Grilled Peaches & Vanilla Ice Cream

Summer is officially here, which means it is time to fire up your backyard barbecue. You can keep the kitchen cool and the dinner hot with an endless combination of foods to marinate, skewer, and grill. But all too often, delicious side dishes and grilled desserts (yes, desserts) are forgotten in favor of the traditional fare of burgers and hot dogs. If you feel like adding something sweet or savory to your next backyard gathering (or any dinner for that matter), consider trying a grilled dessert.

The tangy flavors of fresh fruit will blend perfectly with the taste of a summer night’s air. Delicate fruit is introduced to grilling with the Grilled Peaches recipe. Though peach season is not quite here, canned peaches can work in a pinch.

All you need now is to fire up your grill and wait for the coals to be charmed by these tasty summer sides. Naturally, use caution when working with fire. To think, it is only June! We have three months of summer to enjoy grilling.

If you don’t have a grill or if the weather doesn’t agree with you, this recipe can be adapted to suit your counter-top grilling appliance or oven broiler. Since the functions of grills, pans, and ovens vary greatly, you’ll need to rely on your own experience and judgment to make that happen. I tested it out in my cast-iron grill pan to make sure and the step-by-step photos were taken then.

Grilled Peaches Over Ice Cream

1/4 cup olive oil

1 sprig fresh rosemary

4 peaches, pitted and halved

vanilla bean or fresh cream ice cream (or tofutti) – or for a picnic, use mascarpone cheese

1. Warm the oil and rosemary in a small saucepan over low heat. Let the ingredients warm together for 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature before proceeding to the next step.

2. Brush the peach halves with the cooled infused oil on all sides.

3. Place the peach halves face down on the rack of an uncovered grill over hot coals or in the grill pan. Let them cook for 3 minutes, then turn them over to let the other side grill for 1 minute. Meanwhile, scoop the ice cream into bowls.

4. Remove the peaches from the grill and place on top of 2 to 3 ice cream scoops and serve.