Grilled Pina Coladas

“Boat drinks.  The boys in the band ordered boat drinks.”  Jimmy Buffet and those Coral Reefers sure enjoy a fruity summer drink with a kick of some rum…wonder how he’d like a Boat Dessert?!  For a few summers now, I’ve been grilling up Pina Coladas!  Not the liquid version, of course…wouldn’t that be a mess…and more than likely that unfortunate experiment would have been the result of a few too many Pina Coladas beforehand.

No, my version grills up thick rounds of sweet pineapple and bananas, scoops of cold, smooth coconut ice cream, a snowy sprinkle of coconut and a slathering of dark rum caramel.  The components of a favorite boat drink in a dessert!  It’s easy to do, too. 

While you’re grilling this weekend, give some pineapple slabs and bananas their own turn over the hot coals…just to give them a few grill marks and sweeten them up even more than they already are.  The caramel?  No, I don’t make mine from scratch for this.  It’s summer!  Who has time to stand over the hot stove making caramel?  Just swirl some dark rum into a store-bought topping with a pat of butter (oh, come on, you KNOW butter makes it better…why do you think Lifesavers makes a Butter Rum flavor?!) and heat just until the sauce is smooth and the butter is melted.  Don’t even bother to toast the coconut…a pina colada doesn’t have toasted coconut anyway. 

So here’s the recipe.  I think even Jimmy Buffet would approve of this Grilled Pina Colada Boat Dessert!

Grilled Pina Coladas

• 1 fresh pineapple, outside removed, cored and cut into 3/4 - 1" slices

• 2 bananas, LEAVE PEELS ON, cut lengthwise in half - leaving the peels on makes it MUCH easier to handle on the grill!

• 1 cup coconut flakes

• 1 cup caramel topping, good quality

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1/4 cup rum, Meyers dark rum, spiced rum, whatever kind you prefer

• 4 scoops coconut ice cream, Talenti makes a great coconut ice cream, Hagen Daasz makes a pineapple coconut that would be nice, too - or use vanilla if you can't find either one 
• whipped cream

Melt together caramel topping, butter and rum in a small saucepan until well combined.  Set aside.
 

Grill bananas cut side down while grilling pineapple slices on both sides until caramelized.  (If you wish, you can dust them with a little brown sugar before grilling.)  When fruits are nicely caramelized, but still firm, remove from grill.  Cut the grilled bananas in half crosswise and peel them carefully. 

On a pretty plate, place a slice of pineapple, scoop ice cream into center of the pineapple ring, place 2 banana quarters decoratively along sides of ice cream, drizzle with caramel, sprinkle with  coconut and adorn with a cloud of whipped cream.  AWESOME!

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