Ultimate Fruit Tray Food

FRESH FRUIT PLATTER

Steps:

• I like to begin the platter with a base of ripe, colorful, sliced melons and pineapple--for example, cantaloupe, honeydew, Galia, or Cavaillon melons, plus the new "golden" pineapples. Peel the outside of a whole melon, cut it in half through the stem end, and scoop out the seeds. Place the melon halves cut side down on a board, and slice them straight across into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Fan each half-melon out slightly and arrange it on the platter. Next, cut off the top and bottom of the pineapple, peel the outside, and use a sharp knife to remove the "eyes." Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise and remove the core by cutting a "V" down the center of each half. Again, place the pineapple halves, cut side down, on a board and slice them straight across into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Fan the slices out and arrange them next to the melon on the platter.
• Once the base is set, you can add any kind of fruit that's available. I like to have one thing that is taller than the rest, such as a large bunch of grapes or a decoratively cut papaya, to give the platter height. Then I add raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and fresh figs in casual but organized groups. The platter can look like a bowl of M&M's if there are too many colors scattered with no order. Visually, your eye needs to have a focal point and to be able to see each type of fruit. After all the fruit is arranged, I add flat green leaves around the outside of the fruit, to set off the colors. Use lemon and galax leaves from your florist, or fig leaves and grape leaves from your garden. Make sure they are pesticide-free and well washed.
• Any kind of fruit will work well on this platter. For special occasions, add persimmons, kiwi, passion fruit, Queen Anne cherries, fresh apricots, and mangos. Choose whatever is colorful and seasonal.

FRUIT PLATTER

Steps:

• Wash all the fruit well.
• Prepare the mango by making thick slices down either side of the stone. Score the flesh of each 'cheek' into a criss cross, then flip it into a hedgehog shape and use a knife to cut off each cube of mango flesh.
• Prepare the pineapple by cutting the top and bottom (save the leafy top to include in your fruit platter for decoration if you wish). Stand it on the cut side and carefully cut off the thick rind. Cut long strips away from the hard core, then cut the strips into bite sized chunks.
• Slice the kiwi. (Kiwi peel is edible. Keep it on if you wish for decoration and provide a bowl for guests to discard it, or just remove it before cutting.)
• Rinse the raspberries and blueberries.
• Cut the melons in half and then quarters. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Cut the peel from the flesh and then cut the flesh into bite sized pieces.
• Wash the grapes but keep them on the stalk.
• Decoratively assemble the fruit on your chosen plate, tray or cake stand, grouping each type of fruit together and keeping different colours to different sections.

ULTIMATE GRILLED VEGETABLE TRAY

Steps:

• In a small bowl, stir together the oil, garlic, oregano, basil, parsley. salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if using).
• You can use any combination of these vegetables as you'd like. Use them all or pick and choose your favorites!
• Boil the potatoes until just fork tender. You want them to be slightly underdone because they'll continue to cook on the grill. Drain, allow to cool and cut in half.
• Slice the remaining vegetables into 1/2-inch slices and arrange on a large baking sheet. Keep the corn, broccolini and scallions whole.
• Brush the vegetables with the garlic herb oil on both sides.
• Preheat an outdoor or indoor grill pan over medium-high heat until hot. Begin by placing the vegetables that take longer to cook through. Such as the corn, broccolini, red onion, squash and zucchini. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes on the first side or until char marks develop. Flip over and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the baking sheet (same one is fine since it's just vegetables).
• Then cook the vegetables that cook up faster. Such as the bell peppers, par-cooked potatoes, and scallions. These will cook up faster so you'll want cook until just charred, about 2 to 3 minutes in total. Transfer to the baking sheet with the rest of the veggies.
• To make the sauce, stir together the yogurt, lemon, salt, pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes (if using) and fresh herbs. This can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• To assemble your tray, start by placing a small bowl on a large wooden tray or baking sheet. Fill the bowl with sauce and then build from there. Lay out the vegetables in mounds, filling up the space of the board. Sprinkle with salt and fresh cracked black pepper before serving. Can be served warm, room temperature or cold!

ULTIMATE FRUIT TRAY

Steps:

• Use whatever fruit you have on hand or whichever you prefer. You can use some or all of what is listed. This is more of a guideline for putting together a beautiful fruit tray, rather than a strict recipe!
• Start by placing two small sauce bowls in the center of a very large tray or baking sheet. This is where you'll build your fruit tray so find something large enough to hold all your fruit.
• Create a bowl out of a pineapple by slicing it in half, crosswise, and then coring it and removing the fruit leaving only the outer layer to create a bowl. Fill with blueberries (or any other small fruit).
• Then place the larger items around the board. Fruit like grapes on the vine, the sliced oranges, and grapefruit. Then you can start to fill in some of the areas and build off the other fruit with small mounds of blackberries, raspberries and strawberries.
• You want to place the fruit that'll turn brown quicker, towards the end and right before serving. Apple slices, pear slices, and plums would go in next. If you want to prevent them from browning, you can drizzle some lemon juice over those fruits.
• Then you start putting the decorative touches. Make thin slices of strawberries, without cutting all the way through, and then fan them out. Peel and make slits around kiwi and then separate to make decorative halves.
• Use small cookie cutters in different shapes to cut out stars, flowers or hearts out of the cantaloupe, watermelon or honeydew. Place those on last, and then marvel at your beautiful creation. Fill the sauce dishes with the sauces below or any of your favorite store-bought sweet sauces.
• For the marshmallow sauce, place the cream cheese and marshmallow fluff into a heat safe bowl. Microwave in short 30 second bursts until warmed through. Stir until smooth. You want to serve this slightly warm so that it's easier to dip into.
• For the chocolate sauce, warm the cream either in the microwave or on the stove until just heated through. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for about 5 minutes before stirring until smooth.