This is probably one of the easiest recipes weāve posted yet. Just four ingredients (two of which are salt and pepper) and you donāt need a peeler or whisk, not even a knife to cut the potatoes. Simply boil, smash and bake. Continue reading “Smashed Potatoes with Garlic Infused Olive Oil”
Feel like preparing something special for the holidays but donāt want to spend hours in the kitchen? With our fig balsamic, you donāt need to create a complicated, multi-ingredient sauce to achieve a deep, rich flavor. Plus, what if we told you that you could prepare this main course all in one skillet, sauce included? Filet mignon is the cut of beef taken from the smaller end of the tenderloin and is best cooked quickly using direct heat. Pan-searing the filets creates a nice crust to seal in the juices. We use the same skillet to reduce the balsamic vinegar ā while the meat rests ā picking up the flavor from the juices and brown bits rendered in the pan. Before you start, let your raw filets sit on the counter out of the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes but not more than an hour and a half. We used thicker steaks (about 2 inches) and cooked them longer in the pan. If you prefer, you could butterfly them instead.
Tying your filets is optional but we tied ours to create a more attractive shape and to help it cook evenly. We just used one piece of butcher’s twine per filet and no tricky knots necessary, a common double knot will do fine.
Pat steaks dry with a paper towel. Rub 1 tablespoon of the olive oil onto both sides of all four filets. Generously salt and pepper both sides as well.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of EVOO in a heavy skillet over high heat until shimmering; swirling to coat the pan. Place the filets into the skillet and reduce heat to medium-high. Do not move the steaks; let them sear for about 3 minutes (for thinner steaks) to 6 minutes for thicker steaks (about 2 inches).
Flip the steaks using tongs instead of a fork; piercing can let the juices run out while cooking. The amount of time you cook your steaks depends on how thick they are and your preference for how rare you like your meat. Time can range from 3-10 minutes on the second side but whatās more important is the internal temperature of the meat. Checking the internal temperature will most likely give you a more reliable reading than the āfinger methodā or the clock.
Cook the meat on the second side until you reach your desired temperature (see chart below). Check periodically using an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the side of the filet.
Start at the low end of the range. You can always cook it a little more. The meat still continues to cook even while resting off-heat.
Remove the filets from the pan. Remove butcher’s twine. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of crumbled gorgonzola cheese onto each filet. Tent with foil allowing steaks to rest while you make the sauce. The cheese will also soften.
Add the Ā¾ cup of fig balsamic back to the same skillet and turn heat to high. Scrape the bits from the bottom of the pan and reduce balsamic to about 2/3 cup (about 8-10 minutes). Turn off heat and swirl in the two tablespoons of butter. Salt to taste.
Transfer the cheese-topped filets to plates and drizzle with your fig balsamic reduction. Serve immediately passing any remaining sauce on the side (we used it on our vegetables too).
Have a comment? Weād love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.
āTis the season for fudge and have we found a winner! We experimented with 3 or 4 different fudge recipes and created something that produced the balance of texture and moistness we were looking for. We didn’t want a brownie or cookie but we also didn’t want fudge that was too creamy and didn’t hold up (enter baking soda). This fudge has us thinking that our Blueberry Balsamic was made just for this recipe. Pairing dark chocolate with dark balsamic, who knew? Add the essence of blueberry and toasted walnuts (the walnuts are crucial to the texture of the final product) and you have a festive dessert that is easier to make than you think. Thereās only about 5 minutes of āpay-close-attentionā time when youāre melting the chocolate and the rest is mix, pour and set in the fridge. Feel free to experiment with this recipe by substituting some of our other dark balsamics ā Strawberry, Raspberry, Black Cherry, or Espresso ā and let us know how things turn out in the comment section below.
Place the walnut pieces into a dry skillet and toast over very low heat, about 15 minutes, flipping the skillet to stir occasionally (we set the timer for this because we always forget about them).
While the walnuts are toasting, prepare a foil āslingā for your baking dish to make it easy to remove the fudge when finished. Use an 8×8 baking dish. Fold a sheet of foil, length-wise, just narrower than the inside of your 8-inch dish. Make the sheet long enough to hang over the sides. Place in baking dish as pictured above and spray the foil and dish with cooking spray (or brush with olive oil).
