Cooking
Fran Gage's The New American Olive Oil includes profiles of artisan producers and 75 recipes, each using extra virgin olive oil. Having tried a selection of the recipes I wholeheartedly recommend the tangy Tabbouleh with Meyer lemon olive oil and the Almost flourless chocolate cake, it's a light and fluffy version as opposed to the heavy ones you sometimes get.
Fran Gage is a particularly wonderful baker, experienced in sensory analysis and is one of the members of the California Olive Oil Council tasting panel. She uses extra virgin olive oil in desserts like pound cake in place of butter and in recipes like rillettes where you would expect to find pork fat. Over the next few months there will be plenty of opportunities to attend a olive oil tasting and book signing event with Fran Gage.
Another olive oil book I'm excited about is Micki Sannar's Olive Oil Desserts. Sannar was inspired to develop recipes using olive oil for health reasons, and her baked goods are delicious. I particularly like her lemon cookies, but everything I've tried of hers is good.
A sweet book in more ways than one, the recipes are interspersed with funny and heartwarming stories. While Gage uses all extra virgin olive oil, Sannar uses pure olive oil. This is to minimize olive oil flavor and maximize cost efficiency. Like all good cookbooks, this one is clearly a labor of love and I know Micki spent years and years working on it and perfecting her recipes.
A final book I have to mention is Joanne Weir's Wine Country Cooking, now out in paperback. Joanne is a terrific cooking teacher, which you undoubtedly know from her successful television shows. She is also a fledgling blogger and has always been utterly gracious to me. I was a big fan of hers, from the moment I reviewed her book From Tapas to Meze, several years ago. Wine Country Cooking, out in paperback, might as well have been subtitled "the extra virgin olive oil cookbook" because almost every recipe uses it. This mostly Mediterranean cookbook includes mouthwatering recipes like Pork and Artichoke Stew, Farmer's Market Risotto with Zucchini and their Blossoms, Warm Olive and Caramelized Onion Tart and Braised Fennel with Orange. You'll want to make everything in it!
Joanne Weir will be signing books and offering samples of her recipes at the newly renovated McEvoy Ranch shop at the Ferry Building. RSVP and take home a bottle of McEvoy Traditional Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil with your cookbook purchase on March 19th from 6 - 8 pm. See you there?
- Savory Yogurt Recipes
I enjoy Greek yogurt and have been eating a lot of it lately. But I’ve also been cutting back on sugar. While fruit, granola, jam or honey are classic toppings for yogurt, I’ve been wanting to take yogurt in another direction. Since I tend to favor...
- Roasted Garlic And Potato Dip Recipe
Greek cuisine features many great snacks and nibbles from olives to pastries and dips. An easy dip to make is skordalia. Recipes vary regionally, but generally feature garlic, extra virgin olive oil and potatoes though sometimes egg yolks, almonds or...
- Finishing Oils
There are cooking oils, and then there are finishing oils. Finishing oils are used as a condiment, to finish a dish. They add flavor and texture and generally a little goes a long way. Use finishing oils on salads, pasta, pesto, vegetables and grilled...
- California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil
It all comes down to freshness and quantity. California Olive Ranch plants three varieties, arbequina, arbosana from Spain and koroneiki from Greece. Their olive orchards look nothing like what you may have seen in Europe. The olive trees are pruned...
- All About Olio Nuovo
Olio nuovo means "new oil" in Italian. Extra virgin olive oil is the first pressing of olives, and olio nuovo is fresh extra virgin olive oil, the very first pressing of the season. It's typically pressed beginning in late October or early November...
Cooking
Olive Oil Cookbooks, Tastings and Events
Fran Gage's The New American Olive Oil includes profiles of artisan producers and 75 recipes, each using extra virgin olive oil. Having tried a selection of the recipes I wholeheartedly recommend the tangy Tabbouleh with Meyer lemon olive oil and the Almost flourless chocolate cake, it's a light and fluffy version as opposed to the heavy ones you sometimes get. Fran Gage is a particularly wonderful baker, experienced in sensory analysis and is one of the members of the California Olive Oil Council tasting panel. She uses extra virgin olive oil in desserts like pound cake in place of butter and in recipes like rillettes where you would expect to find pork fat. Over the next few months there will be plenty of opportunities to attend a olive oil tasting and book signing event with Fran Gage.
Another olive oil book I'm excited about is Micki Sannar's Olive Oil Desserts. Sannar was inspired to develop recipes using olive oil for health reasons, and her baked goods are delicious. I particularly like her lemon cookies, but everything I've tried of hers is good. A sweet book in more ways than one, the recipes are interspersed with funny and heartwarming stories. While Gage uses all extra virgin olive oil, Sannar uses pure olive oil. This is to minimize olive oil flavor and maximize cost efficiency. Like all good cookbooks, this one is clearly a labor of love and I know Micki spent years and years working on it and perfecting her recipes.
A final book I have to mention is Joanne Weir's Wine Country Cooking, now out in paperback. Joanne is a terrific cooking teacher, which you undoubtedly know from her successful television shows. She is also a fledgling blogger and has always been utterly gracious to me. I was a big fan of hers, from the moment I reviewed her book From Tapas to Meze, several years ago. Wine Country Cooking, out in paperback, might as well have been subtitled "the extra virgin olive oil cookbook" because almost every recipe uses it. This mostly Mediterranean cookbook includes mouthwatering recipes like Pork and Artichoke Stew, Farmer's Market Risotto with Zucchini and their Blossoms, Warm Olive and Caramelized Onion Tart and Braised Fennel with Orange. You'll want to make everything in it! Joanne Weir will be signing books and offering samples of her recipes at the newly renovated McEvoy Ranch shop at the Ferry Building. RSVP and take home a bottle of McEvoy Traditional Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil with your cookbook purchase on March 19th from 6 - 8 pm. See you there?
- Savory Yogurt Recipes
I enjoy Greek yogurt and have been eating a lot of it lately. But I’ve also been cutting back on sugar. While fruit, granola, jam or honey are classic toppings for yogurt, I’ve been wanting to take yogurt in another direction. Since I tend to favor...
- Roasted Garlic And Potato Dip Recipe
Greek cuisine features many great snacks and nibbles from olives to pastries and dips. An easy dip to make is skordalia. Recipes vary regionally, but generally feature garlic, extra virgin olive oil and potatoes though sometimes egg yolks, almonds or...
- Finishing Oils
There are cooking oils, and then there are finishing oils. Finishing oils are used as a condiment, to finish a dish. They add flavor and texture and generally a little goes a long way. Use finishing oils on salads, pasta, pesto, vegetables and grilled...
- California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil
It all comes down to freshness and quantity. California Olive Ranch plants three varieties, arbequina, arbosana from Spain and koroneiki from Greece. Their olive orchards look nothing like what you may have seen in Europe. The olive trees are pruned...
- All About Olio Nuovo
Olio nuovo means "new oil" in Italian. Extra virgin olive oil is the first pressing of olives, and olio nuovo is fresh extra virgin olive oil, the very first pressing of the season. It's typically pressed beginning in late October or early November...