Shine OnEditor Tested: President’s Choice Italian Lollipops
The third season of the CBC show “Recipe to Riches” is underway and with it a new lineup of delicious eats that will be available through select Loblaw banner stores.
The reality cooking competition sees home cooks pitting their beloved family recipes against one another in five categories for the chance to have their recipe turned into a President’s Choice product, plus a cash prize of $25,000 with a chance at a $250,000 cash prize at the show’s finale.
The fourth episode was a battle for appetizer bragging rights and saw Gibsons, B.C. resident Elisa Hendricks’ Italian Lollipops take the title of best app. The lollis features gooey Friulono cheese and mortadella dressed in a crispy breading with cornmeal, Parmesan and parsley. Each package contains 10 pieces and retails for $9.99.
Our editors had the opportunity to taste test his winning recipe ahead of the show’s broadcast. Here’s what we thought.
Caitlin: It took some MacGyvering to convert the baking directions for use with the office’s microwave, and some of the gooey cheese got lost in the process, (RIP cheese!) Unlike most packaged foods, I thought these lollipops needed a little more salt. They were OK, but lacking in any real ‘wow’ factor flavour-wise. The $10 price tag is also a bit much for what the number of pops you get, when you think of the many ready-to-serve appetizer options out there at a similar price-point. It also would have been great to include a small portion of marinara sauce for dipping (as the box suggests). I don’t think this is something shell out for. Overall rating: 4/10.
Hilary: While these appetizers weren’t bad (I downed two or three in about two minutes), the taste (too bland -- I need salt!) and texture didn’t resonate for me. And at $10 for a box of 10, they weren’t cheap either. While I wouldn’t mind serving these at a party, I don’t think they’re worth the price. Overall rating: 7/10.
Gilean: What’s not to love about meat (and cheese!) on a stick? These breaded appetizers certainly had me going back for seconds… and thirds… but I would love to see them paired with a nice sauce. A creamy herb dip or even a more traditional marinara would add a punch of flavour, and would justify the $10 price tag for the product. Overall rating: 7/10
You can catch “Recipe to Riches” Wednesday nights on CBC. The show will air for five weeks and after all category winners are chosen, Canadians can vote for their favourite recipe online at www.cbc.ca/recipetoriches/ from 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 26, to 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 30. The finale will air April 2.
You can also check out our review of episode one’s winning recipe here, episode two’s winner here, and episode three’s winning recipe here.
