Fruit Bouquet

I finally found an excuse to visit Edible Arrangements last week. I'm sure that heaven smells just like that store. It was even better than the smell of Jamba Juice. I was disappointed in the cost of their arrangements, but after salivating over their brochure all afternoon, I decided I could make my own.

So I did, thanks to this great site. I had a great time prepping my fruit...dipping the strawberries and apples, sprinkling them with coconut and pecans (wasn't that a brilliant idea??), cutting stars and hearts out of pineapple rounds. But then I sliced my index finger open while cutting fabric right before it was time to put it all together. So that part ended up not being so fun as I had to keep rinsing the juice out of my cut (owwa). And then the finished product...

So it wasn't the knock-out arrangement I had envisioned. But it was just a first try. So what would I do differently next time:

- Make the sticks shorter.
- Make the pineapple rounds thicker (the sticks kept poking through the front).
- Make the apple slices thicker (same problem).
- Refrigerate the play-doh that I used to put the sticks in (I made it the day before and by the time I used it, it had gotten sticky again).
- Make the arrangement more organized. I thought I could be artsy and just arrange as I went, but I'm just not that talented.

A great thing I discovered: chocolate dipped apples sprinkled with pecans. Great autumn dessert. I think I will make a plate arrangement just of those.

Speaking of edible arrangements, I once saw this great vegetable arrangement at a wedding reception. There were five colorful veggies on each stick, and the sticks were stuck into a head of cauliflower, which made a great base. The sticks were stuck into the cauliflower spiraling inward, it was really pretty.