Memorial Day is just around the corner and that means cookouts, barbecues, picnics….whatever you call it. Celebrating the start of summer will be delicious with these Memorial Day kick-off desserts!
Fruity Fun Skewers
Ingredients:
5 large strawberries, halved
1/4 cantaloupe, cut into balls or cubes
2 bananas, peeled and cut into chunks
1 apple, cut into chunks
20 skewers
How To:
Thread the strawberries, cantaloupe, banana, and apple pieces alternately onto skewers, placing at least 2 pieces of fruit on each skewer. Arrange the fruit skewers decoratively on a serving platter.
Grilled Peaches & Cream
Ingredients:
4 peaches, halved and pitted
2 tablespoons clover honey
1 cup soft cream cheese with honey and nuts
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
How To:
- Preheat a grill for medium-high heat.
- Brush peaches with a light coating of oil. Place pit side down onto the grill.
- Grill for 5 minutes, or until the surfaces have nice grill marks. Turn the peaches over, and drizzle with a bit of honey.
- Place a dollop of the cream cheese spread in the place where the pit was.
- Grill for 2 to 3 more minutes, or until the filling is warm. Serve immediately.
Easy Summer Pie
Ingredients:
1 (9 inch) frozen pie crust, thawed
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup fresh strawberries, halved
4 kiwi, peeled and sliced
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
How To:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Roll pastry into an 11-inch circle. Lay flat on a baking sheet or pizza pan.
- Prick several times with a fork. Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until light brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
- In a small mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and sugar until mixture is creamy and smooth. Spread evenly onto cooled pastry. Arrange fruit in a decorative pattern over cream cheese layer. Chill until ready to serve.
American Flag Berry Pie
Ingredients:
Pastry for a double-crust pie (9 inches)
2-1/2 cups pitted dark sweet cherries
2-1/2 cups fresh blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
Additional sugar
How To:
- Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom crust; trim pastry even with edge. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, gently combine cherries and blueberries. Combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon; stir into fruit. Let stand for 10 minutes. Pour into crust; dot with butter.
- Roll out remaining pastry into a 10-in. circle. Cut into four wedges. Using a 1-in. star cookie cutter, cut out stars from one wedge. Place cutout pastry wedge over filling. Discard cutout stars.
- Cut remaining wedges into 1/2-in.-wide strips; position over filling to resemble a flag. Seal and flute edges. Sprinkle pastry with additional sugar. Cover edges with foil.
- Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°; bake 35-40 minutes longer or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.
Grilled Pound Cake with Espresso Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 tablespoon instant espresso coffee powder
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon light-color corn syrup
8 ounces special dark baking chocolate or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (about 1-1/3 cups)
1 16-ounce loaf prepared or frozen pound cake*, thawed
1/4 cup orange juice or 2 tablespoons orange juice with 2 tablespoons orange liqueur
1 cup whipping cream, whipped, or 2 cups frozen whipped dessert topping, thawed
1/2 cup pistachio nuts, chopped
How To:
1. In a very small bowl, combine boiling water and espresso powder. Set aside.
2. For chocolate sauce: In a small heavy saucepan, combine the 3/4 cup of whipping cream and the corn syrup. Bring to boiling; remove from heat. Stir in espresso mixture. Add chocolate all at once. Let mixture stand, covered, for 4 minutes. Whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Cover to keep warm.
3. Cut pound cake into eight 3/4-inch-thick slices.* Poke each slice several times with the tines of a fork. Drizzle orange juice evenly over cake slices.
4. For a charcoal grill, place cake slices on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium-hot coals. Grill for 2 to 4 minutes or until toasted and heated through, turning once halfway through grilling. (For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium-high. Place cake slices on grill rack over heat. Grill, uncovered, as above.)
5. Serve grilled cake slices with whipped cream, pistachio nuts, and chocolate sauce. Makes 8 servings.
*Tip: If the prepared pound cake is larger than 16 ounces, save the leftover cake for another use.
Fruit & Spice Dip
(Courtesy of my sister Paula Orandash)
Ingredients:
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Allspice
¼ tsp Nutmeg
1 cup Heavy Cream
How To:
Combine sugar and spices – set aside. Beat heavy cream until stiff. Gently fold in spice mixture into cream. Serve with fruit.
