Ambrosia

David Tanis really knows how to put me in my place. Like Maverick in Top Gun, I've been going up against MiGs, err, tough recipes, and coming out on top. So, feeling pretty good, I request a fly-by on my way home. I want to hot dog. I want to buzz the freakin' tower. When the control guy (David Tanis) says no, I buzz the tower anyway. Surprised, Tanis spills coffee all over himself, and I get brutally chewed out by my CO before he sends me to Top Gun to compete with the best. Are you still following this metaphor? Me neither.

Here's the thing: Matt and I definitely watched Top Gun on our last movie night, and pretty unrelatedly, I made a grown-up ambrosia that called for a smattering of different fruits, namely, kumquats, blood oranges, and navel oranges, none of which were available at the giant Whole Foods in Glendale the morning I needed them for my dinner party that night. How can that be possible? No kumquats (which I had to Google-image search to familiarize myself with what they look like) was one thing, but no navel oranges? I wanted to run down the row of the dry goods containers, lifting latches, unleashing lentils and almonds alike, and shouting "You call this a Whole Foods?!" But alas, cooler heads prevailed. 

Instead, I decided to make it work. I knew I had one lonely blood orange at home, and after all, the store did have grapefruit and pineapple. I grabbed those and then asked myself what else I could throw into this fancy fruit salad. That's when I picked up a pomelo and called it day.   

I'd never dealt with a pomelo before and had to give it a lot of credit for its formidable peel. (Another potential joke for a culinary-focused stand-up routine: "What's up with the pomelo? I mean, can I get some fruit with my peel! [wild laughter] Am I right?! Am I RIGHT?! [wild laughter]")

Uhm, point being, Tanis says to peel all of the fruit by hand, making sure to remove all of the white pith, but I found that to be a fool's task. Instead, I cut the tops and bottoms off of each one before slicing the peels off, trying to follow the curvature of the fruit as best I could. This recipe calls for a lot of fruit, so doing this and then sectioning out the wedges is no quick job, but it is a beautiful one. 

I used unsweetened coconut, but I think I'd recommend using sweetened. I mean, it's a delicious fruit salad, but it didn't exactly answer the cries from my ravenous sweet tooth. The slice of chocolate cake Matt brought home the other night, however? That did the trick. 

In non-ambrosia related news, I have a few links to share. 

1. An essay I wrote for The Rattling Wall is now out in the universe! Get your copy here!

2. A group of my talented friends gathered to sell some of their wares last night at Platform in Highland Park. I could have purchased one of everything, but kept myself in check, picking up the flower arrangement photographed below, a sweet mug, and a jar of body scrub.

3. This 2-minute story almost made me cry on my way to work yesterday.

4. This is quite possibly the most mind-blowing episode of This American Life I've ever heard. 

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday!

Ambrosia via A Platter of Figs with some thoughts/edits from me

serves 8-10
Quick note: I think it's important to remember that we're just making fruit salad here, so please use this recipe as a guideline. For example, do you really need 8 blood oranges? I mean, I only used one, so you be the judge!

4 pink grapefruits
6 navel oranges (or 1 or 2 pomelos?)
8 blood oranges
One 6-ounce can crushed pineapple or a cup or so of fresh pineapple
8 kumquats (if you can find them!)
Sugar if necessary
1 cup organic coconut flakes (sweetened or not, but like I said, I'd recommend sweetened!)

With a sharp serrated knife, cut off the top and bottom of the grapefruits, navel oranges, and blood oranges, then either peel, making sure to remove the white pith, or, if this seems impossible, slice off the rest of the peel leaving as much fruit as you can. Working over a bowl, section the grapefruits into wedges, cutting between the membranes. Before discarding the grapefruit carcasses, squeeze them over the wedges--they will yield a cup or two of juice. Slice the navel oranges and blood oranges crosswise into 1/4-inch diskd and add them to the bowl. Add the crushed pineapple or sweet fresh pineapple.

Slice the kumquats into the thinnest rounds possible, then mix them gently with the other citrus, to avoid breaking the fruit. Taste the juice, adding sugar only if it seems too tart. Transfer the compote to a serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate for up to several hours.

Just before serving, sprinkle the coconut over.