Hi May! Seasonal fruits are always best.

We put chopped nuts in ours, but since people can be allergic, you can have a container of chopped nuts to put on the side. Maybe bring a bowl of homemade whipped cream, sweetened - the liqueur can go in that too, instead of in the fruit.

To brighten up the flavor I sometimes add a tablespoon of jam or marmalade mixed in to dress the salad. If some of the fruit is not that flavorful, you can macerate it in advance.

Other add-in ideas: chopped dates, chopped dried blueberries or cranberries, multi-colored jello cubes, coconut, and that old standby - mini-marshmallows!

I agree with Gina, a good quality jam or marmalade is nice to sweeten up a fruit salad. Maple syrup as a sweetener is nice. Adding toasted coconut makes a nice addition, or some chopped mint leaves. I also would add the booze to some sweetened whipped cream instead of the salad. Whipped cream, mixed with half mascarpone cheese is really nice for a fruit salad topping.

Shelley

May, I could have posted your statement! So all I can offer is a fruit dip that I love and always gets rave reviews. It makes a lot of dip.

COGNAC FRUIT DIP

12 oz cream cheese
1 cup confectioners' sugar, unsifted
1 cup sour cream
7 oz jar marshmallow crème
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp almond extract
2 tsp cinnamon
6 TBL cognac

In small bowl of mixer, cream the cheese until soft & smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar & beat until well blended. Add the sour cream & the rest of the ingredients. Blend just until well combined. Place in a bowl, cover & chill several hours before serving with apples, bananas, strawberries.

If you want to put some effort/cooking into it, hollowed out orange halves cut with a zigzag make gorgeous individual fruit servings. Use small oranges and small dice fruit in each cup. Arrange a bunch of these around a beautiful bowl of fruit dip that can be spooned onto each cup.
Line a plate with kale to balance the orange halves or cut a small flat area on the bottom of each one. A small gourmet cookie sticking out of each one and a mint leaf top it off.

We have a Christmas Day brunch and make basically the same fruit cup every year because everyone seems to like it. The base is halved oranges cut into sections with a grapefruit knife (including their juice) and defrosted red raspberries in syrup. To this we add chunks of drained canned apricots and freestone peaches and some frozen blueberries. Then comes a healthy pouring of Chambord. I make it the day before and chill.

About an hour before serving, we add well-drained halved canned bing cherries and a couple of sliced bananas.

The ingredients can vary slightly from year to year but the 'must-haves' are the raspberries, oranges, bananas and Chambord.

From 365 All-American Favorites by Sarah Reynolds:

2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed orange juice
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger (I'd add more)

Whisk together and put over about a quart of diced seasonal fruit. Candied or crystallized ginger might be a good garnish.

Not too exciting, but tastier than the usual syrupy toppings.

~Amanda

Ambrosia is a southern specialty. We do not put pecans in our, but maybe some people do. We also put segments of grapefruit in ours. You could always serve the pecans and the coconut on the side for people to add to their own serving.

Ambrosia with coconut is a Southern favorite.
Ingredients:

* 1 cup orange juice
* 3 medium oranges, peeled and sectioned
* 1 can (8 ounces) pineapple chunks, undrained or fresh pineapple
* 1/2 cup seedless red grapes, halved
* 1/2 cup shredded coconut
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:
Combine juice, orange sections, pineapple, and grapes, stirring gently to blend. Refrigerate until serving time. Fold in coconut and pecans just before serving.
Recipe serves 6.

Here's another possibility:

FRUIT SALAD WITH TEQUILA AND LIME

Syrup:
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 to 3 Tblsp. tequila

Salad:
3 cups fresh pineapple chunks
2 pints fresh strawberries, halved
1/2 lb. green seedless grapes
2 pink grapefruits, sectioned
2 navel oranges, sectioned
4 kiwis, peeled and cut into chunks
2 ripe mangoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tsp. grated lime peel

Make syrup: Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and tequila. Cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate 2 hours, until cold.
Meanwhile, combine pineapple, strawberries, grapes, grapefruit, oranges, kiwis, and mangoes in a large serving bowl; stir gently to combine. (Can be made ahead. Refrigerate up to 2 hours.) Just before serving, stir lime peel into syrup, and drizzle syrup over fruit. Makes 10 servings (12 cups).

Pat, that looks awesome! I can't wait to try it. Forget about my stupid ginger... :)

We love fresh fruit salads. Include some dark grapes sliced in half with seeds removed. They always look great. And combine colours, adding kiwi and some yellow fruit such as pineapple. Something red as well.

