Grilled dessert makes a perfect addition to your Memorial Day cookout

You’ve got this grilling thing down. Memorial Day dinner on the grill might start with some jalapeno poppers or maybe some shellfish — oysters with butter and garlic, say, or shrimp on skewers. For the main event, you’ll rotisserie a chicken or roast a duck, or do some steaks and lobsters if you’re feeling flush, hamburgers and hot dogs if you’re not. Some roasted potatoes, grilled corn on the cob …

And here the needle scratches off the record, because what are you going to do for dessert? You can’t exactly make ice cream or cheesecake on the grill.

Ah, but you can grill dessert, and — contributing flavor, color and even healthful aspects — you can start with fruit.

“A really good thing to do for dessert when you’re grilling is fresh fruit, especially at this time of year,” said Joseph Kudrak, assistant executive chef at Red Rock Resort.

Stone fruit — that would be peaches, apricots, plums or anything else with a stone in the center — is just coming into season, he said, and it’s particularly suited to this cooking method.

“The high heat from the grill caramelizes a lot of those natural sugars and sweetens it a little bit more and makes it softer, more tender,” he said. “One of the things you can do is an open-faced galette with some fresh fruit in it. You can use a pizza stone, and make the grill work almost like a pizza oven.”

Vincent Pouessel, executive chef of DB Brasserie at The Venetian, said if you find it’s a little early in the season for stone fruit, you can always grill some pineapple. He suggests marinating it.

“Buy a whole pineapple, cut it up, put it in a Zip-Loc with fennel sticks, star anise and cardamom,” he said. “For the adults, add a splash of bourbon or rum. It really, really marinates it and picks up all the different flavors.”

After the pineapple has marinated a bit, he said, remove it from the bag and pat dry. Reserve the liquid, but toss the spices on the fire for a little bit of extra flavor. Since it’s at the end of the meal the fire has started to die down, but you’ll still want to put the pineapple on a cooler section of the grill, and keep turning it until it’s done.

In the meantime, put the juices in a pan and add some maple syrup; heat the sauce to reduce it a bit. Add more bourbon, Scotch or rum for the adults, if you want, and some Tabasco for a surprising bit of kick.

“Add a couple of cubes of butter and whisk it with a little bit of sea salt,” Pouessel said. “Brush the pineapple with it when it’s right off the grill. It’s super simple. It’s something you can actually do at the park; you don’t need an entire kitchen. And the result is really amazing.”

Bananas are another option, Pouessel said; grill them in the skin with a little flavored sugar.

Or make a salted butter, using canned peaches. He said to process the peaches in a food processor with butter and some vanilla bean, maybe adding some schnapps for the adults. Wash your stone fruit and cut in halves or quarters, removing the stones. Brush the fruit with the butter while you’re grilling it.

“A very important part of it is you don’t want to throw them on a burning-hot grill,” he said. “Go to the side of the grill, where the heat is radiating from the embers. That should close out your barbecue lunch.”

Well, not quite. Pouessel said he brings ice cream in a rolling ice chest packed with dry ice, to be scooped over the hot fruit.

“It’s divine,” he said.

And he said to be careful what you’re burning: “It all starts with the fire.”

“Try to grill on actual wood, which does make a huge difference,” he said. “We try to stay away as much as possible from charcoal. If you’re going to use charcoal, you want to use something that’s fully natural.”

Feel free to experiment, because you’ll have many opportunities to come.

“The grilling season, especially in Vegas, starts about now, as soon as the pollen and everything’s done,” Pouessel said. “The best time of year is now. It’s not as brutally hot as the middle of summer.”

GRILLED STRAWBERRY-BLUEBERRY GALETTE

Dough for 1 1/2 pie crusts

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon canola oil

1/2 cup almonds

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 cups strawberries, stems removed, rinsed, patted dry and chopped

3 cups blueberries, rinsed and patted dry

1 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch

1/2 lemon juice

Galette topping:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup shaved almonds

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Preheat the grill to medium-high, about 400 degrees.

