I was supposed to bring an appetizer and veggie tray for Christmas.  “No problem!” I thought.  I’d recently found a recipe I was super excited about making.  Well, work, errands, naptime, and kids meant I didn’t have the time to make the planned recipe.  I had to find something in my kitchen that would be worthy of a Christmas Eve gathering; I came up with fruit and mozzarella cheese/tomato kabobs.  I also made a balsamic vinegar reduction so we could dip the cheese/tomato kabobs.  Turns out the reduction was better paired with the fruit kabobs!  My dad even asked me what I added to the “chocolate.”  I wonder if we could fool kids into thinking balsamic vinegar reduction is chocolate…  Maybe we’ll have a future post about ice cream topped with berries and balsamic vinegar reduction!

Ingredients

• Strawberries
• Grapes, purple
• Raspberries
• Balsamic vinegar

Preparation

• Pour balsamic vinegar into a saucepan.  Over low heat (like a 1-2), reduce the balsamic vinegar.  Do NOT let it boil because it will turn gooey and/or hard.  In my experience, as long as it doesn’t boil, you reduce it for as long as you like, to the consistency you like.
• Slice strawberries in half.
• Assemble the kabobs – 1/2 of a strawberry, a grape, and a raspberry on a toothpick.
• Serve the kabobs with some dipping sauce on the side!