Come Dine With Me… At Home Ambrosia Apple Cook Off

A local group of friends – all foodies — love to cook together when they visit each other’s homes. In light of the recent pandemic, they cannot share a kitchen, so instead they share a Facebook group: Come Dine With Me… At Home!

Over the last few months, they’ve shared a recipe every few weeks, prepared it on the same weekend, and then shared notes on taste, wine pairing ideas, and photos, on the Facebook group page.

For the latest challenge, they decided to change things up a bit. This time, instead of one recipe, they were going to create a three-course dinner.

They were given a choice of what to make from the Ambrosiaapples.ca website. The instructions were that they could substitute anything they wanted on any of the recipes, but the apples had to be Ambrosias. Everyone was asked to choose one appetizer, one entrée, and one dessert. Cocktails were optional.

Over the coming months, we will share some of the experiences.

Here is the first:

Group One: Patricia and Manford, New Westminster, BC

Ambrosia apples purchased from: BuyLow Foods, Burnaby

The first Ambrosia adventure started with halloumi skewers. The chicken was replaced by chunks of bacon and they were grilled on the barbeque. The verdict: “They were wonderful, and the Ambrosia apple added some nice crunch.”

Next on this menu: pork burgers with grilled Ambrosia apples and the Ambrosia slaw with the coconut dressing. “We used the rest of the dip and repurposed the halloumi for the burgers and the slaw as a perfect crunchy side. The burgers were a little dense, so next time we’d make them a little smaller, but the flavour was fantastic. The rosemary was a perfect complement to the apples.”

Next up was the Brie and Ambrosia Tart. Since figs and almonds were in short supply, they used dates and almonds instead. It was quite easy to make, though the apple rosette gave it a more difficult appearance. The almonds were not the greatest substitution, and it was agreed that the walnuts (or pecans) would have been better. “Even though we toasted the almonds, the flavour and consistency wasn’t spot on. Next time we make this (and we will make it again!), we’ll source the right ingredients!

The first group enjoyed a soda and lime with the entire meal, and some Bengal tea with dessert.

The recipes for this challenge included:

Chicken, Halloom and Ambrosia Skewers https://ambrosiaapples.ca/chicken-ambrosia-apple-halloom-skewers/

Grilled Ambrosia Apple Burgers https://ambrosiaapples.ca/grilled-ambrosia-apple-pork-burgers-recipe/

Vegan Ambrosia Apple Slaw https://ambrosiaapples.ca/vegan-ambrosia-apple-slaw-recipe/

Brie and Ambrosia Apple Tart with Figs https://ambrosiaapples.ca/ambrosia-apple-and-brie-tart-with-figs-walnuts/

Final words: “We eat Ambrosia apples all the time; they are our favourite apple. We have cooked with them before, sautéed with bacon and onions, as a topping for breaded pork tenderloin. It’s always a hit. We’d do another Ambrosia cookoff. That was fun! Thanks!”

We’d love to hear about any experiences you’ve had with cooking with Ambrosia Apples. Please share on any of our social media pages!

 

 

Ambrosia Apples