Mary McKinley-Haas' Fresh Fruit and Champagne

from the Dark Shadows Celebrity Cookbook

Being a great lover of fresh fruit, I was drawn to Mary McKinley-Haas' recipe for Fresh Fruit and Champagne in the Dark Shadows Celebrity Cookbook.  Ms. McKinley-Haas was a costume designer for Dark Shadows and the dramatic photograph in the book provides a glimpse of her as a serious artist working in her studio.  This is a very attractive and practical recipe, and as one might expect from an artist, highly improvisatory.  It calls for a variety of fresh fruit (or frozen if you must) that is cut in bite-size pieces, served in cups, and splashed with a combination of orange juice and champagne.  What is wonderful about it is that you can choose whatever fruits you like to put together and you can be as creative with colors and flavors as you wish.  The orange juice and champagne are like a Mimosa cocktail and will grace any combination of fruit, lifting it to new heights for you and your guests at brunch or for a refreshing and beautiful dessert anytime.  The author's advice is worth taking in that apples are not the most satisfying choice, although you could try them, and you don't need to use expensive champagne, although you could try that too if you're feeling like being extravagant.  I used some of my favorite summer fruits--pineapple, raspberries, cantaloupe, blueberries, green grapes, and oranges.  The colors and flavors were great.  I prepared it again using all dark red and purple fruits--plums, cherries, red grapes, blueberries, and blackberries.  You can really enjoy this lovely recipe by going where your inspiration takes you as an artist in your own kitchen.  If you want to enjoy it without alcohol you can substitute ginger ale for the champagne and it will still be great.