Holiday Sparkling Fruit Centerpiece Food

HOLIDAY SPARKLING FRUIT CENTERPIECE

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Fill one mixing bowl with superfine sugar.
• Keep second one to catch excess sugar.
• Place jelly into microwave safe bowl, heat on high for 2 minutes.
• Stir and microwave another minute or until melted (watch carefully).
• Using the fork, pierce the fruit on the bottom securely.
• Using the pastry brush paint the jelly one at a time onto the fruit (reheat jelly as it cools). Hold the freshly painted fruit over the sugar filled bowl.
• Using the spoon sprinkle the sugar over the fruit until coated.
• Use the empty mixing bowl to shake off excess sugar and not soil the first bowl. Place sugared fruit on parchment to dry about 45 minutes.
• Lightly coat nuts with remaining jelly and roll in the second sugar shake off bowl adding more sugar if needed, remove with fork and dry with the fruit. Arrange fruit and nuts on cake stand or platter, building as high and creative as you wish. Place mint, parsley or your choice of greenery in and around the centerpiece. Lightly dust the tops of the fruit and some of the greenery (mint etc) with powdered sugar as if newly fallen snow.

CASCADING FRUIT CENTERPIECE

Steps:

• In a small mixing bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Stir in coconut. Chill until serving., Cut off pineapple top with a fourth of the pineapple attached; set aside. For dip bowl, cut a third from bottom of pineapple; remove fruit, leaving a 1/2-in. shell. Remove peel from center section of pineapple; core and cut pineapple into chunks., Cut the grapefruit, orange and lemon in half widthwise. Remove pulp from one half of each; set aside. (Save the remaining grapefruit, orange and lemon halves for another use.) , Stack two 10-in. Styrofoam rounds and two 6-in. rounds; cover each stack with heavy-duty foil. Repeat with remaining rounds. On a 19x15-in. platter, pile the stacks on top of each other, staggering them and anchoring with dowels. , Place pineapple top on the top circle; position lemon, orange and grapefruit cups on other circles. Place pineapple bowl on platter. , With greening pins, attach clusters of grapes onto circles. Randomly add strawberries, pineapple chunks and more grapes to cover the foil and platter. Decorate with silk flowers. Just before serving, fill pineapple bowl with pineapple ginger dip. Fill lemon, orange and grapefruit cups with yogurt.