Garnishing an apple bird

1 servings

Ingredients

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Directions

The apple bird is an ideal decoration for placing on a cheese, appetizer or hors d'oeuvre tray. This delightful garnish is relatively easy to make using the small paring knife. The juice of the apple aids in holding the birds' wings together, therefore it is important to use a fresh apple when making this garnish. To further enhance this decoration, you can mix different color apples to alternate the wing colors.

1. Start the apple bird by slicing off a little less than ⅓ of the apple to creat a flat surface. Save this piece to be used later for the neck and head.

2. Place the apple so it rests on it's flat surface. Using the small paring knife, cut a very small "V" wedge from the top of the apple.

Set this wedge aside and cut another "V" wedge a little bit larger than the first. Continue cuttin gwedges (each a little larger than the others) until you have five or six of them. When working with a large apple, use a larger knife as the wedges become bigger.

3. After cutting the top wedges, turn the apple on its side and cut another series of wedges in the same way. After doing this, turn the apple to the other side and repeat the procedure. If it is going to be some time before the apple bird is to be displayed, place the wedges in a container of water to which the juice of one lemon has been added. Also wet the apple with this same solution.

4. After all the "V" wedge slices have been cut, place the apple so it rests on the flat surface. Take the largest of the wedges and place it into the wedge cut of the apple. Extend this wedge so that it protrudes slightly less than half way towards the back of the apple.

Place the next size smaller, and continue extending the wedges.

5. Repeat the same procedure for the side wings. It is a good idea to put the "V" cut wedges back into the same part of the apple they came from.

6. To get the head and neck, slice a small strip from the piece of apple which was cut off to form the flat surface. Place this piece in the front groove of the apple. To help support the head and neck, a toothpick can be used.

7. Once the apple bird is assembled, squeeze lemon juice over the entire bird to prevent it from turning brown. To perch the complete bird, cut a flat surface from a potato and with two toothpicks, set the bird on top of the potato.

Origin: The Fine Art of Garnishing, By Jerry Crowley. Shared by: Sharon Stevens, Aug/95.

Submitted By SHARON STEVENS On 08-18-95

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