Here it is, the end of summer. A lot of you are gearing up to transition back into school mode and for that, I wish you luck. Truthfully, I always looked forward to the fresh start of a new school year. Or at least I looked forward to buying new school supplies, because in my heart of hearts, I am indeed a nerd and I love nothing more than a new pack of pens and fresh notebook. But aside from school, the end of summer means that produce is in abundance. Tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, basil, etc. are all around us. And soon, apple season! My favorite!
We are getting ready to stock up the store in tandem with all of your school supplies. We are now carrying the local chocolate "Hello, Cocoa!" Did you know that they use our Basil Olive Oil in their seasonal Spring Bar? How cool is that? It's also delicious. We are phasing out the Gravenstein Apple White Balsamic to be replaced by Passionfruit White Balsamic. We're also going to replace the Herbes de Provence Olive Oil for a Rosemary Infused Olive Oil, but we still have a bit left, so that will happen gradually. And it's now time for the 2017 Southern Hemisphere Extra Virgin Olive Oils to make their appearance. They had a really fantastic harvest this year, so I am excited to have these award winning oils in our humble store.
I have noticed that one question that comes up again and again is, "what do I do with the Extra Virgin Olive Oil?" The answer to that is: anything. They only thing I haven't done with an EVOO is deep fry with it. And that's mostly because I don't own a deep fryer. Yes, you will get the most health benefits using it at room temperature or slightly warm on salads or tossed with pasta or veggies, because heat will begin to break down the Omega-3, 6, 9's and what have yous. But you can absolutely cook with it in any capacity. The smoke point for most of our olive oils is around 400 degrees, but I consistently roast my veggies at 450 and have never had a problem. (Fun fact, Avocado Oil has the highest smoke point of 520 F.) I use EVOO in my pizza dough recipe, granola recipe, as roux for gumbo, oily Pasta with Swiss Chard. Pretty much you name it! Don't be shy with them just because they're extra virgins.
So, for this month our sale is going to be 20% off all of the 2016 Northern Hemisphere Extra Virgin Olive Oils. This serves double duty to make way for the new 2017 harvest from the Southern Hemisphere and to give you all a nudge to try new things with them. My suggestion is to swing by Dirty Apron Bake House and grab a loaf of their fantastic Sourdough (if you haven't tried Nick's bread, you are missing out), then mosey to Farmer's Market and get some late summertime tomatoes and basil, and then come to us for a large bottle of zingy olive oil and maybe some Traditional Balsamic. Go home and use half of your bread to make croutons for the Caesar Salad that will change your life (recipe to follow) and the other half to make bruschetta. Because, by golly, this is what the end of summer is all about! Cooking, but not really.
Let's move on to the aforementioned Caesar Salad. I have a confession to make. I still have a bottle of salad dressing in my refrigerator. It's Newman's Own Caesar Dressing and this has been my go-to Caesar dressing for about a decade. I have tried making my own, but there has never been a recipe that just fits the bill, if you know what I mean. But the other day I opened my battered Emeril's Delmonico cookbook to find my favorite Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo recipe and saw the photo of a beautiful Caesar Salad that was begging to be made. Lo and behold, I had everything I needed to make the Creamy Parmesan Dressing to go on top of a bed of crisp Romaine lettuce and I thought, "okay, I'll give it another shot." I'm so glad that I did. It was perfect! Thick, but not too thick. Garlicky, but not overpoweringly so. Nicely pungent with the anchovies and robust olive oil, but not so pungent as to scare away my kids. You know...perfect.
Friends, I challenge you to step away from the bottled dressing and give this recipe a chance. It comes together quickly, in the bowl of a food processor or with an immersion stick blender, or just a plain old bowl and a whisk. Boil some water, and assemble everything else while that gets going. Juice 1/2 a lemon, peel a clove of garlic, get out that tin of anchovies hiding in the pantry, toast your bread for croutons, etc. Put an egg in that now boiling water and coddle it for 45 seconds. Mix all of your ingredients and slowly add in your Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and I give you home made Creamy Parmesan Dressing for your fantastic Caesar Salad. Enjoy! Happy back to school week! And see you soon!
Caesar Salad
Adapted, slightly, from Emeril's Delmonico
One 18-oz bag Hearts of Romaine lettuce, torn or left whole
1 recipe Creamy Parmesan Dressing (recipe follows)
1 batch Croutons (recipe follows)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1. Put the lettuce in a large bowl, toss with the dressing, and divide into 4 bowls Top with croutons and cheese.
Creamy Parmesan Dressing
1 large egg
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2-4 anchovy fillets, drained
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire
2 Tbsp. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 dashes of hot sauce
1. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add the egg and cook for 45 seconds, until coddled. Drain. Let egg cool slightly.
2. Throw everything except the egg and the oil into the bowl of a food processor or the tall cylindrical container that comes with your immersion blender. Blitz it until combined. Crack your egg into the bowl and, if you're using the food processor, add the oil in a steady stream with the motor running. If you're using an immersion blender, crack the egg, add the oil, and use the stick blender to mix it all together for about 30 seconds. It should look like runny mayonnaise. Refrigerate until ready to use (will keep for 1 day int the fridge).
Croutons
2 cups cubed Sourdough or French Bread
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp. Cajun Seasoning or whatever you want
1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400.
2. Place the bread on a baking sheet and toss with the oil and seasoning. Bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Let cool slightly, then add to your salad.
Cheers!