Put about 2 cups of water in a medium-large saucepan on the stove to boil. Chop the bars of chocolate into very small bits aiming for consistent sized pieces. This will help melt the chocolate evenly. Place chopped chocolate into a medium-large stainless steel bowl (or any heat-proof bowl that can sit atop a pan of boiling water).
Toss the salt and baking soda into the bowl of chocolate and stir well to distribute evenly.
Add sweetened condensed milk and balsamic vinegar and stir the mixture well.
Reduce the heat on the stove so the water is just simmering and place bowl on top of saucepan. Using a rubber spatula, stir the chocolate just until itās almost fully melted, about 3-4 minutes. Watch this very closely. If the chocolate stays on the heat too long, it could separate, get greasy or get grainy.
Remove the bowl from the heat before all of it is melted and continue to stir until chocolate is fully melted and smooth, about another 2 minutes. Stir in toasted walnut pieces.
Transfer fudge to prepared baking dish spreading to the edges to make an even layer. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Once fully set, remove from fridge and run a knife along the two opposite edges where the fudge directly touches the dish. Then, use your foil sling to carefully remove from pan. Discard foil and cut into squares and serve. Store the fudge in a cool place wrapped tightly in plastic or in a zipper-lock bag.
Have a comment? Weād love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.
Hereās a delicious vegetarian entrĆ©e where all the cooking is done on the grill. This is another great use for the Wild Mushroom and Sage Olive Oil that you may still have left from the Apple and Sausage Stuffing recipe we posted for Thanksgiving. The texture of the grilled polenta goes well with the other ingredients and the drizzle of Traditional balsamic at the end finishes the dish beautifully. The measurements of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic in this recipe are just a guideline; indulge to your liking! You can grill your ingredients ahead of time and keep them warm in the oven; when itās time to serve, toss your arugula and assemble.
Preheat grill to med-high heat.Ā Alternatively, you can use an oiled grill pan on the stovetop, turning it on later in the recipe.
Cut eggplant into Ā½ inch slices. If you have large-sized discs of eggplant, cut the disc in half, forming two half circles.Ā Remove the seeds and ribs of the red bell pepper and cut into eight strips.Ā Carefully slice polenta about Ā½ inch wide producing at least 12 discs.Ā For the polenta, use a knife with a narrow blade or the wire of a cheese board cutter works perfectly.
To prepare the ingredients for grilling, drizzle approximately 2 tablespoons of EVOO in a zig-zag stream onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place polenta on the stream of oil and smear to coat the bottom of the polenta. Repeat the same process for the eggplant slices.
Brush about 3 tablespoons of EVOO on the top sides of the polenta and eggplant slices.
Toss strips of red bell pepper with 1 tablespoon EVOO in a medium sized bowl.Ā Add strips of red bell pepper to baking sheet for grilling.Ā Set the EVOO coated bowl aside for dressing the arugula.
Generously salt and pepper the grilling ingredients (polenta, eggplant and red bell peppers).
If using a grill pan on the stovetop, heat pan to medium-high heat and oil pan until shimmering but not smoking. Transfer polenta, eggplant and red bell peppers to hot grill.Ā Grill each side until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side.Ā Loosen and turn the polenta gently so as not to break apart.
Meanwhile, whisk together 1 tablespoon of EVOO with 1 tablespoon of the Traditional balsamic in the bowl set aside earlier.Ā Toss the arugula in the O&V dressing.
To plate, split the dressed arugula evenly onto four serving dishes.Ā For each serving, layer ingredients alternating about 3 discs of polenta, approximately 3-4 slices of eggplant and 2 strips of red pepper.Ā Generously drizzle about Ā½ teaspoon of balsamic vinegar (or more to taste) over each serving.Ā Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
Have a comment?Ā Weād love to hear from you.Ā Have you tried this dish?Ā Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy?Ā Leave us a comment below.