Roll out pie dough, press it into a greased baking dish and brush with a mixture of 1 egg and 1 teaspoon canola oil. Set aside.

In a food processor, pulse together the almonds, flour, granulated sugar and a pinch of salt until fine. Set aside.

In large bowl, toss together strawberries, blueberries, brown sugar, corn starch and lemon juice. Let set for 10 minutes, then drain all the liquid.

Spread almond-flour mixture over the pie dough. Spoon in the fruit, filling the pie to the brim.

Fold pie edges over the fruit filling, then brush the folded dough with butter and sprinkle with the shaved almonds and turbinado sugar, across the top of the pie.

Place the baking dish on the grill grates over direct heat for the first 3 to 5 minutes, browning the bottom of the pie. Then transfer to indirect heat and bake with the grill lid closed for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pie crust is golden brown and the fruit is just bubbling. Turn the pie 1 1/2 turns every 5-10 minutes, basting intermittently with melted butter.

Carefully remove the pie from the grill and set on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Plate with vanilla ice cream and serve.

GRILLED APPLES

3 to 4 apples

1 package caramel-stuffed chocolates

1 package mini-marshmallows

Cut the core out of the apples. Add 2 to 3 chocolates to each core.

Wrap the stuffed apples in aluminum foil. Grill over indirect heat while your main course is cooking. If you aren’t grilling a main course simply sit the apples over direct heat for about 15 minutes, until softened.

When the main course is done, turn the grill off.

Move the wrapped apples to the direct heat area of the grill and add some mini-marshmallows.

In about 15-20 minutes, the marshmallows and chocolate will melt into the apple sauce.

Recipes adapted from Charbroil

GRILLED STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE KEBOBS

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup creme fraiche

2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar

Zest of 1/2 lemon

1 1-pound angel food cake

32 strawberries (2 pounds), preferably about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, hulled to create a V-shaped hollow

6 tablespoons strawberry jam

Beat whipping cream, creme fraiche, sugar and zest in a bowl with a mixer until thick enough to hold a soft shape. Chill.

Cut cake into parallel slices 1 1/2 inches wide, then cut slices into 32 chunks, each 1 inches. Save remaining cake for other uses.

Heat grill to medium-low (300 to 350 degrees). Place strawberries in a large bowl. Microwave jam in a glass measuring cup until bubbling, about 30 seconds. Using a pastry brush, dab hulled insides of berries with jam, then brush remaining jam over berries and turn gently to coat all over.

Hold a pair of 8-inch bamboo skewers so they’re slightly separated and thread a chunk of cake onto them, then a berry crosswise, then another chunk of cake and another berry. Repeat to make 15 more kebabs.

Grill kebabs, covered, turning once with tongs, until grill marks appear, 3 to 4 minutes; cake should release from grate when it’s toasted, but if not, nudge with tip of tongs. Serve with cream mixture.

Serves 8.

Recipe from Sunset

GRILLED PINEAPPLE WITH BROWN SUGAR, COCONUT AND RUM

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1 (3 1/2-to 4-pound) pineapple, peeled

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup dark rum

2 teaspoons curry powder (preferably Madras)

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Vanilla ice cream

Preparation

Toast coconut in a small heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Cut pineapple crosswise into 8 slices (about 3/4 inch thick) and core slices. Stir together remaining ingredients in a shallow glass baking dish and add pineapple in one layer, turning to coat evenly. Marinate, turning occasionally, 30 minutes.

Prepare a gas grill for direct-heat cooking over medium-high heat. Oil grill rack. Grill pineapple (reserve marinade), covered, turning once, until grill marks appear and pineapple is heated through, about 4 minutes. Serve pineapple with marinade and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Serves 4.

Recipe from Gourmet

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at reviewjournal.com and follow @HKRinella on Twitter.