Girls' Lunch Ambrosia

Girls' Lunch Ambrosia

My niece, Abbie hosted a luncheon today for my sisters, my mama, and me. She got married last April so this is her first Christmas in her new home with hubby, Tad. She's all grown up now, and I knew that. But I knew it for sure when I arrived at her place today and she greeted me at the door in her apron, big pot of of butternut squash soup on the stove, beautiful salad on the counter, and homemade biscuits in process. It was a lovely meal and visit with family. I teased Abbie that she had started a new tradition: first Saturday in December from here on out, we all meet at Abbie's house for lunch!

I offered to bring a light dessert, and after some thought, I settled on Ambrosia. Now you must understand that Ambrosia isn't considered a dessert where I come from. Where I come from, it's a salad, and often includes marshmallows, cool whip, or other sweet nonsense. But I had a vague memory of a somewhat healthy ambrosia encountered in my past. Inspired by this memory, I decided to make my own nutritious, citrus-y fruit salad for dessert.  To go with the citrus, I chose fresh pineapple, cherries, and mint and topped it off with pecans and coconut. This made a tasty and light, yet festive holiday dessert. Consider making this for one of your holiday meals. I think you'll like it.

Girls' Lunch Ambrosia

6 oranges
2 red grapefruit
1/2 of a fresh pineapple, diced
~3/4 pound of fresh cherries, pitted
fresh mint leaves
toasted pecans for garnish
shredded coconut for garnish

Peel and section the oranges and the grapefruit into a large bowl. Work over the bowl, capturing the juice as you section the citrus. Here's an article with good instructions and pictures on how to easily peel/section citrus so that you get all the good fruit without any of the bitter pith or tough membrane: How to Peel and Section Citrus.  Add the diced pineapple and pitted cherries to the citrus.  Gently stir to combine. Chiffonade (slice into long, thin strips) about 6 mint leaves and add to the bowl.  Gently stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Place into individual serving bowls and top each with toasted pecans and coconut.

Makes a big bowl of ambrosia, about 10 servings.