Watermelon Boat
Taste of Home
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"Wow!" is what folks will say when they dig into this lovely fruit salad piled high in an eye-catching watermelon boat, relates Ruth Seitz of Columbus Junction, Iowa.
SERVINGS: 12-14
CATEGORY: Dessert
METHOD: Chill
TIME: Prep: 30 min. + chilling
Ingredients:
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 large watermelon
- 1 large honeydew, cut into cubes or balls
- 1 large cantaloupe, cut into cubes or balls
- 2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced
- 1/2 pound green grapes
Directions:
Combine lemon juice, sugar and flour in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Stir 1/4 cup into eggs; return all to pan. Cook and stir for 15 minutes or until mixture coasts a spoon (do not boil). Cool. Fold in whipped cream; cover and chill until serving.
For watermelon boat, cut a thin slice from bottom of melon with a sharp knife to allow it to sit flat (see diagram at right). Mark a horizontal cutting line 2 in. above center of melon. With a long sharp knife, cut into melon along cutting line, making sure to cut all the way through. Gently pull off top section of rind.
Remove fruit from both sections and cut into cubes or balls; set aside. To cut decorative edge, place melon on its side. Position a 2-1/2-in. star cookie cutter against inside edge of melon, allowing only half of star to cut through rind (see diagram below). Use a mallet if necessary to help push cookie cutter through melon.
Insert a toothpick into flat edge of removed piece. Attach piece onto melon edge where last cut ends. Repeat cutting and attaching pieces until entire melon edge is completed.
In a large bowl, combine honeydew, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes and watermelon; spoon into boat. Serve with dressing. Yield: 32-36 servings (about 2 cups dressing). Editor's Note: Any star or petal cutter with an even number of points may be used. Or serve this salad in an 8-qt. serving bowl.