Melissa's Cuisine: Fruit Turkey

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Fruit Turkey

Melissa's Cuisine: Fruit Turkey
The first year that Mike and I were married, we got ambitious and hosted Thanksgiving at our house.  It went really well--it helps that we have a dining room table that has enough leaves in it to expand for 9 people plus all the food to fit!  I prepared the turkey, and I brined it before baking, resulting in the best turkey I've ever had.  In fact, it still gets talked about.  After having my parents host last year, I offered to host again this year.  One fantastic thing about our families is that they all get along so well that Mike and I are able to have both our parents and siblings over for various holidays--much less stress than trying to go to 4 different places in one day!  Anyway, this year we are hosting Thanksgiving dinner again and I'll be making not one, but two turkeys.   


Melissa's Cuisine: Fruit Turkey


Two turkeys for 9 or 10 people? Am I crazy? Well, maybe just a little bit... I'll be making another brined turkey for dinner, but I'll also be making a fruit turkey for a pre or post-dinner snack. I saw a picture of a fruit turkey that my friend's daughter-in-law made for the Canadian Thanksgiving and using that picture as my inspiration I came up with this turkey. My mom helped me and I was really thankful for the extra pair of hands when it came to assembling the turkey!
Melissa's Cuisine: Fruit Turkey

Fruit Turkey

Serves 8-10 people

Ingredients:
1 pineapple
1 pound of purple grapes
1 pear
2 raisins
peel of 1 apple
1 pineapple wedge
1 pound of cheese, cubed
10-15 wooden skewers
1 toothpick
crackers, if desired

**Note: these directions are meant to be a guide.  I simply used a picture as my reference and you certainly can do the same.  If something doesn't work for you, feel free to use a method that does!

1.  Cut the crown off the top of the pineapple.  Now you have a choice: you can leave the pineapple as it is, or you can cut the fruit out of the pineapple, leaving a shell that can be refilled with the pineapple.  Either way is fine: if you leave the pineapple whole, your turkey will be sturdier; if you cut out the interior fruit, you can enjoy the pineapple!

2.  Wash grapes and remove them from the vine. Thread the grapes onto the wooden skewers.  I did the majority of my skewers with just grapes and then a few alternating grapes and cheese.

3.  Poke the skewers into the back of the pineapple to form the "feathers".  (If the pineapple is unbalanced and wants to tilt, I found that adding pineapple to the inside added enough weight to hold it still.)

4.  Cut a skewer in half and insert the pointed end into the front of the pineapple.  Skewer the pear, wide side up, to attach the face to the pineapple body.

5.  Make the turkey face by cutting a toothpick into 3 sections.  Using a section of the toothpick, attach the raisins for eyes, apple peel for a gobbler, and pineapple (or cheese) wedge for a beak.

6.  Place the fruit turkey on a serving tray and arrange crackers and remaining cheese around the turkey.

Melissa's Cuisine: Fruit Turkey
I'm a visual learner, so here's a picture of the "rear" of the turkey after the "feathers" were attached and the pineapple was stuffed.

16 comments:

  1. What a cute turkey!
    You're really lucky that your family gets along so well and you can have them all over. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. How fun! My kids would love, love, love this.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just love your Turkey, it is just precious! Have a great weekend and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is an awesome centerpiece! Love it. Thank you for sharing it on my blog.

    http://krumblecakesandsweets.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is adorable! I'm pinning it so I remember. That would be a great thing to take to the big family dinner, all of the kiddos would just love it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your turkey is adorable. My daughter would love it. Thanks for sharing with Thursdays Treasures

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is the cutest thing, ever! Thanks for the instructions....
    I am following...come see me when you can.
    Over from Flour Me....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Too, too fun! Pinning and tweeting! Thanks so much for sharing at Mom On Timeout!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love the turkey! The pineapple is great! The boys and I will have to make one this way. Thank you for sharing on Thursday's Treasures Week 59. I'm featuring your turkey this week. <3 and hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is so cute! What a great appetizer for Thanksgiving. Thanks for sharing :)
    Michelle

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh my gosh - that is so fun and cute!
    Thanks for linking it up to last week's Tasty Thursday too!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is SO cute! Big Brother saw me looking at this and asked me to make one for him! :) You've won his heart too! ;) You are a Featured Favorite this week on Saturday Show & Tell on Cheerios and Lattes! We love having you join us and can't wait to see you this weekend!
    Mackenzie :)
    cheeriosandlattes.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is a fantastic idea!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love this! I just recommended that one of my readers make a fruit turkey for dessert, and had to describe how to change something I saw. Pinning this one for her!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading my blog! I always look forward to reading your thoughts on my recipes!

01 10 11 12
Blogging tips