I like to include sliced oranges, the freshly squeezed juice of oranges and Cointreau or Gran Marnier splashed over top with a little sprinkle of sugar when serving. It really is so good. When at home, we add a spoonful of fruit yoghurt too.

SharonCb

Sharon you are the salad QUEEN!!! Honestly, you make the most beautiful looking vegetable salads and now fruit too. What an inspiration you are!

May, make Cathys dip. Trust me. Truly, trust me, it is to die for. Ask Sherry too. They will leave the fruit and eat the dip. I know, we did and so did my guests this summer.

Crap, now I want some and no fluff in the house.

One technique for fruit salad that I learned from a chef was how to section citrus fruits away from the membranes. Cut off the top and bottom of the fruit, slicing a bit of the flesh away. Then cut the rind off in slices, going round the fruit from the top to the bottom. Now you have a naked orange (or whatever) with no pith or membrane on the outside. Slice a thin, sharp knife down the sides of each membrane, freeing the fruit. You end up holding a ball of membrane "spokes" in your hand. Squeeze the heck out of that over a bowl to capture the juice of the bits left behind.

This is so pretty, because the real colors of the citrus can shine through. With grapefruit, it also cuts the bitter flavor down considerably, leaving just the sweet flesh.

The most important thing about fruit salads, I think, is that you use fruits that are in season. Tasteless plums or peaches in the off season aren't worth the exorbitant prices!

Sometimes, I like to mix in some dried fruits that have been diced and soaked until soft in a liqueur of some kind. I also will add unusual things at times, like jicama or cucumbers. Kiwis, if you can get them, are very pretty.

Many people from countries where spicy food is relished will add cayenne or minced green chilis to a fruit salad. The bit of fire actually makes the fruits taste more sweet...I suppose it's similar to the way some people salt their fruit.

I love a fruit salad with a little spicy hot bite, dressed with lemon or lime juice...sweet, spicy and sour all in one bite!

May....I don;'t do fruit salad either...I have 2 T and T boring recipes...
But in donig the church dinners, I have learned that people Loooooove fruit salad.....and the one that has been best recieved....even better than the one with the blue berries and the...whatever-whatever, is just a bag of those frozen fruits by Dole. At Wal Mart they are about
$7 a bag....it's good to add some fresh something, watermelon, strawberries, citrus. whatever's in season.
It always gets gobbled down.
But...just cup up some Kiwi, add a bit of fresh pineapple, some fresh pear, maybe banana....whatever is in season and drizzle a little gran marinier over all...
It all goes!
Linda C

Thanks for the great ideas! I knew y'all would come through! Sharon, I love that glass you serve the fruit in! Can I borrow those? :)

I love the idea of hollowed out orange halves (if I can't get Sharon's glasses!) - that would wow them. Gotta find out how many are attending to see if it's doable. Then I could arrange them around the fruit dip! I am definitely going to incorporate booze into the recipe, one way or another!

Curried Fruit Salad
(sorry for the purists, I haven't tried it with fresh fruit...and sorry if I copied this from someone unattributed. I had made it before the CF, but not sure I had a recipe... if this is your's please take credit - not sure if this version and notes are from CF, or DM's friend)

Canned fruit
1 stick of butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 t. curry powder (to taste)
½ t. ground ginger

In a large baking dish, spread canned drained fruit. Good are peach halves in light syrup, pear halves, pineapple chunks apricot halves and red cherries (not maraschino!)....all in light syrup or own juice and all drained.

Arrange nicely in a baking dish, no more than 2 layers deep and make the sauce.

Melt a stick of butter with a cup of brown sugar and stir in a rounded teaspoon of curry powder and a 1/2 tsp ground ginger.

Pour over the fruit and bake at 350 until bubbly and slightly browned on top.
Note: The sauce recipe makes enough for a 8 1/2 by 11 dish.

Also, Here's one AM posted a while back... I saved it, but have yet to make it..

Ginger Fruit Salad
Posted by ArabellaMiller

Note from AM: this is my standard brunch fruit salad. It's much more interesting than your typical fruit salad.

4 Cups Fresh Blueberries
4 Cups Strawberries
4 Cups Mango
½ Cup Sugar
½ Cup Water
1 Lime, juice and zest
½ Cup Crystallized Ginger, finely chopped

Remove the zest from the lime with a zester, vegetable peeler or sharp knife. You just want the green part, so remove any of the bitter white pith from the skin.
In a small saucepan, boil the sugar, water and zest stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Let the mixture boil for about 5 minutes, until it thickens a little. Remove from heat, stir in lime juice and let cool. Remove zest and toss with fruit. Garnish with crystallized ginger.