Itās that time of year again where pumpkin starts to make an appearance in a lot of recipes ā and we love it! This muffin recipe calls for a citrus twist getting a hint of orange essence from our Blood Orange extra virgin olive oil. In addition to all the usual pumpkin spices, we get an extra flavor boost when we make our own āpumpkin buttermilk.ā Continue reading “Pumpkin-Orange Muffins with Blood Orange Olive Oil”
Hereās another great side dish that pleases the palate as much as the eyes. The sweetness of our Cranberry Pear balsamic makes the perfect glaze for the butternut squash and the hint of rosemary balances the flavor profile well. All this flavor is achieved without adding any additional sugar or honey. Continue reading “Roasted Butternut Squash with Rosemary and a Cranberry-Pear Balsamic Glaze”
Apples and cranberries give this basic sausage bread dressing extra flavor but itās our Wild Mushroom and Sage infused olive oil that ties it all together. To make things easier, use the biggest bowl you have to combine all the ingredients and donāt be afraid to use your bare hands to mix it all together. We baked the stuffing in a casserole dish and served it as a side dish but you could also use this bread dressing to stuff a 12- to 14-pound turkey. Continue reading “Apple and Sausage Stuffing with Wild Mushroom and Sage Olive Oil”
Another great holiday meal tradition is roasting vegetables. Rather than the usual potatoes and carrots, oven roasted Brussels sprouts are a welcome twist ā especially those extra crispy roasted leaves that fall off the tiny sprout heads. We stayed pretty true to this Ina Garten recipe by using our traditional balsamic vinegar and a single-varietal medium robust olive oil. Continue reading “Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta”
With the high omega-3 fatty acid content in the salmon and the polyphenols found in extra virgin olive oil many may call this a dish full of healthy. We simply call it ādeliciousā. The chipotle olive oil combines very well with the citrus in the salsa but not to worry, this dish is definitely kid-friendly. Many recipes call for dredging the fish with flour and sautĆ©ing but we found for this recipe a coat of olive oil and 10 minutes under the broiler was just fine.
Adjust oven rack to top position about 3-4 inches from heat source. Preheat the broiler.
Prepare salsa. Seed and dice tomatoes. Chop red onion and cilantro.
Combine all salsa ingredients into a large bowl and toss together; set aside. Salsa can be made up to 4 hours ahead and kept in refrigerator tightly covered. Take salsa out to warm to room temperature before preparing the fish.
Generously coat a large rimmed baking sheet with 1-2 tablespoons of chipotle infused olive oil to cover evenly. Rub fillets evenly with the remaining chipotle infused olive oil. Sprinkle each side of salmon with salt and black pepper and place on baking sheet.
Broil salmon on top rack until lightly brown in spots and opaque when gently flaked with a fork, about 9-12 minutes depending on thickness. Remove fish from oven and let rest for 2-3 minutes as you prepare to plate.
Gently plate each salmon fillet and top with salsa. Garnish with extra cilantro. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!
Have a comment? Ā Weād love to hear from you. Ā Have you tried this dish? Ā Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Ā Leave us a comment below.
Barbecue ribs are a favorite with the kids and weāve tried many preparation methods and accompanying sauces. We stumbled upon this recipe by Sara Foster from Leiteās Culinaria and it worked out perfectly. It was easy and the meat was very tender. So tender you almost have to be careful flipping it on the grill as it truly falls off the bone. Of course, we had to put our twist on the barbecue sauce by adding the sweet yet smoky flavor from the combination of our new Vermont Maple Balsamic and our Chipotle Infused Olive Oil. This recipe involves baking the ribs for two hours before grilling. They can be baked up to a day in advance and stored in the fridge. However, when taking out of the fridge for the grilling step, leave the ribs on the grill a little longer to ensure they heat all the way through.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Spread the onion slices out evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Place the ribs, bone side down, on the onion slices. Pour the beer over the ribs and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cover tightly with foil and bake in oven, undisturbed, for 2 hours. While the ribs are baking, make your barbecue sauce.
Add all sauce ingredients into a medium saucepan and whisk to combine.
Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for about 40-45 minutes until the sauce thickens and reduces to about 3 cups. Set aside to cool slightly.
Remove the ribs from the oven. Carefully remove the foil and let ribs sit for 5 minutes. Prepare your grill to medium-high heat.
Discard onions and beer. Brush the meat side of the slabs of ribs with the barbecue sauce and place them, meat side down, onto the grill. Baste the bone side of the slabs generously. Close the grill and cook the ribs for 8-10 minutes.
Baste the bone side of the ribs one more time and then flip the ribs. Baste the meat side of the ribs and cook for another 10 minutes. Baste again half way through.
Remove from grill and cut the slabs into individual ribs, pile them onto a large platter.
Serve warm passing the remaining barbecue sauce on the side. Enjoy!
Have a comment? Weād love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.
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