Winter Fruit Salad

It's been a busy few weeks in the kitchen and I promise to post my favorites in the coming days.  With no regard to order, here's the most recent first. Tonight I made Smitten Kitchen's Winter Fruit Salad at the request of my best friend Emily.  Tomorrow is her birthday brunch and I said I would make something from her planned menu.  This was a first for me.  I've made many a fruit salad, chutney and poached pear but I don't think I've ever made a salad that combined all three attributes.  You start by making a simple syrup flavored with vanilla bean, star anise and lemon zest.  Poach dried in the completed syrup - the recipe calls for apricots and figs - unfortunately I forgot the figs at the market so I substituted prunes, raisins and craisins.  Once cooled, the syrup is poured over freshly sliced pears and apples and macerated overnight in the refrigerator.  When served, each bowl is to be sprinkled with pomegranate seeds.  We're at the macerating overnight stage but it really looks just lovely.  I promise photos of the completed salad once the pomegranate seeds are added.  I sampled a piece of dried fruit from the syrup and it is lightly flavored with anise but not overwhelmingly so.  I'm curious to see how the flavor develops overnight.  I may try substituting cinnamon sticks for the star anise next time.  Just for fun.  You can find the recipe here. With the photos, I'll post a full review.  In the interim, enjoy smittenkitchen's photography.  I am certain it will be superior to mine.

Verdict:

It really was delicious with a light anise flavor. The syrup was not cloying and felt fresh.  I recommend it for a change of pace.  I forgot to take a picture when I first plated it and while still tasty, it just didn't look as appetizing the next day.  You definitely don't want to make this recipe more than a day in advance.  Or if you do, slice the pears a bit thicker, they are much soften than the apples and didn't hold up as well.