Last week we continued our Peter Pan menu with Pirate Map Pizza, and today we’re posting a tribute to the Ticking Crocodile!
When I saw this picture on Pinterest, I knew I had to make my own version for the menu. I’ve never seen fruit look so cute, and it was actually really easy to make. Truth be told, there’s no real cooking involved. You just need to cut the fruit into the appropriate shapes and arrange it on a serving tray. Easy as that!
P.S. This croc is almost 3 feet long, so if you don’t have a long enough serving tray, I’d recommend lining up two or three cookie trays end-to-end. You can cover them with tinfoil or tissue paper to make them look like one surface.
“‘I have often,’ said Smee, ‘noticed your strange dread of crocodiles.’
“‘Not of crocodiles,’ Hook corrected him, ‘but of that one crocodile.’ He lowered his voice. ‘It liked my arm so much, Smee, that it has followed me ever since, from sea to sea and from land to land, licking its lips for the rest of me.’
“‘In a way,’ said Smee, ‘it’s sort of a compliment.'”
— Peter Pan
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 whole pineapples
- 1 radish
- 3 medium-sized black olives (you can use leftovers from last week’s Pirate Map Pizza)
- 2 kiwi fruit
- You will also need 2 toothpicks.
Makes approximately 6 servings
INSTRUCTIONS:
- First things first: remove the stalk from the top of your pineapples. Grip each stalk at the base, then twist it back and forth a few times. After that, it should come off with one firm twist.
- Now we’ll make the body of the crocodile. Cut both of your pineapples in half, so you’re left with four pieces. To simplify things, we’re going to refer to these pieces as Piece 1, 2, 3, and 4 (since you’ll be doing different things with each of them).
- Lay Piece 1 skin side up on a cutting board and locate the yellow half circle where you removed the stalk. Line up your knife horizontally with the top of this circle and cut all the way through to the end of the pineapple. Think of it as trimming a bit off the bottom. You should be left with two pieces: the large, curved top piece and a flat pineapple plank about 1″ high.
- These next few steps are where the details start to get important. It will seem a little complicated, so just remember this: we’re essentially cutting our pieces down to the right size and placing them in a zig-zag line. Place Piece 1 (with the jaw piece under it) at one end of your serving tray. Place Piece 2 at a slight angle behind it.
- Cut a 1″ plank from the bottom of Piece 3, just like you did with Piece 1. Set this plank aside for later (we’re going to cut our fish from it). Place the top portion of Piece 3 behind Piece 2 at an opposing angle.
- Cut a 2″ plank from the bottom of Piece 4. Discard this plank and place the top portion of Piece 4 at the very end of the serving tray at an opposing angle to Piece 3.
- Using the 1″ plank left over from the start of your tail, cut out the shape of a fish with a sharp knife or large cookie cutter. Cut one olive in half lengthwise and place one of the halves where the fish’s eye would be. Discard the other half.
- For the feet, cut your two kiwis in half (you should be left with 4 halves, just like when you first cut the pineapple). Cut away the curved top portion of your halves so that you are left with flat 1/2″ high kiwi slices. Cut two triangles from one side of each slice, to create crocodile claws. Place two clawed kiwi slices on each side of the crocodile body.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
- Slice your radish into thin circles. Choose two slices of similar size to be the base for your eyes. Take a look at your remaining two olives: one end of each olive should have an open circle, the other an “x” shape. Slice off the “open” ends—these are now olive rings. Place the rings on your radish bases. You’ve got eyes!
- Place the eyes on the crocodile head and prop them up in the back with the leftover olive pieces.
I overlapped my eyes a little bit to create a cartoony look. Is anyone else reminded of Hungry, Hungry Hippos?
- Gently lift the top of the head from the jaw and slide a leftover wedge of pineapple (you should have some scraps from cutting out the fish) near the back of the head. This will keep the mouth open. When that’s firmly in place, insert one toothpick into the jawline about 3/4 of the way back from the front of the head. I’d recommend placing it where the teeth would be. Insert the top of the toothpick into the bottom of the upper jaw. Do the same thing on the opposing side with your other toothpick. This should hold your jaw open!
- Place the fish just barely inside the crocodile’s mouth. Depending on what end of the pineapple is facing forward, the fish will either be covering up the yellow half circle left over from the stalk or the brown spot where the root of the pineapple used to be. Either way, the fish helps cover up a less than pretty spot on your pineapple!
- Serve to your favorite Neverlanders…but listen close for any ticking sounds! 🙂
