My Favorite Grilled Desserts For Labor Day

Being a pampered chef consultant has opened me to many of the more unusual uses for food. Many people may not realize it, but s'mores are not the only after meal treat you can make over the grill. The best source of dessert recipes for the grill is through George Forman's cook books for his "lean, mean, fat-grilling machines." Here are some of my favorites for the upcoming Labor Day weekend..

S'mores Galore

S'mores are wonderful, but sometimes I like to mix it up a bit. Instead of just chocolate try adding peanut butter cups ( the really thin ones) or Junior Mints. You have to make sure your marshmallow is well toasted so that it can melt over all the pieces so they stay on the graham cracker, but they are well worth the hassle. You can also use caramel squares or drizzle caramel or strawberry syrup over the marshmallow if you aren't a chocolate fan.

Kebobs

Pineapple, strawberries, kiwi, mangoes, and grapes all taste good grilled. Cut large chunks of each and alternate them on a skewer. Lay on the grill for a minute or two on each side - just enough to seer stripes into the pineapple. You can sprinkle sugar, chocolate sauce, or honey over the warm kebob and top with coconut pieces or finely chopped nuts.

Cheesecake

Chop ¾ box of oatmeal cookies in a food processor - this is your crust. Mix with ¾ cup melted butter until you have a paste. Pour into a pie pan (sprayed with non-stick spray) and press out until you have a pie crust. In a separate bowl beat 16-oz cream cheese until it is fluffy. Stop the beater and add in 2 eggs, 1 tsp Vanilla, and ¾ cup of sugar. Beat together until light and fluffy. Coat the cookie/crust with ½ cup of honey and then fill in with the cream cheese mixture. If you wish add up to 2 cups of fruit to the top. Cook over a medium heat barbeque for about 20 minutes with the lid closed. Refrigerate until cool and top with additional fruit and serve chilled.

Peach Poundcake

For something completely different try a peach poundcake. Cut 2 peaches in to 8ths. (cut in half, remove pit, then slice each half into 4 pieces) and place in a ziploc bag. Add to bag: 1 teaspoon cloves, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Shake until peach slices are evenly coated the let sit to marinade for 15 minutes. In the mean time make sure your grill is medium-high heat and place 4 slices, 2 inches thick, of pound cake on the grill just until grill marks appear and the slices are warmed through. Place the peaches on a kebob skewer and heat about 1 minute on each side. Top each slice of cake with 4 slices of peach and a dollop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. You can also do this with mangoes instead of peaches, but you will need more fruit or smaller slices of cake to keep the same flavor ratio.