Frozen Fruit “Ice Cream” Cones June 28, 2011

Summertime is upon us and of course one of the best ways to cool down is with ice cream. But this isn’t your traditional ice cream cone of summers past.  Just select your favorite fruits, your favorite melon ballers and your favorite white chocolate for a quick and easy summer treat!

 

Ingredients:

Watermelon

Cantaloupe

Honeydew

Mini cones

White Chocolate (quantity will depend on the number of cones and the thickness of chocolate, maybe 1 chocolate melt per 2-3 cones)

Utensils:

Melon ballers in various sizes (I used a round measuring tablespoon and regular sized melon baller)

Small Silicone brush

Medium bowl

Directions:

Melt chocolate in the microwave until smooth. Quickly brush the insides of each cones making sure no gaps are present. This will insure the cones do not become soggy from the water content of the fruit. Let set until completely hard. This step can be done ahead of time and store cones in an air tight container.

When ready, use the regular melon baller to create two balls for each cone.

Using the round tablespoon, start to cut into the fruit at about a 90’ angle, curve into the fruit creating the main body of the ball. Go deep enough into the fruit so that a small portion of the handle is hidden. Turn the handle clockwise and just before you make a full circle pull up and pop the fruit ball out.

Place the first ball deep inside followed by the second ball on top making sure enough  is above the rim so the larger ball can rest on top of it. This will help the top layer not slide off.

20-30 minutes in the freezer and it will be perfect for a hot summer day.

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Fruit Tray Skewers Cut with Cookie Cutters March 1, 2011

This was one of the simplest dishes, but most importantly the cutest, I have ever made for a potluck. I am sure it would have only taken less than 30 minutes if my 2-year-old didn’t want to cut every piece or steal all of my grapes. I accented this dish with a chocolate ganache fondue. This combination was giving many raves!

Ingredients:

• 1 vine of circular shaped grapes
• 1 thick in diameter and long cucumber
• 2 large red apples
• 4 large kiwis
• 16 skewers

Directions:

Rinse and wash your fruit as you normally would. Start by threading one grape almost half way down the skewer. The final distance will truly depend on the size of each item.

Due to the soft nature of the centers of the kiwi, using a cookie cutter shape did not work well. Therefore, I cut the skins off and shaping them in to hexagons or heptagons for a geometric shape. Slice  the kiwis about  ¼- ½ inch thick.  Thread the kiwis just off center, this will help them to not split or become damaged (see 2nd kiwi from the right above).

Using the red skins of the apples for accent colored flowers, cut 4 to 5 slices ½ inch in diameter at the thickest part in each apple.  Using a small flower cutter (or the small gum paste blossom cutter as I used) cut as many flowers per piece as possible.

Slicing the cucumber ½ inch in diameter. Use a small star cookie cutter to shape the cucumber slices. Be careful to not cut through the cucumber skins, this will allow you to reuse the leftovers later with a small apple flower threaded inside (see picture below).

Now your fruits are ready for threading. The grapes will be placed as spacers in between each fruit piece and make for a nice jewel like feature.

Enjoy!