I always use fresh fruit in fruit salad. This time of year it's oranges, grapefruit, apples, pineapple, kiwi, grapes, etc. I make a dressing to serve on the side: sour cream thinned with orange juice, sweetened with honey, with some orange zest mixed it. I can eat it with a spoon.

When I read your post I thought of the brunch segment Ina Garten(Barefoot Contessa)did on Good Morning America today. She said she wasn't a fan of fruit salads and that she preferred doing fruit platters.

She had a lovely platter with artfully arranged groupings of sliced melons, pineapple, kiwi, grapes, etc. Said she often places it in the center of her table to do double duty as the centerpiece. People can choose exactly the fruits they prefer rather than poke through a mix.

You've received some great recipes above, but just thought I'd mention this as an alternative.

Just my opinion, but I bet Forum members are asked to bring the fruit salad, because the "asker" knows it will be made nicely, with fresh ingredients. They probably know you are a good cook and wont just chuck some frozen melon balls in a dish. There can be a lot of work involved and I've seen some people that are very intimidated when it comes to chopping and slicing.

for quick, I like to use some sour cream sweetened with brown sugar....

My favorite liquor for fruit salad is frangelico. That, a bit of sugar and fresh fruit is great.

Here's another pic for you May - I used large margarita glasses that David/lakeguy sent me in a swap:

Wow, the great ideas keep coming! I love the idea of not mixing it up but just making a nice display of the different fruits. Might do that if I get too lazy to do the halved oranges, or if there are just too many guests coming to make it practical.

The sour cream/brown sugar recipe is one I've done before with strawberries but forgot all about! It's simple but yummy. So that's a possibility too.

Gina, that looks great! The closest I could come to that is martini glasses, which, if this were being held at my own house, I'd probably use just cuz that's so cool looking! Can't transport those martini glasses across town though. :(

You've given me lots of options, now I just gotta decide which one(s) to do!

My latest thing to bring is fresh fruit cut up and then bring some vanilla yogurt and a good quality granola. You can either dish it up in some nice small dishes or glasses or people can put it on their plate. I have heard so many compliments as people are watching their waist lines!!

Even if your choices of fresh fruit are limited, you can always add a little canned fruit. Good luck and have fun. Deanna

Well, I'm a little late (it seems like I usually am), but I also have a good ''fruit'' salad that looks incredible served in orange halves. I usually serve this at Thanksgiving, but I just made some for the rest of the holiday season. The orange/red look like jewels.

Cranberry Orange Salad

1/2 bag cranberries (rinsed and chopped in the food processor)
1 oranges (zest of)
1 (3 oz.) boxes of raspberry Jell-O
1 cups hot water
1 cup Sprite
1 (10 oz.) can crushed pineapple (drained)
1 large can mandarin oranges (drained)
1 cup toasted pecans

Pour hot water over Jell-O and stir until dissolved.
Add Sprite. Stir in all remaining ingredients.
Chill until thoroughly set.

The brunch was yesterday and I ended up arranging blackberries, strawberries, sliced nectarines and cranberries "artistically" in a large round flat platter. I shoulda taken a picture! I also made the sour cream/brown sugar mixture for dipping, I wanted to keep it simple.

Worked out great! Thanks again for all the ideas and recipes, which I'm keeping for future reference, in case I get asked again for a fruit salad... but honestly, I hope I don't! LOL

May, It sounds like it was very pretty. Did you go to that terrific Central Market for your fruits?

Cathy,
as a matter of fact, I did!! I love that store! :)

I still have my bag from when you too us there. I love the saying on the bag "Eat With Your Mind Open"

lowspark,

Just to answer your question as to why people ask you to bring fruit salad.

I'm guessing... fruit can be very expensive, a nice fruit salad can cost significantly more than most other brunch items. You can buy like 3 dozens eggs for the price of a small container of blue berries. And fruit genrally can't be bought or made too far in advance. Do they have room to store the fruit? Plus, if the host is working on a lot of other things, it can be a kinda of big last minute time consuming task, that they may ask someone else to do. They can make banana bread days in advance, and even the quiche the night before, but the fruit salad needs to be made that day. That's probably why they give the task to someone else.