Barbecued Baked Alaska

Just the mention of Organic Aloha Lu’au BBQ Seasoning and Rub, and you can imagine the gentle evening breeze as it whispers through the swaying fronds of the coconut palms.

Alluring bronzed Hawaiian island girls, dancing on the sand, wearing coconut bras, swishing their hips under grass skirts … I know I can picture it quite easily.

Maybe you have to make BBQ Baked Alaska just to cool off.

BBQ ice cream?? Why not. If my wife can go out and shamelessly purchase a two-pound Brie cheese wheel and still sleep peacefully at night, then I can throw a party and barbecue the ice cream.

My exhaustive research for Hawaiian lu’au party supplies came up with “How to Build Your Own Tiki Bar” and “Homemade Cocktail Umbrellas Made Easily” as well as a few fun and surprisingly simple traditional Hawaiian lu’au theme-party game favourites.

Try starting the festivities off with “Pin the Tail On the Pig”, as later on in the evening you may become nauseous by spinning around too much. You can easily substitute a coconut for the potato for a rousing game of “Hot Potato”, using small bags of macadamia nuts for prizes.

After dinner, during the relaxing time when the kids are gone to bed and the cactus colas are flowing, “Limbo Dancing” can be more fun than “Twister”.

My runaway favourite is the “Spear-Throwing” contest using darts and a large watermelon with a target painted on it. Nothing could possibly go wrong here.

We bbq’ed chicken with the “Lu’au rub” which is made of sea salt, red clay, sugar, garlic, black and red pepper, onion, tomato, herbs and spices, all organic and imported from Hawaii by my buddy Steve.

Steamed green beans and asparagus spears with a tossed salad completed the entrée.

Baked Alaska is basically a layer of sponge cake with a layer of ice cream on it covered by meringue. It is then cooked long enough for the meringue to become firm. Because of the insulating qualities of the meringue, the ice cream is prevented from melting.

If you cannot find sponge cake dessert shells, cut sponge cake into three- to four-inch square or round pieces, scoop your favourite flavour of ice cream on top and put in freezer until firm.

Make a meringue by beating three eggs with ¼ teaspoon of cream of tartar until it turns frothy, gradually mix in six teaspoons of sugar, beating until stiff while blending in ½ teaspoon of vanilla.

Please be careful at this juncture as the word “meringue” may be easily confused with the word “merengue”, which is a traditional Dominican folk dance and will ruin the dessert.

Cover cake and ice cream with meringue, totally sealing it and keep in the freezer until time to serve.

After preheating the grill, set to medium low and cook until meringue is browned, about four to six minutes.

For the more stout of heart, you can pour rum over the Baked Alaska, turn down the lights, spark up the booze and serve as a flambé. Very impressive. Men wearing longer beards might want to be extra vigilant while attempting to ignite the flambé.

I am currently hunting down a decent “Frozen Florida” recipe, which is a reverse Baked Alaska made in a microwave. Invented by Hungarian Nicholas Kurti, his timeless recipe (invented in 1969), apparently produces a frozen shell of meringue filled with hot liquor. Very inviting indeed.

Currently, there is no recoverable published flambé option for the “Frozen Florida” due to poor fire control on my part, but you could always give it a whirl in a safer environment. Some things actually explode in microwaves.

Remember to shop locally and grill responsibly.

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