429853 Fri Aug 10 06:59:38 -0700 2007 9 31 Home Cooking 0 2832173 Daughter's 18th birthday is this weekend. She's invited her friends over for pizza tomorrow night and would like to offer fruit salad as well. I'm so over plain old fruit salad. Have done the sculpted watermelon bit to death. Any thoughts on how I could change it up a bit? TIA Fri Aug 10 06:59:38 -0700 2007 105292 HungryLetsEat 1 2832178 Dish it into large wine glasses or martini glasses in a parfait style with yogurt or sorbet. Fri Aug 10 07:01:27 -0700 2007 2832173 50613 weezycom 1 2832190 What about fruit salsa? I have been to a couple of cookouts this summer where this was served. 1 qt. strawberries (hulled) 1 kiwi 1 orange (peeled) 1 granny smith apple 2 tbsp. grape jelly (I also added the juice of a lemon) blend this in food processor and serve with cinnamon and sugar pita chips for dipping (it is also great over ice cream) Fri Aug 10 07:04:46 -0700 2007 2832173 26918 lotus_blossom 1 2832232 Several years ago, Cooks Illustrated ran some wonderful fruit salad recipes with reduced gastriques as "dressing" for the salad. Just delicious. They should probably have the recipes on their website. Fri Aug 10 07:15:27 -0700 2007 2832173 22794 debit 2 2832360 I used a more recent Cooks Ill recipe that was really good. IIRC, nectarines, grapes, blueberries, with a cardamom and lime dressing. Everyone liked it, including my ILs who are not into "weird" stuff. Very refreshing. They had a couple different combos. I think it was the July 2007 issue, the recipe is members-only online. Fri Aug 10 07:49:27 -0700 2007 2832232 10559 JGrey 1 2832338 There were some suggestions on a previous fruit salad thread... http://www.chowhound.com/topics/387345 Fri Aug 10 07:43:39 -0700 2007 2832173 10788 TheGloaming 2 2832355 I still remember a fruit salad I ordered almost every day at a hotel I stayed at in Baltimore. It had a dressing on it that must have been pineapple and coconut milk or cream of coconut. It was soooo yummy! Maybe you can do something like that? I also like the PP suggestion of serving in fancy glasses. Fri Aug 10 07:48:30 -0700 2007 2832338 115445 SweetPea914 1 2832606 Try adding a can of Lychee nuts, they're a Asian fruit. A sweet fruit with a unique texture. They can be found in most super markets in the Asian food section. Sometimes you can find them fresh, but they are a pain to peel and core. Fri Aug 10 08:44:38 -0700 2007 2832173 104047 sedlmi 1 2835779 Frozen fruit salad is a great change for the summer. You can use light sour cream if you want it lower fat. Just add whatever other fruit you want -- it couldn't be easier. Frozen Fruit Salad 1 16 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained 1 pint sour cream 2 bananas, mashed 1 Tbsp. lemon juice 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup maraschino cherries, quartered 1 cup pecans, broken blueberries, white grapes, etc. Mix together thoroughly and freeze in a muffin tin. Sat Aug 11 08:21:01 -0700 2007 2832173 107491 dinner belle 1 2836003 I know I'm too late for you to use for the party, but it's an excellent recipe. It was posted for use with just watermelon but I've made the syrup and used it on other fruit. Too good not to share with you. I was just cruising around some food blogs <read putting off chores> when I ran across this recipe for watermelon in rose-lime syrup. I found it at www.travelerslunchbox.com who found it at http://asdearassalt.blogspot.com an India based blog. Travelers lunch box tweaked it for their taste. Make a basic simple syrup * 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water then add lime juice to taste splash of rose water kala namak (black salt) 1 watermelon Basically here's what you do. Dice up the watermelon into cubes in a bowl and add the rose-lime syrup about 6 tablespoons for one small seedless melon or to your taste. The " As dear as salt" blog recipe calls for black salt to taste. Add lots of ice, about a cup to a pound of melon and chill for several hours for the flavors to mingle, stirring occasionally. I used the black salt and found it added a noticeable difference to the better. * put the 2 cups of sugar and water in a saucepan and heat up over med heat until the sugar is completely dissolved stirring occasionally. http://www.kokoscorner.typepad.com Sat Aug 11 10:19:28 -0700 2007 2832173 108934 starkoch