Chili-Lime Grilled Pineapple

Sofia starts kindergarten next week. Next week. The girl who walked into preschool without looking back is about to walk into kindergarten, and I am not prepared. Jessica says I'm more anxious about this than Sofia is, which is true, because Sofia has approached every transition in her life with the calm confidence of someone who was born knowing how to enter a room. I, on the other hand, am a man who cries at card drawings and laminated placemats and the passage of time.

We did the school supply shopping this weekend. Sofia's list: crayons, markers, glue sticks, scissors, folders, a pencil box, and a backpack. She chose a new backpack — not the taco backpack (she's outgrown it, and this feels like a loss I shouldn't mourn but do), but a blue one with a soccer ball pattern. Blue and soccer. She's becoming herself, distinct from the toddler who ate cake with her hands, evolving into a kid with her own taste and her own identity. This is the point of parenting. This is also the part of parenting that makes you want to freeze time.

The school is the same one in Maryvale where she went to preschool — they have a K-8 campus, Montessori through middle school, bilingual. She'll have Ms. Ramirez again for part of the day (Ms. Ramirez moved up to kindergarten this year, which Sofia considers a personal victory). The continuity matters. The bilingual program matters more.

Diego, freshly two, is starting a toddler program three mornings a week at a community center near our house. This is partly for his socialization and partly for Jessica's sanity. The idea of Diego in a room with other two-year-olds fills me with both hope and concern. Hope: maybe he'll learn to share, to wait, to not eat things that aren't food. Concern: maybe he'll teach the other kids to climb bookshelves.

Cooked the last-of-summer meal this week: grilled peaches with vanilla ice cream and a bourbon caramel sauce. Peaches, halved, grilled cut-side down until the sugars caramelize and the grill marks brand the flesh. Topped with a scoop of vanilla and a drizzle of sauce made from brown sugar, butter, bourbon, and a pinch of salt. It's the taste of August — sweet, smoky, warm, ending. Sofia ate hers with a spoon. Diego ate his with his hands, face-first, and got caramel in his eyebrows. Summer's last hurrah.

That grilled peach moment — Diego with caramel in his eyebrows, Sofia using an actual spoon like a civilized kindergartener — reminded me that the grill is where summer makes its best arguments for sticking around. If you want to chase that same feeling, this Chili-Lime Grilled Pineapple gets you there: cut-side down on a hot grate, sugars caramelizing, a little heat cutting through the sweetness, the kind of thing that tastes exactly like August ending. It’s fast enough for a Tuesday night and special enough to feel like a last hurrah.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch rings or spears
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 tablespoon lime zest
2 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon neutral oil (vegetable or avocado), for the grill
Fresh mint or cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional)
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Instructions

Make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lime zest, honey, chili powder, cayenne, and salt until combined. Set aside.
Preheat the grill. Heat a gas or charcoal grill (or grill pan) to medium-high heat, about 400—425°F. Brush the grates lightly with oil to prevent sticking.
Glaze the pineapple. Brush both sides of each pineapple ring or spear generously with the chili-lime glaze, reserving a small amount for finishing.
Grill cut-side down. Place pineapple on the grill cut-side down. Grill without moving for 3—4 minutes, until deep grill marks form and the sugars begin to caramelize. Flip and grill the other side for 3—4 minutes more.
Finish and serve. Transfer to a platter, brush with remaining glaze, and scatter fresh mint or cilantro over the top if using. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chili-Lime Grilled Pineapple — One Last Sweet, Smoky Taste of Summer