Bobby Flay's Grill It! (8 page)

1. Put the bananas in a bowl and mash until smooth.
   
2. Lay out the slices of bread on a flat surface and spread each slice with some of the Nutella. Spread the mashed banana over 4 of the slices of bread and top with the other 4 slices, Nutella side down, to make 4 sandwiches.
   
3. Heat your grill to medium.
   
4. Spread one side of each sandwich with some of the butter and place on the grill, buttered side down. Grill until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Spread the remaining butter on the bread facing up, flip over, and continue grilling until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from the grill and sprinkle with the confectioners’ sugar. Serve immediately.
   

Nectarines are one of my favorite fruits for grilling. Not only does their firm texture hold up extremely well on the grill, but I also often find that nectarines have a subtle sour note beneath their sweetness, and I love the way heat brings nectarines’ sweetness front and center. The tangy-sweet combination of maple syrup and crème fraîche makes a perfect topping for the grilled fruit, and a garnish of fresh berries is beautiful and delicious.

Serves 4

1. Heat your grill to high.
   
2. Brush the cut side of the nectarines with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Turn over and continue grilling until just cooked through, about 3 minutes longer.
   
3. Transfer the nectarines, cut sides up, to 4 bowls. Whisk together the crème fraîche and maple syrup. Place a large dollop in the center of each nectarine half. Garnish with berries and mint, if desired.
   

It’s dessert as theater! Bananas Foster is the legendary flaming dessert first created at Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans in the 1950s. While I love the spectacle of it all, the traditional recipe, which calls for bananas flambéed in rum and banana liqueur served over vanilla ice cream, can be a little cloyingly sweet for some people. The concept can be applied to several different fruits, so I use peaches in place of the bananas and bourbon in place of the sweet rum and liqueur. Crème fraîche is a refreshing, tangy alternative to ice cream, but feel free to use ice cream if desired.

Serves 4

1. Heat your grill to high.
   
2. Place a medium saucepan on the grates of the grill, add the butter and brown sugar, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has melted and the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.
   
3. While the sauce is cooking, brush the cut sides of the peaches with the oil and place on the grill, cut side down. Grill until lightly golden brown and caramelized, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the peaches over and continue grilling until just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Remove to a cutting board and cut each half in half.
   
4. Remove the pan with the sauce from the heat and add the bourbon. Using a long lit match, ignite the bourbon and allow the flames to subside. Stir in the cinnamon, salt, and pecans.
   
5. Divide the peaches among 4 bowls and spoon some of the sauce over the peaches. Top with a large dollop of crème fraîche and serve immediately.
   

A cinch to prepare, these luscious peaches are a fabulous finale for an Italian meal. Red wine reduces with sugar, vanilla, and licorice-flavored star anise to a complex, sweet, and glossy syrup to serve over grilled peaches. Crushed amaretto cookies add a nice, almost spicy, crunch to the dish. This is one of those dishes that you could pull out of your pantry with no notice—and no one will ever be the wiser. One note: try to use a dry red wine so that the syrup doesn’t end up too sweet.

Serves 4

1. Combine the wine, sugar, vanilla bean, and star anise in a medium saucepan over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half and the mixture is thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Discard the vanilla bean and star anise. The syrup can be made 1 day in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.
   
2. Heat your grill to high.
   
3. Brush the cut sides of the peaches with the oil and place on the grill, cut side down. Grill until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Turn the peaches over and continue cooking until just heated through, 3 to 4 minutes longer.
   
4. Serve 3 peach halves per person on a plate. Drizzle with some of the red wine syrup, sprinkle with the cookies, and garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.
   

There is something really comforting about warm pears and raisins flavored with rum, butter, and sugar. The only thing that could make it better is the addition of chocolate. If you are feeling extremely decadent, then by all means feel free to substitute chocolate ice cream for the sorbet; but the sorbet makes for a really satisfying and
healthy
option.

Serves 4

1. Heat your grill to medium.
   
2. Cut out four 12-inch squares of heavy duty aluminum foil. Divide the pears among the foil squares, placing them in the center. Divide the raisins, butter, brown sugar, and rum over the pears and then fold up the foil over the pears. Place the packets on the grill, close the cover, and cook until the pears are soft and the butter and sugar have melted, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the grill and let sit for 5 minutes.
   
3. Place 1 scoop of chocolate sorbet into each of 4 bowls. Open up the pear packets and pour the contents over the sorbet.
   

This is my favorite kind of dessert to make—an extraordinarily easy one! But don’t think that just because it’s simple to prepare it’s lacking in flavor; it’s delicious, too. The heat of the grill caramelizes the pineapple’s natural sugars, pumping up its flavors and giving it gorgeous grill marks. Just a small amount of chocolate provides a big impact as the shavings melt into the hot fruit. Toasted hazelnuts add a nice crunch factor and a rich nutty flavor. And besides, you can’t resist the classic flavor combination of chocolate and hazelnuts.

Serves 4

1. Heat your grill to high.
   
2. Brush the pineapple on both sides with the oil and place on the grill. Grill until golden brown and caramelized on both sides, about 6 minutes.
   
3. Remove the pineapple from the grill and cut each slice into quarters. Divide among 4 bowls and immediately sprinkle the pineapple with the chocolate and hazelnuts. Top with a large dollop of whipped cream, if desired.
   

To prepare freshly whipped cream

Combine 1 cup cold heavy cream, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract in a bowl and beat with a large balloon whisk or hand-held mixer until soft peaks form

While I was growing up, my mother would make pineapple upside-down cake, normally using a boxed yellow cake mix and canned pineapple. While I have fond memories of that dessert with the maraschino cherries on top, I have no desire to whip up a cake batter, bake it in an oven, and then risk third-degree burns trying to invert it onto a platter. You don’t have to, either. For this recipe all you have to do is pick up a store-bought pound cake, slice up a fresh pineapple, whisk together a quick caramel sauce (heck, you could even heat up a store-bought variety and just add a little rum),
and
fire up the grill.

Serves 4 to 8

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over high heat, add the brown sugar and rum, and cook, whisking, until the sugar has melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the heavy cream and cook until heated through and slightly thickened; about 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and keep warm.
   
2. Heat your grill to high.
   
3. Brush the pineapple on both sides with the oil and place on the grill. Grill until golden brown and caramelized on both sides, about 6 minutes.
   
4. While the pineapple is grilling, place the pound cake on the grill and grill until lightly golden brown on both sides, about 1 minute. Set each slice of pound cake on a serving plate.
   
5. Transfer the pineapple to a cutting board and cut into chunks.
   
6. Top each piece of pound cake with some of the pineapple and drizzle with the rum-caramel sauce. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry, if desired.
   

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