Fresh FRUIT & Crunchy ALMOND CREAM CHEESE Kebobs

Fresh FRUIT & Crunchy ALMOND CREAM CHEESE Kebobs

Table of Contents: APPETIZERS AND BREAKFAST

4 T. almond silvers, toasted

6 to 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Mayonnaise (about 2 tsp.)

1/8 tsp. celery seed

1 large, ripe cantaloupe

40 to 50 fresh, whole cherries, washed

20 to 25 short, wooden skewers

After toasting the almonds, reserve 1 T. for the outside of the cream cheese balls.

Make 20 to 25 small cream cheese balls to fit on the skewers by blending the cream cheese with just enough mayonnaise to work in the remaining 3 T. of the toasted almonds and the celery seeds.  Refrigerate until cold.

While the cream cheese balls are getting cold, cut-off 1/3 of the cantaloupe with the rind attached.  Scrape-out the seeds and remove the cantaloupe flesh from the shell.  Invert the cantaloupe shell into a shallow bowl that snugly fits the shell.

Cut all cantaloupe flesh into bite-sized chunks.  Do not pit the cherries.

When the cream cheese balls are cold, press the reserved almond slivers into each ball to look like porcupine quills.

Make the kabobs:

1. A chunk of cantaloupe flesh

2. A whole cherry with stem attached ( thread the skewer avoiding the pit)

3. A chunk of cantaloupe flesh

4. A whole cherry with stem attached

5. Make as many skewers as there are ingredients

Force the pointed end of the skewers onto the cantaloupe shell in a design like porcupine quills.  When all fruit-filled skewers are in place, top each skewer with a firmly placed cream cheese ball.  Refrigerate until serving time.

Makes 20 to 25 servings.

Cherries grow in great abundance in Italy, Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.   I will have to admit that they are my very favorite fruit.  Below is a photo of a market in a small town in Austria selling cherries by the crate.

In most of Europe, people shop very differently than in the southern part of the USA.   They shop for food almost every day, bringing their food purchases home in wooden baskets.  Refrigerators tend to be much smaller, and the average household does not own a freezer.  For the most part, people live in villages, towns, and cities with short walking distances to their markets.  For me, it is an intriguing and charming way of life to be able to experience.