grilled fruit, and other fun foods, on a stick

I read about this cookbook On a Stick on a few blogs and also an interview with its author Matt Armendariz, a wonderful food photographer (yes, it's a profession), and really wanted this book. Though I seldom throw parties, I'm always looking for fun "party foods" and unique ways to serve them. This book, as the title describes, is all things on a stick which totally appeals to my love of fair food, kabobs, s'mores popsicles---happy foods come on sticks, no? And Matt feels the same.

Some of his recipes are what you might expect. Corn dogs and various meats, fried things and desserts. Others are plain wacky. Grilled spam and pineapple on a stick? Yes, please!

photo from On a Stick



Spaghetti and meatballs on a stick. WHA?!

photo from On a Stick

Pizza rolls on a stick. Wouldn't this be fun for a birthday party?

photo from On a Stick

Appealing to my entertaining side, this book also has a section for types of sticks that would be fun to use (more out there than bamboo and toothpicks--who knew!) and about 10 different dipping sauces from creamy to savory to sweet that can be mixed and matched with the recipes.

photo from On a Stick

Recently, we bought a new charcoal grill, our first, and I thought Matt's grilled fruit on a stick would be a nice and light dessert post burger binge. Just pineapple, watermelon and cantaloupe but topped with a honey, mint and lime simple syrup and grilled for a smokey flavor and pretty grill marks.

Start with a fresh pineapple. Have you chopped one up before? A little messy from all the juice, but totally worth it in cost and flavor. This cutie was just $2.

Chop off the green top.

Chop off the bottom.

Cut the flesh down and around the sides like you would peel any other fruit. After I slice off the flesh, I go back over it with a vegetable peeler to get all the fine pieces I missed. You're left with a gorgeous hunk of pineapple. Smell the islands?

Pineapples have a core (think of the hole you see when you buy pineapple rings). If you want rings, slice it across in rings then gently cut out the core of each ring. That's a lot of work in my opinion so instead I cut around the core similar to cutting around an apple core. Then, I cut those wedges into cubes. Ditto, cut and cube some watermelon and cantaloupe roughly the same size.

The simple syrup is 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 white sugar, 1/2 water. Cook them on medium heat until sugar and honey dissolve. Add 10 - 12 mint leaves finely chopped and zest of one lime. Remove from heat and let it thicken as it cools.

This makes A LOT of syrup and you could certainly cut it in half or serve the remainder as a dipping sauce. I put my leftover syrup in a jar in the fridge to sweeten iced tea and maybe a weekend adult beverage.

Thread the fruit onto bamboo skewers that have soaked in water for about 30 minutes. Trust me, skipping this step will result in flames and burnt food.

Sprinkle with a touch of salt, says Matt (bleck, I do not salt my melon or cantaloupe normally).

Brush the syrup on to fruit. Grill 3-5 minutes per side. Brush again with syrup and cook another minute per side.

We were still getting the hang of the charcoal grill after years with a gas grill. As you can see, I didn't quite get the grill marks I wanted but the fruit did infuse with a smokiness from the grill and made for a pretty presentation. I'll be honest, I prefer my watermelon and cantaloupe ice cold but I did like the warm pineapple with sweet honey syrup. I froze the leftovers to put in a smoothie later this week.

Maybe I'll try the spam and pineapple skewers next!

Do you have a favorite food on a stick?