Grilled Pineapple with Mascarpone Cheese

Mmmmmmm pineapple!  They might not be local, but they ARE in season right now.  You may have noticed their spiney skins and crazy hair dos at your grocer recently and skipped them over because they seem like a lot of work...  Personally, I have always enjoyed pineapple, but never purchased a whole one, due to the fact that I had NO idea what to do with them.  I've been toying with the idea of grilling fruit lately, and happened to have a pineapple on hand, so this happened. Well, ladies and gents, cut 'em up and grill 'em and thank me later.

This is a pretty low point dessert, since fruit is zero Points+!

Grilled Pineapple with Mascarpone Cheese

1 pineapple, sliced into spears (if you're not feeling adventurous, just buy a precut one)
Cinnamon
5 Tbsp Mascarpone Cheese
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

**Note about buying whole pineapples- buy your pineapple a few days before you want to use it- store it upside down for a few days in a vase or jar- it lets the juice that settles at the bottom of the pineapple reintegrate with the rest of the fruit.  This pineapple tip brought to you by my friend Renee!**

Slice the top and bottom off of the pineapple, then slice the skin off of the remaining fruit.  Once skin is gone, cut pineapple around core in chunks, then slice those chunks into spears.  Or really, however you want to get that fruit off of that pineapple.  That method just seemed to work for me.

Spray grill basket with cooking spray.  Lightly dust pineapple with cinnamon, then place spears in grill pan.  Over medium heat, grill spears approximatley 4-6 minutes per side, or until you have nice grill marks on each side of the spear.  This should take 8-12 minutes. 

In a seperate bowl, combine Mascarpone cheese, sugar and vanilla.  Stir until completely combined.  Put a dollop of mascarpone cheese mixture on your spears, and serve! 

Serves approx. 4, depending on how large your pineapple is.  4 Points+ per serving.

The fruit caramelizes and gets this toasty charred flavor that pairs perfectly with the creamy, slightly sweet Mascarpone cheese.  It's the perfect end to any summer time meal... I'm planning to make this as much as possible before pineapples go out of season again!