Grilled Peaches & Pineapple

Eish, somehow three weeks have passed since graduation and my last post. And what have I been doing with myself, you ask? Well, mostly studying all day, every day for boards. That coupled with training for my first half-marathon in October has pretty well kept me shockingly busy, or I'm just lazy with the time left over after a full day of lectures, 100+ pages of textbook reading and miles of running. Either way, I'm back and have a bunch of recipes to post to get you through the end of summer (seriously, where did it go?! I'm quite irked about this!) and into the awesomeness of fall.

Grilling fruit is a really great way to utilize an already fired up grill at your end-of-the-summer dinners, or possibly carry over into tailgating season, without heating up the house to bake something. Perhaps the weather is different where you are, but August in Iowa tends to run in the 90s, both for temperature and humidity, so heating up the apartment more is something I avoid as much as possible! As usual, I forgot to take my camera to get some finished shots of this delicious, juicy dish, so this picture is courtesy of the website Learn How To Cook.

One of the things I miss most about my old apartment is the lack of a deck, which also means the lack of space for plants and a grill. So when Brian and I set up a dinner party with our friends Ashley and Tom at their new condo, complete with a grill, I wanted to attempt to give grilling peaches a try. I've grilled the pineapple before, but I liked the peaches way, way better. End of summer peaches have so much sweetness and drippy, messy moisture to them that they're a great dessert all on their own- and it gets kicked up a few notches when you coat them in honey, soak them in bourbon and then throw them on the grill!

Previously, I've soaked the pineapples in rum prior to grilling, but I discovered I only had a small amount left. So I cashed the Captain Morgan I had left in the pineapple and used bourbon to complete both the pineapple and peaches. I think the bourbon is probably a better flavor match for the peaches anyway, since the combo made fantastic hand-held pies last football season. You pretty much prep the pineapple the same way as the peaches, though cutting up a pineapple can seem tricky if you've never done it before, so I included some pictures!

Grilled Peaches & Pineaple
Serves 4

4 ripe peaches, halved and pitted
1 fresh pineapple
Honey
Bourbon or rum, if desired
Cinnamon, to dust over peaches

1. Coat the peaches with a small dollop of honey.
2. Prick the insides of peaches with a fork to aid them taking up the bourbon. Place them, insides-down, in a container and pour in enough bourbon to cover the bottom of the dish/peaches.
3. Dust tops of peaches with cinnamon. Cover and let sit 1-4 hours, until ready to grill.

4. Cut and discard the top and bottom off the pineapple. Then cut the sides off, aiming to cut just far enough into the fruit to ensure no brown-spikes are left.

5. Cut the pineapple fruit off the core, then slice into ~1" wide strips.
6. Place pineapple in a container and cover the bottom with rum or bourbon. Cover and let sit 1-4 hours, until ready to grill.

7. Place fruit on the grill, turning ever 5-10 minutes to ensure they don't stick. Watch for flare-ups that can occur if/when alcohol drips onto the flame!

8. Fruit is done when tender. Pineapple will likely finish before peaches, as they are thinner pieces.
9. Serve directly from the grill and enjoy!