coping with impulse buying … Slow Roasted Pineapple

I am an impulse shopper. Despite my best planning, things end up in my grocery cart that are decidedly not on my list. Oh sure, I go into the store with a plan; a neat list organized by section for greatest efficiency. It is rare that I don’t have one, either old school on a crumbled piece of paper pulled from my back pocket or hastily typed in my phone. But then I see something unexpected. Something on sale or something unusual or something ripe. Into the cart it goes to figure out later. I am that person who goes out for a quick trip to pick up 2 things and comes home an hour later with 2 full shopping bags. It’s my personal scarlet A.

A few weeks ago, knowing I was leaving the country in a few days, I stopped by the produce market to pick up a few things for some recipe tests I needed to complete. Dealing with that excess, both the finished recipes and the leftover ingredients, was going to be a challenge so I tried to keep focus. I really did. I had my list! But then I passed the pineapples. Or let’s say the pineapples lured me to them, the little hussies. Golden and intensely fragrant, I was mesmerized. But when was I going to eat a whole pineapple? My next few days were full. I looked up. $1.50. Into the cart went a fat specimen. I’d figure it out later.

And that’s pretty much how it always goes. I’ll figure it out later. As things tumble out of my refrigerator and pack my freezer, and pile on every available surface, later is always the answer. It has to be. I get to it eventually.

Though now I was on a deadline, standing in my kitchen the day before I went on a month long trip out of the country staring at this pineapple. Dammit. Without much thought or purpose, I lopped the top off and began peeling and coring. I ate some fresh and it was amazing, but I can’t do much of that as fresh pineapple tends to aggravate the inside of my mouth. Then I remembered Dorie. I recalled numerous articles and posts that came out earlier in the year about a remarkable roasted pineapple recipe from her latest book. Dorie always comes through in a pinch.

Fresh pineapple is braised with jam, spices and booze then roasted until golden brown and heavenly. This was right up my alley – I had at least 5 half filled jars of jam, a few bottles of rum leftover from various projects and spices coming out my ears. I stuck with light jams – a combination of apricot, peach and orange marmalade – added a good amount of dark rum, and threw in some cardamom pods, allspice, peppercorns, star anise and a vanilla bean for good measure. According to my pictures, I threw a cinnamon stick in there too. On the stove for a few minutes then into the oven.

What emerged was miraculous – golden, almost confit, pineapple with the heavenly scent of spiced caramelized rum. I ate some over yogurt (amazing), over vanilla ice cream (fantastic) and snacked on a bit too (delicious.) Then I packed up the rest and gave it to a friend who essentially did the same thing.

This is exactly the kind of recipe I like: easy, adaptable (use what you’ve got or need to get rid of), keeps well (better the next day) with deceivingly elegant results. If you too impulse bought a pineapple and don’t know what to do with it, try this. In fact, I would actually buy a pineapple specifically to make this. And I will.

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: A++. Well, first off, its got booze. Spiced, sticky, sweet tropical booziness. Winning on all counts. That it’s just so easy is kind of ridiculous to get this level of flavor – but make sure your pineapple is ripe first. A recipe this simple really depends on the quality of your fruit. Make this and you’ve got the most delicious dessert ever with so little effort. Dorie (and her hairdresser) are geniuses. But we all knew that, didn’t we?

6 years ago: Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies, Strawberry Picking
5 years ago: Big American Flag Cake
4 years ago: life in Southwest France 
3 years ago: Spanish Sunday Lunch – Patatas Aioli 
2 years ago: Tin Roof Sundae
last year: Guinness Crème Anglaise

LAURENT’S SLOW ROASTED SPICED PINEAPPLE – from Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking Chez Moi: Recipes from My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere

– 1 ripe pineapple
– ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from about 2 oranges)
– ½ cup dark rum (or Cognac, brandy, Scotch, Grand Marnier, bourbon or other liquor or an equal amount of orange juice if you want to skip the booze. But why?)
– 1 ½ cups (about 12 ounces) light colored jam/jelly – apricot, peach, orange marmalade, apple or quince
– 1 moist vanilla bean, split lengthwise (optional but do it)
– whole spices, lightly crushed – such as a few star anise, cardamom pods, coriander seeds, pink or black peppercorns, allspice or cloves (no more than 3); fresh ginger slices; a cinnamon stick (broken); a small hot pepper (just 1 or a piece of 1)

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°
2. Cut the top and bottom off the pineapple.
3. Stand it upright and, using a sturdy knife, peel it by cutting between the fruit and the skin, following the contours of the pineapple.
4. With the tip of a paring knife, remove the “eyes” (the tough dark spots).
5. Cutting from top to bottom, quarter the pineapple and then cut away the core.
6. Place the pineapple in a baking dish or small roasting pan that holds it snugly while still leaving you enough room to turn and baste the fruit.
7. Whisk the juice, liquor and jelly, jam, or marmalade together. Don’t worry about fully incorporating the jelly — it will melt in the oven — you just want to break it up.
8. Pour the mixture over the pineapple, toss in the vanilla bean, if you’re using it, and scatter over the spices.
9. My jam was on the thin side so I brought the mixture to a boil and let it simmer on the stove top, turning the pineapple once or twice, for about 20 minutes to reduce the mixture a bit. If you’re jam is on the thicker side, you can likely skip this step. Be careful as the rum may ignite on the burner – either cover it quickly to distingush the flame or let the alcohol burn off while closely watching (i.e., don’t walk away.)
10. Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 2 hours, basting and turning it in the syrup every 20 minutes or so, until it is tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife. The fruit should have absorbed enough of the syrup to seem candied.
11. Allow the pineapple to cool until it is comfortably warm or reaches room temperature.
12. The temperature you serve this at is, like so much of this recipe, up to you—warm or room temperature is best, but chilled is also good. Serve as is, over yogurt or ice cream, with granola or whatever strikes your fancy.