Cool, delectable summer pies hit the sweet spot

Barbecue days bring the savory, spicy tang of grilled meats, chicken or fish/seafood to the table, generally accompanied by a salad or side veggie.

But what about dessert to offset the heat? Something sweet but tart, cooling and ultimately satisfying is the key. Today, the Country Chef gives you some outstanding choices — all of which go well with a spotlight on Walla Walla sweet onions.

Lime Pineapple Pie

1 packaged piecrust, prebaked

1 can condensed milk

1/2 cup lime or lemon juice

10 ounce can drained, crushed pineapple

Mix all ingredients, pour into a pre-baked pieshell (graham cracker is good), refrigerate 3 hours. Serve topped with whipped cream.

Pink Lemonade Pie

1 pre-baked piecrust

19-ounce can frozen pink lemonade concentrate

1 can condensed milk

12 pint whipping cream, whipped

Beat together the lemonade concentrate with the condensed milk, then fold in the whipped cream.

Pour into pre-baked, cooled piecrust, freeze. Remove from freezer and allow to set for only a few minutes before serving.

Purchase some fresh apricots — from the farmers market preferably — for this fabulous fruit pie — available only in the short apricot season.

Apricot Cream Pie

1 pre-baked pie crust

1 teaspoon vanilla powder

1/2 cup sugar

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 tablespoon whipping cream

1 tablespoon sour cream

2 tablespoons plus 4 teaspoons sweet Marsala wine

1/2 cup apricot preserves

2 pounds fresh apricots, washed, dried, pitted, thinly sliced, loose skin removed

Mix vanilla powder and sugar; Place in blender container with cream cheese, whipping cream, sour cream and 2 tablespoons of Marsala.

Blend until smooth, refrigerate.

Stir preserves and 4 teaspoons remaining Marsala together in small saucepan over medium heat until preserved melt. Cool a bit, then brush thinly over bottom of baked crust.

Pour over the chilled vanilla cream mixture, top decoratively with sliced apricots. Brush with remaining preserves. Refrigerate at least one hour and up to six hours.

With mild, flavorful Walla Walla Sweet onions in the markets now, it’s apropos

to present this great recipe which does justice to their mellow goodness.

Quick and easy, it boasts a surprise sweet/hot pineapple topping — perfect for accompanying a platter of grilled or broiled shrimp, scallops and mussels or clams in season.

Sweet Onions, Salsa and Seafood Platter

1 large Walla Walla sweet onion per person

Topping (for 6)

1 quart canned pineapple tidbits, drained

1 tablespoon minced cilantro

Fresh lime juice (1/3 cup)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root (or minced preserved/candied ginger)

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Peel onions; slice each in half, then cut 1-inch thick cut from each half. Cover and refrigerate slices; reserve 1 1/4 cups remaining onion, chopping finely. Steam or microwave the reserved chopped onions until soft, 1-2 minutes; cool.

In blender or food processor, combine the reserved onions, half of the pineapple tidbits, cilantro, lime juice, oil, sugar, ginger and pepper.

Pulse just until blended and pineapple is crushed.

Pour into bowl, stir in remaining pineapple tidbits, taste for sweetness. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

At serving time, place 1 raw WWS slice on each plate, top with about 1/3 cup of topping, and pile the grilled seafood alongside. Pass remaining topping. Outstanding!

Tip: Later in the season, you can present this recipe using Idaho-Oregon Spanish Sweet onions.

(Editor’s note: For many years, Valle Novak has written gardening and cooking columns for the Daily Bee. “Weekend Gardener” and “Country Chef” became renowned for their humor, information and common sense advice on how to do everything from planting to cooking. While she recently retired, she has shared a number of columns to delight her many fans. This is one such column, originally published on July 1, 2007.)