Sweet Summer Treats – To Go!

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how tos:

carve a melon bowl

watermelon…

that wonderful taste of summer.

let’s face it, no matter how it’s sliced – it tastes the same –

sweet, juicy and delicious. but if you want something a little more

fun than wedges on a tray to serve at your backyard barbecue – a

fruit melon bowl is the answer. you can make it as simple as cutting

the melon in half, cutting out the melon with a melon carving knife.

slice up the pieces and put them back into the hollowed-out melon

rind. simple, quick and still stunning.

but this summer, how about carving a little more “sophisticated melon

bowl.”

you will need:

1 Watermelon

Additional fruit to fill bowl: cantaloupe, honeydew melon, seedless

grapes, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries

blackberries, plums, oranges

Garnish: lemon, lime or orange slices, grapes, melon balls or

cherries, toothpicks

Tools: garnishing tool or serrated knife (jack-o-lantern carving

knives work well), melon baller or simply cut the fruit into bite

sized chunks.

To begin, take a sharp knife and slice a small thin piece off the

bottom of your melon so your finished basket sits flat on a plate or

table without rolling.

Use the tip of your knife or garnishing tool and score the watermelon

in half, horizontally. Then mark a strip of about 1-1/2″ – 2″ wide

that will form the handle of your basket.

Use your garnishing tool and start cutting around the melon on the

lines. The garnishing tool naturally makes V shaped cuts, which makes

doing a basket like this a breeze. If you do not have a garnishing

tool, use a small knife and make the V cuts one side at a time. You

could also forget the V and make straight cuts.

To make separating the melon easier, and the finished product neater,

turn your garnishing tool over, and go over the cuts in the opposite

direction.

Carefully separate the cut sides from the body of the watermelon. Use

a melon baller and hollow out the inside of the watermelon. After

removing all the edible parts, take a large spoon and gently scrape

out the sides of your “basket”. Be care not to scrape too thinly on

the handle, as you want it to have some stability, even though you

will never try to carry it this way.

Mix the watermelon balls (or pieces, if you don’t have a melon

baller) with other ripe fresh fruits. To make a handle garnish,

thinly slice lemons, limes or oranges and use a toothpick to affix

them, along with a grape (pictured), melon ball or cherry, to the

watermelon.

Hint: To keep fruit getting soggy in the bowl, incorporate “drainage”

holes in the bottom of the watermelon after hollowing it out and

before filling with the fruit. Put the basket in a large oval

roasting pan filled with ice cubes (to keep the fruit cold), and the

water from the fruit drained into the pan along with the melting ice.

This kept the fruit in the basket from getting soggy.

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