Food Friday - Fruit Salad #2

Fruit Salad
adapted from The Pioneer Woman

  Isn't that such a pretty salad??  I came across this recipe and decided to add it to our Christmas Dinner menu and it was a huge hit.  I love serving fruit with a big dinner because I have one kid that will eat it like crazy and I find that people like the "clean" taste of fruit with all of the heavy food.  I've shared another fruit salad in the past that we serve at family gatherings that is good for my brother who is allergic to some fruits; we'll this is just as good but with a different syrup on it.  My store did not have any strawberries and the blue berries were so expensive so I opted for just HUGE green grapes, raspberries and blackberries (which were SOOOO cheap!).  This fruit salad would be awesome over pancakes especially since it has an Orange Simple Syrup on it so it has extra sweetness.  (Also, I just used vanilla extract and left out the mint - it tasted great to me!)

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Water
• Juice Of 1 Orange
• Zest Of 1 Orange
• 2 whole Vanilla Beans, Caviar Scraped Out (or 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract)
• 4 pints Strawberries, Hulled And Halved
• 2 pints Blueberries
• 2 cups Red Grapes, Halved
• 2 cups Green Grapes, Havled
• Mint Leaves

Preparation Instructions

Place the sugar, water, orange juice and orange zest into a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 to thicken slightly. Set aside to cool, then store in the fridge until cold.
Mix together all the fruit in a large bowl and pour the syrup over the top, tossing gently. Garnish with mint leaves and serve.