Grand Marnier Fruit Bowl:
1 c. granulated sugar
2 tbsp. finely grated orange zest from oranges used in this recipe
½ c. orange juice
¼ c. Grand Marnier or other orange-flavored liqueur
4 navel oranges (see Note)
1 c. each cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon balls
2 c. whole or halved strawberries (see Further Note)
To prepare orange syrup, combine sugar, zest, and orange juice, boiling 3 min. in small, uncovered saucepan. Remove from heat, cooling very slowly. Add ¼ c. Grand Marnier or other orange-flavored liqueur to fully cooled orange solution. Briefly set aside.
Section peeled navel oranges into bite-sized chunks, removing all white membrane. Combine with melon balls. Pour syrup over oranges and melon balls, chilling and marinating 5-to-6 hours, stirring occasionally (I gently stir fruit with a rice paddle, so it remains intact and keeps its appearance).
Rinse, blot dry, and core strawberries. Keep berries whole if small or medium size; halve if large. Cover and refrigerate; do not stir into oranges and melon balls until 30-to-60 min. before serving. Drain off some - but not all! - the liquid (Slightly thickened with cornstarch, this liquid is scrumptious with vanilla ice cream!).
Present this glorious dessert in your prettiest glass bowl or in the scooped-out shell of a watermelon. Yields 6 servings.
Note: The annoyance of this, Dollinks! When I saw that four navel oranges would cost me $3.75, I told the cashier to forget it! Too costly for me! Instead, I bought four large oranges at half the price. Each seemed heavy for its size: I assumed the weight meant plenty of juice, but I was in for a surprise. Not only was the skin of each orange exceptionally thick (as the photo below shows), but the sections were dry and irregularly patterned. Lesson learned: Sometimes, the more expensive product is the better buy.
Further Note: Marinating strawberries any longer than an hour will turn them pink and mushy. I’ve successfully tripled this recipe for a large party. If you do that, I recommend you serve it in a punch bowl.
Finely grate 2 tbsp. orange zest. |
Remove skin and all white membranes; section oranges. |
Measure orange liqueur: 1/4 c. is enough! |
Scoop out 1 c. (250 mL) balls for each type of melon. |
Seed ripe, juicy cantaloupe before making melon balls. |
Scoop melon balls from fragrant, juicy honeydew.
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