All about Olive Oil

There are many questions with regards to olive oil. What is extra virgin? What should you cook with? Hopefully this will answer some questions.

In Europe Extra Virgin oil is extracted in cold conditions – The lack of heat helps to maintain the spicy and fruity smells and tastes of the olives, as well as a lower amount of acid in the final product

Regular olive oil- There is heat used in this process of extraction and sometimes olive oil is a blend of extra virgin and olive oil so you will get some fruity tastes with the longer shelf life of a regular olive oil

Is it a fruit? – Yes. It is a fruit grown on trees

What about color? Well, in taste testing oils color should matter little- test for taste instead. The color can depend on the variety of olives harvested as well as the time of harvest. Olives harvested early and green will produce a darker, greener olive oil. Black olives harvested later may give a lighter golden color. There may be some nuances in flavor; the early harvest greener olive oils can be a bit fruitier in flavor.

Storing oil- Olive oil should be stored in cool dark places and will typically last about 15 months.
Is all olive oil Italian? - No, Olive oil comes from a lot of Mediterranean areas, Italy, Greece, Spain, France.

Leek and Shallot broth

2 pounds leeks (weigh before trimming) – cut of the tough green tops off of the leeks about 3-4”. Slice the leeks in quarters lengthwise then slice off the brown root. – You will need about 3 large leeks. Soak the leeks in water to remove any hidden dirt.

Once soaked, thinly slice the leeks
1 pound of shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon fresh pepper
1/3 cup sherry
1 Quart chicken stock
1 Quart water

Place the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot (I an using a 7 quart). Turn heat to Medium High. Once oil is warm add in the leeks, shallots, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium. Cook 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Add in the sherry, turn heat to high and reduce liquid for 1 minute. Add in the chicken stock and water. Bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Amaretti Stuffed Peaches

2 ripe peaches cut in half and pits scooped out
12 Amaretti cookies
2 Tablespoons water
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 Teaspoon Marsala wine


Preheat oven to 400

Place the peaches in an ovenproof dish skin side down, cavity side up. Place the cookies into a plastic baggie and pound lightly with a meat pounder until cookies are just broken up but the chunks of cookies are still large, not fine like powder. Place the cookies into a mixing bowl and add in the water, heavy cream, sugar, Vanilla, and Marsala. Stir to combine.

Slim Down Week

The past week was all about relaxing. Isn’t that what summer is for? I made my way over to my parent’s house, and spent several days there. In Massachusetts this is peach season. Its finally here, the peach festival. There is a delightful small town feel as you wander the fairgrounds eating corn dogs and funnel cakes. The local Boy Scouts set up shop in the center of the fairground with fun outdoor challenges. Some locals (no one I know) are big fans of colonial re-enactments. If you like, a woman in colonial dress will show you how to cook the food of colonial times. Yes, in case you are wondering, there is also a peach queen. All this makes me think of cooking of course. Not of colonial cooking, but of my home cooking and what in the world should I do with the local peaches? I have a peach dessert recipe to share with you. It is simple, sweet and very easy.

Unfortunately, the past week and a half has been all about excess. A period of time when I have eaten and drank far too much for my own good. We were out to dinner often, and at the end of every meal, my dad who loves wine, would bestow upon us a bottle of California Zinfandel or a Chianti Reserve or Spanish Rijoa. Sometimes it was an old Bordeaux from before I was born (very old). One never knows what he will serve and he often makes us guess. So I must now, force myself into a few days of slimming. I plan to make leek soup for a few meals.

I checked my garden and my heirloom tomatos are starting to ripen. Since I can eat no more food, I am now liking the original tomato salad concept a bit more.

A friend of mine just called. She said she had been on the blog. She called to ask where she could find some special cooking ingredients. “D” we will call her, has been making a lot of healthy food lately. She mentioned a recipie that made me think of greek yoghurt dip. I love it. Maybe I should make that as well. “D” and few other people have all given me blog comments via phone or e-mail. I am sorry to say, when I originally set up the blog I clicked a button so only registered usurers could post a comment. I have re set it – I think-so now anyone who wants to post a cooking note about something they have tried, want to try, or an ingredient they need to find, can all post comments. Sorry about that. Chat away…

Yes, I know things all sound very healthy this week. Do not fear. Tonight I am having Alaskan king crab and baby spinach salad, to start a kir royal and then a nice bottle of a French white wine. Nice start to my slim down week!

A challenge for the week

I wandered around my small garden yesterday and was quite happy. My heirloom tomatoes are starting to look nice and the chili plants are flourishing. I’m thinking about what to make once they ripen. Heirloom tomato salad, heirloom tomato salsa, I’m not sure what to try but I have some time to think about it.

