Apple Hill Farm to Fork 2021

Located at Delfino Farms, the 2021 Apple Hill Farm to Fork was an amazing event to attend. This event celebrates all the farms in the area, from the apple farms to the wineries. The setting was beautiful; we were overlooking the vineyard at Delfino’s, and we had an excellent view of the entire area. 

My parents own and operate a bed and breakfast in Apple Hill, Ponderosa Ridge, and they raved about the 2019 event, so I’ve been looking forward to attending one for two years! I am so glad I got to attend this year, and I am hoping to make this an annual thing. I love the creativity of using everything local, and this dinner did not disappoint!

The Menu

Fruit Bar and Small Bites

To start, Delfino set up a ladder filled with all sorts of local fruit: peaches and nectarines, blackberries, blueberries, currants, strawberries, and cherry tomatoes. We all got small berry baskets, and got to fill them up with all these delicious berries (yes, stone fruits are technically berries) to snack on before dinner. There were also waiters serving lamb (my favorite!), teriyaki oysters, bruschetta, vegetable wraps, and what I think was a crab cake. All the small bites I tried were delicious! 

I had a lavender lemonade along with all these small bites. The lavender came from Bluestone Meadows, and I appreciated that the lavender did not overpower the lemonade (lavender is such a strong flavor, and it so easily overpowers everything). My husband had a blackberry cider, made by Delfino Farms. 

Sea Scallop and Shrimp with Stone Fruit Jam

I never would have thought to combine nectarines with seafood, but it worked! The scallops were served on top of a jammy nectarine, which highlighted the natural sweetness of the scallop. I’m not the biggest scallop fan, so I was glad to see the shrimp served as well. Stone fruit works so well is these savory applications; the high acidic content is crucial to ensuring that the dish doesn’t veer into the dessert category.

I don’t know this for sure, but I am guessing that the nectarines were from Goldbud Farms, which lucky for me, is down the street from Ponderosa Ridge. 

Eggplant Pinwheels and Microgreens with a Basil Balsamic Dressing

The eggplant was tender and filled with more vegetables (I noticed broccoli and tomatoes), set atop a bed of spring lettuces. Surprisingly, I did like the dressing, despite my strong dislike of balsamic vinegar. I think that is because there was so much basil in the dressing, that I was focused on that and the sweet balsamic notes faded into the background. 

Salmon Stuffed with Chard and Gorgonzola on a Wild Mushroom Risotto

The combination of salmon and blue cheese reminds me of a trout dish that my husband and I tried in Bariloche, Argentina. There, the trout wrapped in a foil packet with a fairly large amount of blue cheese. That’s it. And you’d think it wouldn’t work because the fish/cheese combination is generally considered a bad idea. But, despite our protests, the waiter assured us that this was a local specialty and that we should try it, and I’m glad we did. When done in the correct proportion, fish and blue cheese can actually work together. So, the moral of the story is to trust the chefs when they are combining fish and cheese. They know what they are doing!

The wilted chard was the perfect vegetable to add here. I appreciate how the stems and the leaves were both served, but it was obvious that there was an effort to treat them differently. The stems and leaves have different cooking times, and the chef definitely knew this. 

Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Parsnip Mash and Black Currant Sauce

This was my favorite dish of the night. The pork was tender and juicy, and I totally want to reverse-engineer the black currant  and blackberry sauce. The parsnip and potato mash had an excellent texture and provided a good base for the rest of the dish. The extra caramelization on the parsnip coins was an especially nice touch as well.

This will be an excellent dish to recreate when I do my next Whole30. The black currant sauce would totally work with chicken or white fish, though I do think pork was the best choice. 

The Dessert Table

A bunch of the local bakeries provided mini desserts for the Farm to Fork event. There were blackberry empanadas, blueberry brownies, fudge bites, gluten-free cookies, a strawberry napoleon, and apple muffins. And that’s just what I remember — I’ve probably forgotten a few! I quite liked how flaky the blackberry empanadas were, though I do wish there was a bit more filling. The gluten free cookies were just as delicious as any gluten-full cookie. The only unfortunate thing was that we had so much food earlier that we were too full to try all the desserts! 

A Note about Wine

There were wine pairings for all of the dishes above. I do not like wine, so I am not the person to judge if these pairings were good or not. I can, however, note that everyone at my table who tried the wine said that everything paired very well. I do know that the wineries in the area are very popular, and I have no doubt that these wines were excellent.

About Apple Hill

Apple Hill Growers Association represents over 50 farms in the Placerville and Camino area. It was founded in 1964, and represented 16 ranchers. Together, they began marketing their farms and putting together events for both locals and tourists, showing off everything that could be done with apples. They have definitely grown, but there is a very strong community feel amongst all the farms.

One of the things I love about Apple Hill is the variety. There are wineries, apple farms, berry farms, Christmas Tree farms, and tons of bakeries. Most events take place during Apple season, starting in late August and lasting through to December. Many of the wineries are open year-round. 

This area is very special to me, and I hope to put together my own guide for the perfect weekend in Apple Hill soon.