My Mother'S Famous Watermelon Salad - cooking recipe

Ingredients

green flesh 1 large honeydew melon
1 watermelon (15 to 20 lb.)
1 large Persian melon or 2 to 3 cantaloupe (ripe)

Preparation

The day before the picnic, look at the melons; an even, balanced, level-sitting, ripe watermelon that fits ice chest or fridge; same for honeydew or Persian.
Place unchilled, washed, dried melons on drain-board; assemble utensils, clear bottom fridge shelf.
Place an oblong platter, French bread basket on top of watermelon; draw, dot with felt tip, a shallow cap around the top of watermelon.
With paring knife, cut along this cap line with knife parallel to board.
With 8-inch knife, remove cap with lever action, gently.
Cut off red melon into pieces bowl bite-sized. With scoop cut out large melon balls; put in 3 gallon bowl.
Smooth out inside of shell; cut up odd-sized pieces and juice into \"pieces bowl\".
Peel honeydews, Persians, tops to a \"bowl\"; repeat same process for melon balls and discard seeds.
Rinse, wipe off outside of shell and make a saw-toothed edge on watermelon shell; decorate, fill shell with a mix of all the kinds of melon balls, until shells are full.
Pour juice from the \"pieces bowl\" and \"empties\" into the watermelon.
Fill red shell until it is 1/2 full; wipe off, cover and chill.
Fill other shell with leftover melon balls and juice. Cover; chill.
The same for \"pieces bowl\".
Transport in ice chest, covered, on crushed ice.
Save Persian shell for breakfast.