Eating Cool..Colorful.. Baked Fruit Kebabs with Gelato

 copyright 2010 Maria Liberati/art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc

Excitement is in the air here in anticipation of August the 15th…the beach resembles a large restaurant in the open with long tables set up everywhere and families and friends enjoying meals of large pizzas,fresh slices of watermelon and bottles of wine and Brachetto (A sparkling red wine) overflowing…the beach has become a piazza by the sea where people now linger from morning till sunset with food, friends, family..while the sounds of the sea keep the atmosphere relaxed..
I am keeping it cool and fresh…and in the morning..before getting to the beach, finding my local produce and creating recipes to use and share on the beach.. to use the fresh, local produce ..while it is still fresh and local..
Baked Fruit Kebabs with Gelato

 
4 tablespoons brown sugar
dash of freshly ground black pepper
small handful of fresh mint
4 apricots
4 fresh peaches
4 fresh strawberries
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut pineapple in uneven rectangular shapes.  Peel peach and remove pit. Cut peach into quarters. Remove pit from apricots and cut in half, Hull strawberries, cut in half. Alternate fruit slices on four fruit sticks. After arranging fruit on them, place sticks on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper.
In a bowl place brown sugar and, finely chopped mint leaves and a dash of black pepper. Mix with wooden spoon.  Sprinkle on fruit sticks and place in preheated oven for approximately 7 minutes.. Remove from oven, place each fruit stick on a single plate accompanied by a scoop of gelato and a fresh mint leaf for decoration
 For more recipes get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition