Pineapple Party

Summer entertaining is a lot of fun. Whenever we go to a potluck get-together, I always bring a fruit platter. Two reasons. One, I love fruit. Two, I'm lazy. A fruit platter is really easy to put together, it looks fancy, and the hardest part is cutting up the pineapple. When I say "hard", I'm joking. It's really easy. Watch.

First, get your supplies ready. You will need a pineapple (duh), a cutting board, an electric carving knife (easy) or serrated knife (more difficult), and a pretty platter or basket.



Next, cut off the top with the knife. You can leave it on, but it takes up a lot of space on the platter and sometimes looks messy.




Then, starting at the top, cut down the center until you reach the bottom. Be sure to cut all the way through. Now, you will have 2 pineapple halves. The red bowl to the right, is my compost bowl. I keep it handy to hold veggie and fruit scraps that are destined for the compost pile in the back yard.




Now, cut the pineapple half in half again.




Very carefully, skim the knife across the top ridge to cut off the tough core of the pineapple. Some people leave this part on, but it makes it more difficult for your guests to eat.





Next, skim the knife along the bottom, between the fruit and the skin (peel?, rind?, outside coating? I'm not sure what it's called).




Now, cut across the pineapple to make little chunks. What I forgot to show you is that I also cut length wise before I cut crosswise (look at the photo). You don't have to do that step if you want larger pieces.




Here's the final product. Looks yummy. I added grapes and a toothpick holder. You can add any fruit you want to.



Here, I show you a picture with the leaves trimmed off and few clementines added. The leaves do take up a lot of space, so you can eleminate them if so desired.



Pineapple Party, anyone?