Fruit baskets

When I was younger, I remember watching my dad make cute baskets out of oranges. I was always impressed that my dad could make these. (because he wasn't usually very present in a kitchen). But, when it came to getting ready for a dinner party, my dad would get out his knife and cut away. He's also pretty handy with a saw, so perhaps it came naturally for him to carve out fruit. You can also do this with watermelon, cantaloupe, or any round type fruit. (although the orange peel is easier to cut through). I decided to try my hand at these for our Easter dinner. You could even add some green coconut on top to look like grass or grapes for the "eggs". I may consider wrapping a licorice "bow on the handle just to make it more enticing for my kids.

Click here for printable recipe.

Posted by Jen.

The Ingredients:

Oranges (as many as people are going to be eating)

Strawberries (I used 8 strawberries for 4 baskets)

Pears (1 pear made 4 baskets)

Grapes (red or green)

other fruit you may like (ie, Kiwi, bananas, apples, pineapple, etc)

Directions:

Wash your fruit.

Use a small sharp knife and first cut down from the top , but only about a third of the way down. Don't cut right in the middle, but about 1/8 inch from the center. Now move 1/8 inch to other side of the center and cut straight down about one third of the way down. This will be your handle and it should be about 1/4 inch thick. (I'll get a better picture soon and put it up)

Next either cut a straight line across the middle of a zigzag. Do not cut all the way around. Make sure you stop where you cut the handle.

It should look like this: (but make your handle a bit skinnier than this one)Now proceed to cut around in the middle to get out the orange. You may need a spoon or a melon baller to help you get it all out. This will be juicy and potentially messy. Pour the juice into a bowl that you are going to mix your fruit salad in.

Cut up the orange pulp into pieces (without much rind). Cut up the rest of the fruit into smaller pieces. Add it all to the orange juice and mix. (the orange juice will help the pears to not brown)

Now scoop your fruit salad into your basket. You may want to arrange it so that a couple grapes are on top to resemble Easter eggs.

I added some green coconut to this to look like grass, but I'm thinking it's a bit too much. What do you think?

Don't miss a single recipe on Recipe Shoebox--sign up on the right for free email updates.

Also, don't forget to "LIKE" Recipe Shoebox's new Facebook page!