In a devilish trick foisted by the weather gremlins this week, much of the Pacific Northwest has been bombarded by genuine summer temperatures without warning.
Yesterday afternoon in the South Sound it was 86 at 4:34 in the afternoon on a day (May 1) when the long term average high temperature is a less than balmy 62.
Neighbors have broken out the summer shade hats, umbrellas (never far from hand up here anyway) and the sunscreen. Even the guys at the Subaru parts counter yesterday afternoon (busted drive belt replacement) were talking about being nigh on incapacitated by the heat wave (as if that were indeed the reason).
After a shamefully easy repair (shhhhh, don’t tell She Who Must Be Obeyed) we dropped by our favorite farm stand and were (almost) shocked to see the first stone fruit of the season, a display full of nectarines (no doubt out of water-starved California or northern Mexico).
The nectarines were just a tad under-ripe, making them perfect for the grill, and yet still smelled like a basket of fresh picked summer morning. Hot damn.
I don’t know how we got started on this one, but grilled chicken or fish with a dessert of Bourbon Honey Grilled Fruit is probably one of my all time favorite summer menus, though we have a damned fine balsamic based glaze for summer fruit as well.
We probably prepare this most often with peaches at the height of the summer season and pineapple, though the nectarines will fit the bill perfectly tonight.
Don’t forget to clean the grill really well after cooking dinner. And a scoop of fresh churned homemade ice cream kicks this one way over the top.
And don’t blame me if you find yourself coming back to this one again and again.
1/2 cup decent bourbon
1/3 cup good honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, cut into roughly 1.5 inch chunks
5-6 medium nectarines or peaches, pitted and halved
Skewers
Pour a glaze. Stir together the bourbon, honey and butter; mix well.
Get fruity. Alternate the fruit on several skewers, make sure the grill is clean and give it a quick wipe with your oil of choice. Place the skewers on the grill, paint with the glaze and cover for a couple of minutes; brush and turn again.
You’re looking for the fruit to get grill marked and the glaze to caramelize a bit, not really for the fruit to ‘cook’ to a mushy soft point.
Serve. Serve your fruit naked with a drizzle of any leftover glaze or scoop an impossibly big scoop of that homemade ice cream you churned out.
Enjoy.
