Roasted Pineapple Carpaccio

Peel pineapple and leave whole. In a sauté pan melt the butter and add the brown sugar and vanilla beans. Cook to caramelize the sugar then place the pineapple in and cook on all sides to brown. Add some water to the pan and continue cooking, turning the pineapple with tongues and basting occasionally till roasted through to the core. It may take 1 or more hours. Chill, then slice thin on an electric slicer set on #12 or slice thinly by hand.

Whisk ingredients together. Chill.

In a saucepan boil the sugar and water together to make a caramel. Test the color of the caramel on a white plate. You’re looking for a topaz color. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter with a wooden spoon then stir in the nuts. Pour onto a silpad and let cool. Chop and keep in an airtight container.

In a saucepan boil the sugar and water together. Let cool slightly then mix in the buttermilk and key lime juice. Spin in ice cream freezer.

Place egg white in a small bowl and whisk it slightly to break it up a bit. Dip the individual leaves in the egg white and wipe them off on the edge of the bowl to remove any excess. Dip into granulated sugar on both sides.

In a mixer with a paddle attachment whip the butter till very light and fluffy, warming the bottom of the bowl with a torch if needed. Add the sugar and continue whipping, then add the rum and vanilla and mix. Toss together the coconut, flour and salt then add to the butter mixture and mix till blended. Butter a small sheet pan and line it with plastic all the way up the sides. Spread the dough evenly into the pan, cover it with plastic and freeze. Cut into 2 inch strips and roll in flour. Wrap and freeze or cut into1/8th inch bars and place on parchment lined sheet pan. Bake in a conventional oven at 250 till crisp but barley any color.

To make the coconut strips, heat a whole coconut over a gas flame to slightly char all sides. Wrap it in a tea towel and whack it on the floor to break it open. Carefully pry the meat from the shell in as whole pieces as possible. With a vegetable peeler, peeloff thin strips of the fresh coconut meat ti end up with curves of fresh coconut. Store in simple syrup, chilled to cover.

To serve the diah, place 5-7 slices of pineapple on the plate in a flower pattern so one in the center surrounded by the others on large plates to fill the well. Brush the surface of all the slices with the coconut cilantro dressing. Cover the plate with plastic wrap and warm it in the microwave oven for about one minute. Remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and macadamia nut brittle. Place a quenelle of the sherbet in the middle and drape coconut shavings in an X over the sherbet. Place 2 crystalized cilantro leaves on it too. Serve with a side of coconut shortbread cookies using colorful origami paper under the cookies and stacking them in a criss-cross tower, like bruscetta with the carpaccio.