Thanksgiving Appetizer Platter

 

 This is simpler than it appears. Simply laying out slices of various foods around a large round dish, and working your way in from the outside, creates the appearance of a fanned-out turkey's tail.

 

Ingredients

1 red pear

12 oz. package party tray of sliced cheeses

13 oz package club crackers or rectangular crackers of choice

8 oz package of Breton crackers or large round crackers

10 oz. package of salami we used peppered

1-2 red bell peppers sliced

1 English cucumber sliced

1 sleeve Ritz crackers or small round crackers

1 cup almonds or desired nuts

2 candy eyeballs

Cut the pear in half lengthwise and arrange one half-cut side down in the center of the serving dish.

Place the cheeses along the perimeter of the serving dish, overlapping them.

Form the second row of rectangular crackers around the edge of the platter, under the cheese layer.

 

In the following row, arrange the bigger circular crackers.

 

Squeeze the salami at one end and put it below the crackers, firmly enough so that the pinched bottoms contact and the open sides create a fan.

To complement the reds of the "turkey feathers," arrange bell pepper strips nestled in and around the salami slices.

For the turkey back, make a couple of rows of cucumber slices. To support the pear head, lift the pear half and fan out a circle of Ritz crackers.

Fill the additional space at the bottom of the tray with almonds and reshape the pear.

 

Make a beak out of an additional slice of cheese by cutting a little triangle and placing it on the pear's face. Stick the candy eyeballs to the pear face using hummus, peanut butter, or even a little butter.