A Passion For Pineapple

The pineapple has been an inspiration lately for The Early Show resident chef Bobby Flay. He has been tweaking the menus at his restaurants and adding some new items featuring this tropical fruit.

Of course, he's not going to keep it all to himself!

Flay is chef and owner of three New York restaurants: Bar Americain, Mesa Grill and Bolo. He also has Mesa Grill in Las Vegas and Bobby Flay Steak at the Borgata in Atlantic City. He also is a TV host on the Food Network ("Food Nation," "Throwdown" and "Boy Meets Grill"). And how many cookbooks has he written? Six. His titles are "Bold American Food", "Boy Meets Grill", "Bobby Flay's From My Kitchen To Your Table", "Bobby Flay Cooks American," "Bobby Flay's Boy Gets Grill" and "Grilling For Life."

RECIPES

PINEAPPLE-CHILE MARGARITA
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
1 cup fresh pineapple juice
1/2 Fresno chile
5 ounces Hornitos tequila
Kosher salt, for rim (optional)

Method
Place ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve over ice.

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
Serves 6

Topping: Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
2 cups diced fresh pineapple

Method for topping
In a small saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar over medium-high heat. Stir until smooth, and pour into cake pan. Allow to cool slightly. Sprinkle diced pineapple over and set aside.

Cake ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped pineapple

Method for cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9 inch cake pan, and line with parchment or wax paper.
   
2. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle at attachment, beat butter until light about 3 minutes. Add brown and granulated sugars, and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
   
3. Add eggs, one at a time, stopping and scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Beat in sour cream and vanilla.
   
4. Sift together flour; cornmeal cinnamon ginger baking powder and salt. On low speed, mix flour mixture into batter in three batches; gently fold in the chopped pineapple into the cake pan.
   
5. Bake until top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before inverting the cake onto a large platter.

Ingredients for Roasted Pineapple-Cascabel Chile Sauce
1 medium whole pineapple,
1/2 cup fresh pineapple juice
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
8 cascabel chiles, stems removed and soaked in hot water for 30 minutes until soft
2 teaspoons honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method for Roasted Pineapple-Cascabel Chile Sauce

1. Preheat broiler. Cut off the leaves and about a 1/2 inch of the top and bottom of the fruit. Do not peel the pineapple.
   
2. Place the pineapple on its side on a baking sheet and place under the broiler. Broil the pineapple until it is blackened on all sides, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Remove to a cutting board and let cool slightly.
   
3. When cool enough to handle, cut off the pineapple skin by slicing down from top to bottom along each row of eyes (as revealed by your first cut). Your knife should be behind the eyes at approximately a 45-degree angle. Don't try to cut off too much of the peel at once or you will take a lot of good fruit with it. Coarsely chop the pineapple and set aside.
   
4. Combine the pineapple juice, cider vinegar, cloves, allspice, ancho powder and cascabel chiles in a large non-reactive saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the fresh pineapple and cook until the pineapple is very soft and starts to break down.
   
5. Transfer mixture to a food processor and process until smooth. Strain through a strainer into a saucepan and return to the stove over medium heat. Whisk in the honey and season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.

Method for Pineapple-Green Onion Relish

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
   
2. Place pineapple in a medium ovenproof sauté pan, add pineapple, season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Roast in the oven until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 to 12 minutes.
   
3. Transfer pineapple to a bowl, add the green onion, cilantro and lime juice. Serve at room temperature.

Ingredients
Four 8-ounce Mahi Mahi fillets
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
   
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over high heat. Season fillets on both side with salt and pepper and place in the pan. Cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip over, transfer pan to the oven and continue cooking until the fish is just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes longer.
   
3. Ladle some of the pineapple-cascabel chile sauce onto a large dinner plate. Top with a Mahi fillet and spoon some of the pineapple-green onion salsa on top.