The holidays are quickly approaching, and with that the need to plan and prepare for guests and loved ones. For centuries pineapple has been know as the hospitality fruit, and what a better time to welcome family and friends than the holiday season?
This year, surprise your guests with a warm welcome of spiced pineapple made fresh from your handcrafted (and easy to make!) table decor. See below for recipes and how to make your own version of holiday hospitality, no matter where you are located.
Pineapple Table Centerpiece:
- Using a Chestnut Hill Farms Pineapple, cut off the bottom of the pineapple.
- Use a pineapple coring slicer to easily remove the fruit from the inside of pineapple. Set the fruit aside for the spiced pineapple (see recipe below).
- Use a small knife to carve out three oval shapes around the pineapple (two oval across from each other is optional, however three allows the entire table to enjoy the full lantern view).
- Place onto of the greenery arrangement of your choice. Place a candle inside of a clear glass holder (optional flameless candle) and set inside of your pineapple centerpiece.
- Invite your guests over and enjoy the beautiful view!
Spiced Pineapple:
Yield: 6-8 (If you’d like, you can roast two pineapples at a time—the syrup multiplies easily.)
Ingredients:
- 1 Chestnut Hill Farms pineapple
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice (from about 2 oranges)
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) Cognac, brandy, Scotch, Grand Marnier, bourbon, rum or other liquor (or an equal amount of orange juice)
- 1 jar (about 12 ounces; 340 grams) apple or quince jelly, apricot jam or orange marmalade
- 1 moist, fragrant vanilla bean, split lengthwise (optional)
- Whole spices, lightly bruised, such as a few each of star anise, cardamom, coriander, pink peppercorns, allspice or cloves (no more than 3); fresh ginger slices; a cinnamon stick (broken); a small hot pepper (just 1 or a piece of 1); and/or black peppercorns (just a few)
Directions:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Cut the top and bottom off the pineapple. Stand it upright and, using a sturdy knife, peel it by cutting between the fruit and the skin, following the contours of the pineapple. With the tip of a paring knife, remove the “eyes” (the tough dark spots). Cutting from top to bottom, quarter the pineapple and then cut away the core. Place the pineapple in a baking dish or small roasting pan that holds it snugly while still leaving you enough room to turn and baste the fruit.
Whisk the juice, liquor and jelly, jam, or marmalade together. Don’t worry about fully incorporating the jelly — it will melt in the oven — you just want to break it up. Pour the mixture over the pineapple, toss in the vanilla bean, if you’re using it, and scatter over the spices. Bake the pineapple for about 2 hours, basting and turning it in the syrup every 20 minutes or so, until it is tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife. The fruit should have absorbed enough of the syrup to seem candied. Allow the pineapple to cool until it is comfortably warm or reaches room temperature. Either strain the syrup and discard the spices to make the dish more elegant, or leave them in if you like the way they look speckled in the sauce; if you’re going to strain the syrup, do it while it’s hot — it’s easier.
The temperature you serve this at is, like so much of this recipe, up to you—warm or room temperature is best, but chilled is also good.
Original recipe by The Spendid Table.