Fruit Platter Recipes

FRESH FRUIT PLATTER

Steps:

• Place the fig leaves on a large, flat platter. Arrange the fruit artfully on top of the leaves and place the mint sprigs in the middle.

SUMMER FRUIT PLATTER

Steps:

• Give your fruit platter a makeover! Start with some crowd-pleasers like berries, pineapple and kiwi, then add a few exotic choices to the mix -- speckled dragon fruit, star fruit, macadamia nuts, edible flowers -- and arrange everything on the plate in free-flowing sections as we did here. To cut mango in this "hedgehog" pattern, slice off the sides lengthwise (going right next to the pit), then score a crosshatch pattern into the flesh without cutting into the skin. Lightly push on the skin side so the chunks pop out.

FRUIT PLATTER

Steps:

• Arrange the fig leaves on a platter. Place the pineapple and cantaloupe on top of the fig leaves, and artfully arrange the blueberries, strawberries and raspberries over the top of the pineapple and cantaloupe.

FRUIT PLATTER

Steps:

• Arrange pieces in a pleasing pattern on a serving plate and serve with cocktail forks or cocktail toothpicks on small plates.

FRUIT AND CHEESE PLATTER

Steps:

• Line a wooden board or flat dish with fig leaves and artfully arrange the goat cheese, grapes, preserves and crackers on top.
• Place the orange zest and orange juice in a medium (10-inch) heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. Add the sugar, vanilla bean, and figs to the pot. Cover and bring to a full boil over medium heat. (Don't worry; it may look dry.) Stir the mixture and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Lower the heat, and cook uncovered at a full simmer for 50 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the little bubbles to be throughout the pot, not just at the edges. After 45 minutes, refrigerate a small amount of the liquid to see if it becomes syrupy. It should be like a soft fruit preserve. Keep cooking just until the liquid starts to gel when cold. If the liquid is too firm, add a little orange juice or water, cook for a minute, and test it again until it's right. Depending on how ripe the figs are, they will probably keep their shape, but it's fine if they don't. Discard the vanilla bean and serve or refrigerate.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
• Place the oats, flour, brown sugar, and kosher salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse for 45 to 60 seconds, until the oats are coarsely ground. Add the butter and pulse 15 to 20 times, until the butter is the size of peas.
• Dissolve the baking soda in the lukewarm water and drizzle it over the crumbs in the food processor. Pulse until the mixture is evenly moistened and can be pressed into balls that will hold together.
• With a medium (1 3/4-inch) ice cream scoop or two spoons, scoop the dough into your hands and roll them into round balls. Evenly space 12 balls on the prepared sheet pans. Flour the bottom of a flat-bottomed 3-inch-diameter drinking glass and use it to flatten each cracker to 1/8 inch thick and about 3 inches in diameter. The crackers will not be perfectly round. If there is a lot of flour on the crackers, turn them over with a metal spatula. Sprinkle with the fleur de sel and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown on the edges. Serve warm or at room temperature.
• "Cooking for Jeffrey" by Ina Garten © Clarkson Potter 2016. Provided courtesy of Ina Garten. All rights reserved.

FREAKY FRUIT PLATTER

Steps:

• For the mummy bananas, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a small pan of simmering water or in the microwave in 20-second bursts. Cool to room temperature. Put the bananas on a tray lined with baking parchment and drizzle over the chocolate in a criss-cross pattern to make 'bandages'. Stick on the eyeball decorations or use black icing or an edible ink pen to draw the eyes on the bananas, then chill until set, about 30 mins (they will start to discolour after about 2 hrs).
• For the tangerine pumpkins, cut tiny 'stalks' from the celery piece and push these into the tops of the tangerines where the segments come together.
• For the apple fangs, cut a small wedge from the peel side of the apple wedges to make lips, then fill the 'mouth' with the nut butter. Push the raisins into the mouth to look like wonky teeth.
• For the lychee eyeballs, stuff each lychee with a blueberry. Stick the eyeball decorations onto the blueberry using some of the melted white chocolate from step 1, or skewer the fruit together. If you like, drop these into a punch bowl.
• For the grape snakes, thread alternating green and red grapes onto skewers, then stick on eyeball decorations with white chocolate as in step four.
• Arrange the freaky fruits on a large serving platter. Fill gaps with any leftover blueberries and decorate with spooky Halloween figures and decorations, if you like.

LUSCIOUS FRUIT PLATTER

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese. Add milk, lemon juice, sugar and salt; beat until smooth. transfer to a small serving bowl. On a large serving platter, arrange honeydew wedges in a spoke pattern. Place strawberries, watermelon, blueberries, banana, peaches and grapes between the wedges. Place dip in the center. Serve immediately.