California Cuties

We've been eating Clementines all winter, from the first time they appeared in the market until the present. Here in California, they come in a sturdy cardboard box of about two dozen so we have had a big bowl of these tangerines as our centerpiece for months.

If I didn't already love them for the color hit of the shiny orange rinds, I'd have fallen hard for the sweet tanginess. These are dessert tangerines and nothing more is needed to enhance them. At my dinner parties this winter, I just set the bowl in the center of the table, pass around some small plates and the conversation flows through the citrus-scented air as our guests easily peel their own little orbs of sunshine. You could offer a little chocolate to go along with them, if you were so inclined, but they are wonderful all by their sunny little selves!