How to use summer fruit for a quick and easy dessert

True story: I had some peaches and berries waning in the fridge, a bit of whipping cream and some cookies that were a day shy of being fresh. I also had people over for dinner, and the person who had offered to bring dessert (ahem) showed up with extra wine instead. Normally this wouldn’t bother me (in fact, I’d call it a plus), yet there we were, the grill still warm and nothing sweet to finish off the meal.  “I’ll be right back,” I said.

I run back to the barbecue with a bowl of berries, slice them in half and throw them on the grill for a minute. I bring them back inside, whip up the cream, add a pinch of sugar, and crumble up those cookies. I layered the ingredients into glasses, and within five minutes we had great grilled shortcut strawberry shortcake parfaits.

P.S. This will also work with ripe peaches, pears and plums…and more -- you name it.