Heirloom tomatoes are beautiful in color. Some are variegated green, some deep ruby, almost purple, some yellow, orange and red tones. I hate to cook them to long because the bright colors of the fresh tomatoes are so beautiful. One summer a few years ago, I made the mistake of trying to keep them for winter by turning them into a sauce and freezing them. The sauce wasn’t bad in taste, but the beautiful rainbow of color was gone. Mine are not ready yet though; I have a few more weeks to decide their fate. If you don’t grow tomatoes, you will still find Heirlooms in many general supermarkets around this time of the year. I couldn’t believe how many places carried them last year. Heirloom tomatoes seem to have become mainstream produce.

Zucchini flowers are not as common. Having learned this the hard way, I will have to remember to plant a few zucchini plants next year. I want to make stuffed zucchini flowers, but cannot find the flowers for sale, even in the most upscale markets. Shame on me. I was lazy and should have planted some with my tomatoes. My regret of summer, no ricotta stuffed, deep-fried zucchini flowers.

This week I read an interesting article in Gourmet magazine. O.K. I admit the article was from the February issue of 2007 and I’m just getting to read it now. I’ve been busy, give me a break.- The article, Pot of Gold, was about a beautiful Le Cruset Dutch oven and how it inspired author Jane Smiley to make a variety of meals from one pot of Soupe a l’oignon, done the Julia Child way. I own a few Le Cruset items and they are expensive, but an absolute joy to cook with. What amazed me was the way the author took one initial dish, and inspired by her beautiful cookware, transformed the leftovers from the first recipe to make a variety of meals for the week. Brilliant idea. I’ll have to try it myself.

Reading up on wine has also become a recent obsession. I love to drink wine but rattling off names and vintages has never been for me. Rather, my new interest is in finding and stocking up on $20 and under wines. Yes, I know, it’s a bit weird that someone who is willing to spend lot of money on French cookware is infatuated with less expensive wines. What can I say, sometimes it fun to find a good bargain.

My challenge for the week for you is this, can you find a Julia Child recipe and cook it? Can you find a nice wine under $20 to go with the dish?

Let me know how it goes…

Ratatouille

Typically the vegetables are sautéed put together and served. I chose to roast them all together. The garlic add tremendous flavor.


2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ large zucchini cut into 1/8” thin slices
1 medium sized eggplant sliced into 1/8” thin slices
1 red onion, peeled and sliced into 1/8” thin slices
2 ripe tomatoes cut to 1/8” thin slices
Juice of half a lemon
6 or so torn fresh basil leaves
6-8 cloves garlic, peeled
½ cup chicken or vegetable stock
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh pepper

Topping
½ cup Breadcrumbs (I am using Panko, Japanese breadcrumbs)
½ cup grated cheese such as Parmesan, Gruyere or Romano

All vegetables above can be sliced to 1/8” or thinner using a chef’s knife or Mandolin

Heat oven to 425

Brush the bottom of a casserole dish (about 9X13 or Medium-large oval dish) with olive oil. Layer the vegetables around the dish as best as you can, alternating vegetables to give a uniform look. I like to start layering from the outside and work in, but do as you like. Do not fret about being so precise- this is a rustic peasant dish after all…

Tuck the cloves of garlic and the basil into the layers of veg. Drizzle the stock over the casserole. Season the top with salt and pepper. Cover the top of the dish with a layer of parchment paper then a layer of tin foil.

Bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and parchment, and roast another 30 minutes- in a bowl combine the breadcrumbs and cheese then sprinkle over the top of the vegetables. Roast another 10 minutes or so until cheese has melted.

Cooking in August

This is the first week of August. Of course its about one hundred degrees out and I decided that now would be a good time to post some dessert sauces for a ice cream party. I made raspberry sauce, strawberry sauce and caramel sauce. All was going smashingly well until it was time to photograph the sauces on the ice cream. Humm. I guess I didn’t think that one through. Have you ever tried to photograph ice cream when it almost 100 degrees out? Fortunately for all involved, the photo aspect of this went quickly, leaving many a mushy but delicious Sunday to be eaten. I would have liked to provide a recipe for Ice cream as well; I do have an ice cream machine. The problem is then is not a spot of room left in my freezer and the bulky base of the machine needs to be frozen before it will work. Sorry, you’ll have to buy the ice cream for now.

August is also a great time to try some new vegetables out on your family. Zucchini are plentiful as well as eggplant and tomato. I have made ratatouille many times before (one of my collage roommates was a vegetarian). I love it, but it wasn’t until a recent movie came out that I thought perhaps children might give it a go.

Spaghetti squash is another one of my favorites. Children love to see how it goes from being a “yucky” veggie to looking like pasta. The hardest part is cutting it open, so just be a little careful. I roast it than serve it with tomato sauce.

In chatting with a friend the other day she mentioned that this blog looked beautiful but she still was unable to make some of the recipes because they involve fresh garlic rather than garlic powder, “what am I supposed to do with the fresh garlic?”. Ahh, I guess I kind of figured that most people knew what to do with garlic. Then, I couldn’t help but laugh a little, as I thought back on one of my youthful cooking lessons. A meal I was making required 10 cloves of garlic. I bought 10 bulbs. In August I hope to make cooking more user friendly, even if it means reviewing some basics.