This is just a fun little whisper of a dessert, barely sweet and absolutely scrumptious. I don’t know why it took my so long to grill plums and serve them for dessert. I just didn’t “get” it. Now I do. Brushed lightly with honey and seared over high heat for just a minute totally intensified the flavor.
Grilled Plums with Mascarpone & Balsamic Gastrique
What really inspired this dish was the Mascarpone Cheese I made recently. So good, I’ve made it again, and now I’m looking for fun ways to serve it. Translate that as possibly more Mascarpone goodies in the future! 🙂
I wanted just a touch of sophistication to this dessert and so I made a Gastrique of honey and balsamic to pour over the Mascarpone topped plums. If you don’t want to make a gastrique, just use a little honey and they’re just as good.
I might have sampled one that way, too. 🙂 Not admitting anything, here, just saying…Kids, especially, would appreciate the honey over the gastrique.
Grilled Plums with Mascarpone & Balsamic Gastrique
Gastriques can be surprising in their intensity and fun to play with. You might remember I made a “Cajun Gastrique” earlier this year. Wowza, was that good. This one walks the line between sweet & savory. The balsamic flavor is deep and you’ll pick up caramelly notes from the honey, but it’s not overly sweet and the vinegar bite is tamed.
If you’d like a sweeter dessert, mix a little powder sugar into the Mascarpone and a drop or two of milk or cream if the sugar makes it too thick. I liked these plums just as they were, a slight touch of sweet playing off all the flavors.
I used red plums today but pick up whatever is in season & on sale. If plums are pricey, look for another stone fruit. I ended up piping the Mascarpone by tossing some in a Ziploc and cutting off a corner. It went much quicker and was much less messy than dolloping by spoon. I had to laugh a bit as I realized it looks like soft-serve ice-cream!
Grilled Plums with Mascarpone & Balsamic Gastrique
Grilled Plums with Mascarpone & Balsamic Gastrique
Balsamic Gastrique:
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon butter
- pinch of salt
Place honey in a small, heavy pan. Heat, watching closely, until the honey is simmering and slightly darkened. Add the balsamic and whisk. Continue to simmer, watching closely, until the mixture has reduced to about half.
Remove from heat, add butter and a pinch of salt. Set aside to cool.
Plums:
- 4 plums, halved across the plum, put removed
- 1 tablespoon or two of honey
- Cooking spray or a little oil for grill grate
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup Mascarpone cheese
- Balsamic reduction
- Lightly crushed pistachios, as many as you’d like
Preheat grill to high. Oil grate. Brush cut edges of plums with honey. Place on hot grill for just a minute or two until the top edge has slightly softened and a few grill marks are showing. Remove and set aside.
When the plums and gastrique have cooled to room temperature, top each plum half with a little mascarpone. Set on a platter. Drizzle the gastrique and top with pistachios
Note: a Ziploc bag with the corner removed works well to pipe the Mascarpone over the plums.
from the kitchen of http://www.frugalhausfrau.com
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 4.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 269 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 19 g | 29 % |
| Saturated Fat 10 g | 48 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 1 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 52 mg | 17 % |
| Sodium 75 mg | 3 % |
| Potassium 193 mg | 6 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 20 g | 7 % |
| Dietary Fiber 1 g | 5 % |
| Sugars 18 g | |
| Protein 4 g | 8 % |
| Vitamin A | 15 % |
| Vitamin C | 10 % |
| Calcium | 6 % |
| Iron | 7 % |
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Today, of course, I’ll be linking to our very own Throwback Thursday Link Party, hosted by Quinn of Dad What’s for Dinner, Meaghan of 4 Sons are Us, Alli of Tornadough, Carlee from Cooking with Carlee and Moi! That’s right – me!
Click over to our latest Throwback Thursday post for links to their blogs and social media, rules and more info or, as always, to see all the links or add your own, click on the little blue frog, below.
And, as I do almost every Friday, I’ll be linking up to Angie’s Fiesta Friday – this is Number 131! Many of my fave bloggers hang out there every weekend and this week’s co-hosts are Su @ Su’s Healthy Living and Laura @ Feast Wisely! It’s always a fun line up of bloggers and linkers.
The weekend wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t link up to Saucy Saturdays! Four bloggers, 4x the fun!
Chance Update:
I really haven’t spoken yet about Chance’s first vet visit, the day after I picked him up. Turns out at some point he’d had some rough treatment and had a slightly separated growth plate. It’s healing but it means no jumping, no running…at first I was carrying him out to potty about every hour but now he’s walking and the vet gave him permission to walk me up to half a block at a time, lol!
Look at his toenails – each little nail has a black stripe from top to bottom.
Chance, outside enjoying a bit of a treat.
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