+ RECIPES
FOOD BOUQUETS Edible Fruit Bouquet BY MELISSA SPELTS
Edible fruit bouquets can be a fun center piece for any party. Honestly, I was surprised by how much our children liked this arrangement. My brain started thinking of more fruits that would be fun in this bouquet. Needed items: basket, pot, or container floral foam, wooden skewers Fruits I used in my arrangement: grapes, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, kiwi, and raspberries.
Bacon Rose Bouquet BY KRISTINA CASE
1 pack thick-cut bacon 1 bunch fake roses toothpicks brown sugar Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Start by removing flower petals from the fake flowers until you’re left with a bare,
26 syracuseconnection.com | May 2022
We’re so happy spring is here; we are celebrating with food bouquets! These creative bundles make a great gift or unique way to display food at a party as a centerpiece.
empty stem. Depending on your fake roses, you might need to insert a piece of toothpick in the middle to hold up the bacon roses. Take a strip of bacon, and, starting at one end, roll it up tightly to form a rosette and dip top in brown sugar. Secure the roll with two toothpicks, as close to the bottom of one end as you can, to form a cross. Place the rose on a wire rack on top of a foil-lined tray. Repeat with all the bacon. Bake 25 minutes, until they are well cooked and have a good color. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cool, blot excess grease off and take each rose and wiggle it onto a stem. Repeat until the whole bunch is complete.
Chicken Nugget Bouquet BY JENNY GOLDSBERRY
20 chicken nuggets 20 waffle fries 5-10 skewers You can make some chicken nuggets by cutting up a chicken breast into 1-inch pieces. Then, whisk up an egg to dunk the chicken nuggets into and immediately
roll the chicken nuggets in a mixture of flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Dip the chicken nugget in egg again and dip it into some breadcrumbs. You have the option to fry them up in oil on the stove or bake them in the oven at 400 degrees. Waffle fries are also pretty easy. Just slice two potatoes lengthwise about ¼ inch. Take those slices and put a skewer on each side. The skewers will keep you from slicing through the potato all the way through. Make slits widthwise and then flip the slice over. Make diagonal slits on that other side. Now, when you stretch out the slice, you’ll see that classic waffle shape. Soak your fries in cold water to make them extra crisp. Coat your fries in salt and corn starch. Then, you can fry them in oil or bake them in your oven. You can always buy your fries and nuggets from any fast-food restaurant. Take your skewers and start stabbing through the fries first, about halfway down. Those will be your “leaves.” Then, stick several nuggets on top of your fries to be your “flowers.” Get yourself a vase to display your skewers. The bottoms of the skewers aren’t very sightly, so I added some licorice to the base to add some flare. continued on page 28
