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.   

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!

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.

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.