors.com, please send a email with your subject to blog-admin@cooking-outdoors.com

 

“Get out of the kitchen! Light the fire! Start cooking outdoors”

 

 

 

 

 



Barbecue chicken cooked over an open fire.

The lawns were mowed, the day was beautiful and I had an urge for barbecue chicken cooked over an open fire. With my thoughts on cooking outdoors again, I started prepping my fire pit. Chopped up some dry kindling, stacked it over my newspaper and lit the fire.

Dry wood burns fast and I was feeding this fire quickly. My objective was getting the fire stoked for making coals, so I backed off on the bonfire thoughts. I had some dry Plum tree trunks and a bunch Cedar fence board to get my cooking coals going and them and some smoke for the final cooking stages.

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Next on the list was to install my swing away grill for the barbecue chicken.

OK, that took all of five minutes, time for a beer! 2486308615 34906a0ca3 t Barbecue chicken cooked over an open fire.

(This is hard work) I popped the top of a bottle of “Obsidian Stout” from Deschutes Brewery Bend, OR. Excellent, excellent and excellent!! I love this stout! Maybe I should do a beer review? What do you think?

 2487127472 fdc8c4ef3d m Barbecue chicken cooked over an open fire.

Fire is ready, two beer down and it’s time for barbecue chicken breast ala fire pit. This time I decide to put a rub onto breasts (no pun intended) and sauce the other four. My rub of choice and a long time favorite for chicken is Gaylord Hauser’s Spike All-Purpose Seasoning I have been using Spike for many years and is a quick go to for me, try it out. The other four breast are just salt and peppered to start with, the sauce will go on towards the end. My barbecue sauce of choice this week is Trader Joe’s “Kansas city BBQ” sauce.

Cooking time was all of 50 minutes or so. I applied BBQ sauce to the chicken several times during the last 15 minutes, making sure I didn’t burn the sauce. During this time I also feed the fire some of that Cedar fencing I mentioned earlier, added a slight smoky flavor to the Spike rubbed chicken. Needless to say it was yummy!! I’ll leave you with a photo of the finished product.

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