Citrus Tower Centerpiece Recipes

Steps:

• Cut pineapple into 3/8-in. slices. Using small flower or star-shaped cookie cutters, cut out shapes from pineapple and watermelon slices. Thread assorted fruits onto wooden skewers., Place melon on a serving tray or platter. Insert skewers into base. Garnish with lemon and mint if desired.

Steps:

• In a small mixing bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Stir in coconut. Chill until serving., Cut off pineapple top with a fourth of the pineapple attached; set aside. For dip bowl, cut a third from bottom of pineapple; remove fruit, leaving a 1/2-in. shell. Remove peel from center section of pineapple; core and cut pineapple into chunks., Cut the grapefruit, orange and lemon in half widthwise. Remove pulp from one half of each; set aside. (Save the remaining grapefruit, orange and lemon halves for another use.) , Stack two 10-in. Styrofoam rounds and two 6-in. rounds; cover each stack with heavy-duty foil. Repeat with remaining rounds. On a 19x15-in. platter, pile the stacks on top of each other, staggering them and anchoring with dowels. , Place pineapple top on the top circle; position lemon, orange and grapefruit cups on other circles. Place pineapple bowl on platter. , With greening pins, attach clusters of grapes onto circles. Randomly add strawberries, pineapple chunks and more grapes to cover the foil and platter. Decorate with silk flowers. Just before serving, fill pineapple bowl with pineapple ginger dip. Fill lemon, orange and grapefruit cups with yogurt.

Steps:

• * This centerpiece is both appetizing and colorful. If desired, fill the center of the ring with a bowl of dip or olives, or a container of crushed ice topped with marinated boiled shrimp. Have extra appetizer picks in a container to one side. The size of your Styrofoam (R) ring will determine the ingredients you will need. Antipasto RingYou will need a small sharp knife, scissors, plastic or wooden picks. Styrofoam ring, tray or baking sheet, and a spray bottle with water.Select foods from the ingredients below. Prepare all vegetable garnishes and place in ice water to "bloom." Wash and crisp all greens place picks in all condiments and other vegetables cover and refrigerate.Vegetable Garnishes such as radish fans and flowers carrot curls, cartwheels and frills green onion brushes cherry tomato roses fluted mushrooms Greens such as parsley sprigs, celery leaves, curly endive, mustard greensCondiments such as pitted ripe and green olives, small gherkin pickles, cheese cubes, cooked meat cubesOther Vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, cauliflowerettes, red and greenpepper strips, celery sticksTo assemble, place Styrofoam ring on a tray. Fasten greens to Styrofoam ring with picks, attaching at inside and outside of base first, filling in the top last (A). Spray with water. Attach vegetable garnishes to wooden picks (B),then press firmly into ring. Fill in spaces with condiments, other vegetables and additional greens. Spray lightly with water. Cover with a damp lightweight towel or plastic wrap until ready to serve. Place on serving table and fill center of ring as desired (see above).

Steps:

• Slice the oranges, limes and lemons 1/8-inch thick.
• Put a wire rack on top of a cookie sheet and lay each piece of sliced fruit on the rack.
• Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
• When the oven is hot, place the rack of fruit in the oven and let "bake" for two hours (if your fruit is taking a long time to dry, turn the oven off and leave the fruit in overnight.
• When the fruit is dry and cool, hot-glue the citrus pieces to one another by overlapping them in line with the candle's base. Do not glue-gun the candle directly or the wax will melt.
• When the candles are completely decorated, and the glue is dry, stagger the candles in the middle of your Thanksgiving table and weave the berry branch throughout.

Steps:

• * A citrus tower centerpiece is quick to assemble and inexpensive. Use with lemon leaves, which can be purchased from a florist. Use as a garnish for Citrus TowerYou will need a long sharp knife, small sharp knife and wooden picks or bamboo skewers.Select a medium-sized orange, lemon and lime. You will also need a maraschino cherry, mint sprigs and lemon leaves or other decorative non-poisonous leaves.Wash leaves in mild sudsy water rinse well. Dry and polish gently with a soft cloth. Cover and refrigerate.Cut a thin lengthwise slice from stem end of orange discard slice. Place orange on cut end to prevent rolling. Cut off top one-third of orange discard top (A). Cut a zigzag pattern by making diagonal cuts to the center of the fruit (B). Drain well. Repeat with lemon and lime. Cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble.To assemble, insert picks in center of each fruit and stack orange on the bottom, lemon in the middle and lime on top. Attach cherry to pick in center of the lime (C). Place citrus tower on lemon leaves. Garnish with mint.

Steps:

• Day before: whisk together the eggs and milk in a jug. Put the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and spice in the bowl of a kitchen mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir to combine.
• On a medium setting, slowly pour in the egg mixture in a steady stream, continuing to stir until incorporated into a very soft, wet dough. Add the butter and increase the speed, kneading for 8-10 minutes. The dough will be ready when it clings around the dough hook. At this stage it will look more like a thick cake batter than bread dough. Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.
• You can also roast the garlic the day before: heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Line a baking sheet with foil. Remove any loose outer skins from the garlic bulbs. With a sharp knife, cut off the stem and uppermost part of the cloves. Place on the foil, drizzle over a little olive oil and season. Bring up the edges of the foil and seal to form a fairly tight parcel. Bake in the top of the oven for 35-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave the parcel sealed until the garlic is cool enough to handle. Remove the cloves by either squeezing the bulb upwards from the base or by teasing them out with a toothpick. Mash the garlic with a fork. Wrap well (to avoid the garlic smell transferring to other foods) and refrigerate.
• On the day: line a baking tray with baking parchment. Remove the cheese from its wooden carton and put the cheese back in the fridge until later. Put the carton in the centre of the lined tray.
• Tip the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Divide into 5 large equal-sized pieces - it can help to roll the dough into an even sausage shape and mark with a knife first to get equal pieces.
• Take one piece and divide into 5 again. One at a time, roll each of these 5 pieces gently into a ball, flour your index finger and make a small, deep indent in the middle. Fill with half a teaspoon of the roasted garlic, pinching the dough over the top to seal and placing the sealed side down onto the floured surface. Cup your hand over the bun and rotate a little to get an even shape. Repeat until you have filled all 5.
• Repeat step 6 using the remaining 4 fillings.
• Arrange the buns around the wooden carton, you'll need 10 for the inner ring and 15 for the outer ring. Leave around 0.5cm between each bun, giving them room to rise. Cover with oiled cling film and leave in a warm place for 30-40 minutes or until nearly doubled in size.
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Remove any plastic wrapping or stickers from the cheese. With a small knife, make an incision in the top rim and remove the top layer of rind. Sprinkle with thyme leaves and place in the carton, cut side up. Brush the buns with the beaten egg and scatter with poppy seeds. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Slide onto a serving platter. Decorate with the herbs and fresh cranberries. Serve the extra cheese alongside if using.