Any suggestions for an apprehensive host, please?

We love pineapple and this is a yummy summer dessert using your grill. It comes from Steven Raichlen's "How to Grill".

You need a fresh pineapple, a 14-ounce can of unsweetened coconut milk, 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Peel, slice and core the pineapple. Shake the tin of coconut milk well before opening and pour it into a bowl. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in another bowl.

When you're ready to cook the pineapple, brush and oil the grill grate. Dip each pineapple slice in the coconut milk and then into the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Grill about 5 minutes per side. Serve in bowls over ice cream or frozen yogurt.

You can do the same thing with bananas, peaches, plums or nectarines.

0 Replies

A nice surprise to find even more suggestions just now. Thank you very much, you good folk! I'm going to read all your suggestions tomorrow, when I can really take some time & concentrate. My feeling at the moment is that I'll wait a couple of days before the gathering to decide. Reason: the weather. The last couple of days have been oppressively hot - very muggy & sticky. The thought of a too filling meal is kind of hard to contemplate. So if it's anything like this, next week, I'm going to opt for simple, light, uncomplicated food. Lots to choose from here! A pity I'm sort of stuck with steak - the minute I mentioned a BBQ my friend D, immediately said she'd bring steak. (She's like that. Always generous. I told her that I didn't expect anyone to bring anything, but ....) Anyway, seeing that what's she & her husband are bringing, I thought I get the same for the rest of us. Not a problem, but something a bit lighter might have been nice ...

Which brings me to dessert: I like G's Flaming Bananas Very Happy

but have decided that I want to serve something I can prepare the day before & just extract from the fridge when it's time. Still not sure what, though. Any not too complicated but good suggestions, anyone?

0 Replies

G's flaming bananas??? Shocked

0 Replies

Kris (littlek) makes a very easy and delish fruit salad - just cut up fresh fruits of any sort, and mix mascarpone with honey for cream topping - so easy, but sooooo yummy.

if you want an appetizer with chips or pita bread, i love this easy carrot one - cook lotsa carrots, throw them in a mixer with olive oil, 4-5 garlic cloves, salt, and voila. you'll see how they'll be breaking their arms to get into the bowl.

I'll try G's flaming bananas one day ;-)
Perhaps the same day when I'll make the Environmental Disaster Cake (with marzipan depiction of oil pipeline spill and maybe even some fires along the way... oil dipped seals and gulls and such...) - idea inspired by boomer, soz, and other usual suspects.

0 Replies

If you have a microwave, microwaved asparagus is fantastic.

0 Replies

Any suggestions
You couldn't (tactfully, natch) tell your friend that you were planning something lighter? It's really sort of inconsiderate to volunteer something like that without checking first, even if it does come from a spirit of generosity...

0 Replies

A very simple rice pudding (indian style) could do the trick for dessert.

Ingredients
2 litres Full fat milk (you can use skimmed milk)
2 tablespoons Rice (increase quantity of rice if you want it thicker)
4 tablespoons Sugar
25 Almonds
10 Pistachios
1 tablespoon Raisins
4-5 Green cardamom
1/2 cup Water

Method
Blanch and slice the almonds and pistas, keep aside. Slightly crush the cardamom seeds.

Wash the rice and boil in water for 4-5 minutes. Add milk and sugar. Stir constantly till the quantity is reduced to half. Add raisins and simmer, stirring occasionally, till it is thick and creamy. Remove from heat.

Garnish with almonds, pistas and cardamoms.

Put it in the fridge and serve cold

0 Replies

Practice tomorrow!

Len and I will eat..... Smile

I made a fantastic watermelon and rosewater granita last weekend.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
bloody great hunk of watermelon (I think recipe said 2kg)
2 tablespoons rosewater

Boil sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Cool.

Juice or process watermelon (or somehow mush) - remove seeds.

Mix watermelon, sugar syrup and rosewater. Freeze in metal container. Get out and stir round every few hours to break up.

You need to make this the day before and keep frozen. Serve with some other fruit. Think some fruit in booze. Simple, great tasting, cheap and impressive! I can supply proper recipe if pressed!

I also made a coconut milk ice cream - but that wasn't so impressive - and there's still some there! I had a guest who was lactose intolerant.

0 Replies

the prince wrote:

G's flaming bananas???

Very funny, G! Laughing

Ya know, I didn't even realize the implications!

0 Replies

Tomkitten wrote:

If you have a microwave, microwaved asparagus is fantastic.

Yes, I do have one, Tom. In fact my "garlicky potatoes" will be cooked in it! That Barbara Kafka has some excellent & easy microwave food suggestions! I know many folk would never use a microwave, for all sorts of reasons, but I do. Not a lot, but I find it very useful.

