Glazed Plums & Vanilla Pudding

It's that time of the year when plums are everywhere! Delicious, sweet & juicy, plums are very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. They are also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A and Vitamin K, and a very good source of Vitamin C.

Start with making your favorite Vanilla Pudding recipe and chill that. Tapioca Pudding is great for this dessert as well!

You can get the recipe for the plums here: Glazed Plums

The recipe states using Cointreau, but I only had Grand Marnier and it worked just fine!

I used a beautiful variety of plums including: California Midnight Moon, Starless Ruby, Sunrise Red & Golden Meadow Plums

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the sliced plums and sugar and saute until the sugar melts and begins to caramelize.


Add the orange juice and orange liquor, remove from the heat and ignite, swirling the pan a bit. The flame was very light so it can't really be seen here.

Return the pan to medium heat and cook until the flame dies down and the sauce reduces to about half.

In dessert dishes or parfait glasses (I used a wine glass as it was all I had available at the moment!), layer some of the plums and syrup, pudding, and top with more plus and syrup.

Simple, quick and really delicious. A unique summer treat!

Sunday Dinner Outdoors

After a day of grocery shopping (2 different stores), a quick and easy dinner on the patio!

Grilled Whole Chicken with Barbecue Sauce

1. Set up grill for indirect grilling*. Rinse 1 whole chicken (4 to 4-1/2 pounds) inside and out, dry thoroughly. Generously season inside and out with coarse salt & freshly ground pepper. Clean and lightly oil the hot grates of the grill.

2. Place chicken, breast side up, on opposite side of grill from heat. Cover and grill until cooked through, or a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh (avoiding bone) registers 160 degrees, about 1-1/2 hours, rotating halfway through cooking (if using a charcoal grill, add a couple handfuls of charcoal every half hour to maintain heat).

3. About 15 minutes before chicken is done, brush with 1/2 cup Classic Barbeque Sauce, Let chicken rest 20 minutes before carving.

To compliment this wonderful barbequed chicken, Emeril's Cast-Iron Honey Cornbread bakes right in a cast-iron skillet on your grill in about 15 minutes!

Both of these great recipes can be done outdoors, right on your grill!! Add a nice fresh salad and enjoy this wonderful summer meal!

*Indirect Grilling: Set up the heat source (gas or charcoal) on one side of the grill and place the food on the other, creating more gentle, ovenlike heat that can slow-roast larger cuts of meat until tender.

These recipes and many more can be found in the July/August 2009 issue of Everyday Food!

Check out the "60 Days Of Summer" for more great ideas!!