Ham and pineapple kebabs with tri-pepper couscous

I really wanted to grill these kebabs, but as I mentioned earlier, the "patio" can only be accessed by climbing over a row of bushes, which are really due for a trim. If you don't have a grill, just put the kebobs under the broiler.

Ingredients

• 1 ham steak, cut into 1" chunks
  
• 1 pineapple, cleaned and cut into chunks
• couscous
• chicken broth
• small red, yellow, and orange bell peppers (1 of each), finely diced
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2T unsalted butter
• freshly ground salt
  

Directions

• Load the kebob skewers, alternating ham and pineapple chunks. Broil for 15 minutes, turning as they begin to blacken.
• Bring the chicken broth, butter, and a little salt to a boil. Don't use too much salt, because the broth has plenty. Turn off the heat, then add the couscous, stir, and cover for five minutes.
  
• When the liquid is absorbed, fluff the couscous with a fork. Add the diced bell peppers and the black pepper and combine. (You may wish to add Tabasco sauce; I often add some to cold couscous.)
  
• When the kebobs are blackened and caramelized, remove them from the broiler and serve over the couscous.

How to Clean a Pineapple

• Use a serrated knife. Accept no substitutes!
  
• Lay the pineapple on its side. Slice off the bottom.
• Stand the pineapple on its bottom. Using the stem as a handle, slice off the peel.
• Use the tip of your knife or a grapefruit knife to dig out the brown "eyes."
• Lay the pineapple on its side. Slice off the stem.
• Quarter the pineapple along its long axis.
• Remove the core.
• Voila! You have a clean pineapple just waiting to be cut into chunks!

How to Eat a Kebob

• Use a fork. Unless, of course, you vacuum your floors more often than I do.
  

Experimenting with chocolate-dipped fruit

While some friends and I were chowing down on meat fondue last month, the conversation turned to chocolate fondue, then to Godiva's expensive chocolate-dipped strawberries, then how easy it is to make your own.

"But, but!" I protested. "When I put it on the wax paper to chill, it gets all gloppy and ugly!"

And so one of my friends shared his sister's method for dipping fruit in chocolate, which I tried last night:

• Find a piece of Styrofoam. You can buy some in the flower arranging section of your local crafting store. I know, I know, it's not politically correct to use Styrofoam anymore. If you can rescue some from work (ever get any shipments of fragile items?) it should help ease your conscience.
• Spear a piece of fruit -- a strawberry, a banana slice, a cube of Gala apple -- on a bamboo kebob skewer. Run the fruit over cool tap water but do not dry it. Stick the skewers into the Styrofoam and freeze for a few minutes.
• While the fruit is in time-out, build a makeshift double-boiler out of a saucepan and a glass bowl: Put an inch or two of water in the saucepan and bring it to a light simmer. Nest the glass bowl in the saucepan. It helps if the bowl is slightly larger than the saucepan and/or has a lip.
  
• Break a good-quality chocolate bar into pieces and put it in the bowl. Stir the chocolate to help it melt evenly.
• Get the fruit from the freezer. Dip the fruit into the chocolate and return the skewers to the Styrofoam.
• Chill the fruit in the fridge until the chocolate has solidified. Be sure to store the fruit in the fridge until it's all gone.
  

Tips and Tricks:

• If you're using dark chocolate, keep some milk on hand, because the chocolate will thicken. I used 72% dark chocolate, and it got very thick. If this happens to you, add a tiny bit of milk until the chocolate reaches a consistency somewhere between "drinkable" and "something you'd pour over a sundae."
• Don't let the water boil! Few things smell and taste worse than burning chocolate!
• Keep the water out of the chocolate. It turns the whole thing into a sticky, icky mess.
• Get a mini fondue pot that melts chocolate with a tea light and skip jury-rigging a double boiler!
• Chop some nuts and sprinkle them on the freshly-dipped fruit.
  

Pears!

I love pears. I mean, I really love pears. So I was thrilled when I found this recipe for pear and granola parfaits.

But why stop there?

Instead of buying those little itsy single-serve containers of high fructose corn syrup-filled yogurt, why not buy a big tub of plain light yogurt and make my own pear flavored yogurt?

And pancakes! I see strawberry and blueberry pancake topping all the time at restaurants, why not pears?

Or put them on cheesecake, or angel food cake.

My favorite, though, is ice cream. I poured the pears and their sauce over a bowl of vanilla Häagen-Dazs, and it was some of the best ice cream I've ever had.

Ah, pear season, I'll miss you when you're gone.