0 Replies

Re: Any suggestions

Tomkitten wrote:

You couldn't (tactfully, natch) tell your friend that you were planning something lighter? It's really sort of inconsiderate to volunteer something like that without checking first, even if it does come from a spirit of generosity...

Yeah, I know, Tom .... But you have no idea how very much my friend, D, helped me at a very difficult time, a few years ago. A long story, but trust me, she & her husband saved my bacon. For that I'll be eternally grateful. This will be the first time I've actually had them around for a meal (we usually dine out together, I'm not a renowned chef! Laughing

) & I'm absolutely certain she's trying to assist, reduce costs for me, etc, etc ... So, this time, it's OK. I'll just keep everything else light if it's a scorcher. Next time I'll say something like: "Hey, you wanna come around to my place for some macarone cheese?" Laughing

0 Replies

dagmaraka wrote:

Kris (littlek) makes a very easy and delish fruit salad - just cut up fresh fruits of any sort, and mix mascarpone with honey for cream topping - so easy, but sooooo yummy.

That sounds absolutely terrific, dag. And I've heard of k's fabulous repution as a chef. She's a star, internationally renowned! I'm going to do that another time, definitely. But, given that everyone has been particularly slothful during this prolonged heatwave & are now all talking of drastic slimming measures, if I produce anything with marcopone in it they might just want to take revenge! :wink:

0 Replies

the prince wrote:

A very simple rice pudding (indian style) could do the trick for dessert.

Ingredients
2 litres Full fat milk (you can use skimmed milk)
2 tablespoons Rice (increase quantity of rice if you want it thicker)
4 tablespoons Sugar
25 Almonds
10 Pistachios
1 tablespoon Raisins
4-5 Green cardamom
1/2 cup Water

Method
Blanch and slice the almonds and pistas, keep aside. Slightly crush the cardamom seeds.

Wash the rice and boil in water for 4-5 minutes. Add milk and sugar. Stir constantly till the quantity is reduced to half. Add raisins and simmer, stirring occasionally, till it is thick and creamy. Remove from heat.

Garnish with almonds, pistas and cardamoms.

Put it in the fridge and serve cold

That sounds a possibility, G! But tell me, does it alter the dish much if you use skim milk instead of full cream? It doesn't sort of become terribly boring & a bit runny Shocked

, does it?

0 Replies

dagmaraka wrote:

...I'll try G's flaming bananas one day ;-)
Perhaps the same day when I'll make the Environmental Disaster Cake (with marzipan depiction of oil pipeline spill and maybe even some fires along the way... oil dipped seals and gulls and such...) - idea inspired by boomer, soz, and other usual suspects.

Love it!

0 Replies

If you can get a good plain lowfat Greek yogurt, msolga, you can sub it for the mascarpone.

Yogurt with honey - as a dip for fruit - is one of the things I like to make when I'm on meal detail at a cottage event.

<drain the yogurt for about 20 minutes so that it'll be a bit thicker>

0 Replies

margo wrote:

Practice tomorrow!

Len and I will eat.....

I made a fantastic watermelon and rosewater granita last weekend.

Ooooooooooooooh, that sounds GOOD!

Tommorrow, my dear, we are definitely eating out!
It's going to be 41 C, folks! Shocked

See you & Len at the airport, OK? Very Happy

0 Replies

ehBeth wrote:

If you can get a good plain lowfat Greek yogurt, msolga, you can sub it for the mascarpone.

Yogurt with honey - as a dip for fruit - is one of the things I like to make when I'm on meal detail at a cottage event.

<drain the yogurt for about 20 minutes so that it'll be a bit thicker>

Oh, that's an idea, ehBeth! Um, is the Greek lowfat sort of lip-puckering sour, like some of my local varieties? Be good if it wasn't. In any case, ordinary Greek yoghurt has got to be less rich than marscopone, right?

0 Replies

Obviously that makes the picture very different. So grill the steak and ENJOY!

0 Replies

Yep, will do, Tom. Thanks. My (just about) annual red meat fix! Grrrrrrrrrrr ..... puts a tiger in one's tank! Laughing

0 Replies

msolga - the yogurt is definitely lighter on the tum and calorie-count than mascarpone

I'm always surprised how little honey is needed to take the edge off a slightly sour yogurt - and the balance of tang is perfect with the fruit. You could experiment with different yogurts if you're a yogurt user in any case - yogurt is good as a replacement for sour cream in a number of dips for savouries as well, add some herbs/spices for veggie dip - use yogurt to marinate chicken in before grilling - yogurt is a kitchen staple.

0 Replies

Any suggestions for an apprehensive host, please?

Related Topics

Quick Links

My Account

able2know