Olive Cream

I've been experimenting a lot with flavors that I was previously averse to, as well as vegetable purees. And so I came up with this recipe for an olive cream, a great base for plating, something of which can have an affect on how much one enjoys ones food. It's salty and creamy and a nice compliment to a steamed, poached or roasted fish or chicken. Enjoy.


Olive Cream

Yields 12-2 Tbsp Servings

Ingredients:

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 small onion, diced

1 cup sliced black olives (or 1 can Trader Joe's sliced Greek olives, reserve the canning liquid)

Method:

Place a sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and onion and cook until translucent. Add the olives and heavy cream and blend until smooth. Reserve.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 17 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  26 Calories from Fat  23

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  2.5g 4%

Saturated Fat  0.8g 4%

Cholesterol  3mg 1%

Sodium  99mg 4%

Total Carbohydrates  1.0g 0%

Protein  0.2g

Vitamin A 2% • Vitamin C 1% Calcium 1% • Iron 2%

Nutrition Grade C-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

How I Spend My Sundays: The Calm of Making Bread

I've really gotten into a bread kick. Maybe it's because I've come ever closer to perfecting the ratio of all purpose to whole wheat flour; the amount of olive oil or walnut oil, lightly kneaded into the bread; the time that a pan of steaming water should be left in the oven as the dough bakes to crusty perfection.

My favorite is a rosemary-thyme-black pepper loaf. It's crusty on the outside, with just enough crumb formation, while the inside remains soft, chewy, with pockets where air from the yeast gently massaged the innards of the loaf. I love this bread with butter; I love this bread with homemade blueberry or nectarine-basil preserves; I love this bread with melted Fontina cheese; I love this bread sopping up whatever sauce fell delicately off the pasta in my bowl. But I also came to the realization that it might be time to try other breads. It was the bread, it was me, and "me" was ready to move on.

This past Sunday was damp, cool, and overcast, not like a typical Sunday in DC during the summer, that typical Sunday being wretchedly hot, followed by massive, pitch-black clouds, thunder, lightning, and torrential downpour. (Actually, that sounds like everyday this summer!) I wanted to go to the mall, but Mike convinced me that it would be nice to just stay in and relax all day. Of course, I was not content with simply sitting on the computer, in front of the TV, eating chips and salsa all day.

To me, relaxation means kitchen time. I would much rather get my hands dirty, elbow deep in tomatoes and olive oil, than sit in front of the TV watching sports center reruns, eating cups of granola, pretending that by eating extra granola I am being extra healthy. I baked three loaves of bread. All three bursting with a different flavor, a different season, a different personality.

Nectarine, rolling in cinnamon and nutmeg, is ethereal, and, perhaps with a few refinements, something beyond spiritual. It brings about the calling of autumn, mingling with the orange flesh of summer, fresh on ones lips with each bite.

The tart bite of cranberries floats around the herbal scent of rosemary and thyme, with a touch of honey asking for sweeter things to come. It evokes the flavors of a summer herb garden, bushy and overrun, practically begging to be picked, to be inhaled.

That same herb garden is full of basil leaves, reminiscent of Genoa. They are a ripe green, green with jealousy of stories of basil consorting with Parmesan, and garlic, olive oil and nuts, to form a sauce that hugs a shapely pasta. But this time, they will be deconstructed, separate, but equally stuffed into a ball of well-oiled dough.

Ok, so I may be an ocean's away from a career in food writing. I am no Ruth Reichl, Anthony Bourdain, or Michael Ruhlman. But I know I love to bake bread, and I enjoy describing the food I make. Cooking is full of imagery. Moreover, it is an implicitly sensual experience, as food will entice you with its taste, the superficial appeal of its colors, the way its flesh yields to your grip, however slack or firm.

From Left to Right: Deconstructed Pesto Bread, Rosemary-Thyme Cranberry Bread, Cinnamon-Nutmeg Nectarine Bread

Olive Oil Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry and Peach Coulis and Sea Salt

This may be my longest lapse in posting yet. Thankfully, I have a sweet post to get everyone back at the table. I have a recipe for chocolate mousse that I made back in February or March. It was sweet, creamy, rich and dense, and after a day in the fridge it developed this great, complex flavor that made it that much more irresistible. However, while the dense-ness of the dessert was nice in the fall, I needed something a little lighter as we entered deep summer in DC. The tweaks I've made are small, but they result in a nice, smooth consistency and a fluffiness that feels as though you are eating a cloud spiked with chocolate. As for the coulis, it was my first time doing anything of that sort. It came out great, but I need a squirt bottle before my plating looks more like art than someone just spooning some syrup onto a plate.

Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry and Peach Coulis

Ingredients:

2 eggs, whites and yolks separated

3/4 C milk

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate

1/4 C olive oil

3 T dark-roast coffee

1 T maple syrup
1 t vanilla extract

Method:
Separate the yolks and the whites. Whisk the egg yolks and the milk together, then pour into a sauce pan over medium heat, mixing in order to prevent the milk from scalding. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then add to the yolk-milk mixture. Heat until it reaches 160 degrees, then remove from heat. Pour through a fine mesh sieve to remove any bit of egg that may have formed from the heat in order to create a smoother consistency.

Melt the chocolate in a separate sauce pan over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent the chocolate from burning. When melted, take off the heat, stir in the coffee, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and the olive oil.

Add the milk and egg mixture to a blender or food processor. Slowly, pour in the chocolate mixture until well combined, and frothy. Pour the mixture into your serving glasses or a large glass bowl (I used my 4-cup pyrex bowl) and refrigerate. Depending on the size of the containers it will take anywhere from 30 minutes (2 ounce serving glasses) to 3 hours (my 4-cup pyrex bowl) to set.

Serve with the coulis drizzled on the plate, a pinch of salt on the mousse, and a dollop of whipped cream.

The blobs on either side of the plates are the unstrained raspberry coulis and peach coulis.

For the coulis:

(I didn't measure anything out so here are some approximations.)

Ingredients:
1 handful of raspberries or one peach, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 t brown sugar
1 t lemon juice

Method:
Allow to steep in a small bowl in the refrigerator for one hour. Mash with the back of a fork, then strain using a fine mesh sieve (straining is optional, though I like the results). Reserve the pulp or seeds (still tastes good and some people like it). Use the strained coulis to garnish.

Questioning the Virginity of Olive Oils in American

I read an article a month or two ago about how the US has become a dumping ground of poor quality olive oil. Despite the relevance in the lives of most Americans (who doesn't have a bottle of olive oil at home, even the most reluctant of cooks), I just pushed it out of mind and out of sight. But now that the story has resurfaced I have a need to share the news. 


There is a lawsuit being pursued by chefs against olive oil producers for distributing extra virgin olive oil that, for the most part, wasn't actually olive oil, or was watered down with canola or other cheep oils. 


"The lawsuit, which seeks class action status, targets 10 major olive oil brands, including Bertolli, Filippo Berio, Carapelli, Star, Colavita, Mezzetta, Pompeian, Rachael Ray, Mazolla and Safeway Select. It also names 10 major supermarket chains and big box stores that allegedly marketed substandard oil under the extra-virgin banner, based on covert testing done by the law firm, Callahan said."


These are brands that I see in many households and I would hate to think that they feel as though they are getting the full benefits of olive oil, when in fact they are using some alternate, and inferior product.


Luckily, justice will be served in the form of the US adopting standards similar to those of the International Olive Council. 


Here is a link to the full article.


Oh, and if you were wondering, I buy President's or California Estate Bottled Olive Oils from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods 365 Everyday Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

A Eulogy for a Can of Olive Oil at the End of its Days

Yesterday, I poured the last drops of olive oil from my can into a pan. As I near the eve of the departure from my apartment, I've exhausted this 101 fl oz behemoth of an olive oil canister. It served me well, dishing up countless of meals that I've shared with you all. Here's to one hell of a can of oil.

P.S. I'm at work and already extremely bored, so spare me.

Chocolate Mousse with Olive Oil and Sea Salt

After dinner tonight (peanut-sauce and yogurt marinated pork loin, capellini pasta with sesame oil, soy sauce, chili paste and peanut sauce, and roasted asparagus for me; capellini pasta with butter and olive oil, peas and garlic bread for Mike), I decided to make a special dessert. I had made macaroons with chocolate drizzle for my mom for mother's day/her birthday. But I was left with all of these chocolate chips. So I decided, what better way to get rid of some more of the eggs than to make a chocolate mousse. I was missing an instant-read thermometer, but using my intuition, and my handy-dandy blender, I made a quick and easy (45 minutes including prep, cook and fridge time) mousse for dessert.

Chocolate Mousse with Olive Oil and Sea Salt (Pregnancy Safe, apparently)

Ingredients:

2 eggs, thoroughly beaten
3/4 cup whole milk
6 ounces good-quality semi-sweet dark chocolate
3 tablespoons freshly brewed strong decaffeinated coffee (optional)
1/4 cup finishing-quality olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
Tiny pinch fine salt
Sea salt or grey lavender salt, to serve
Lightly sweetened whipped cream, to serve

Method:

1. Whisk the milk and eggs together, beating for at least a minute. Put in a small, heavy saucepan over low heat. Put a thermometer into the milk mixture and carefully heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches 160°F. Take off the heat. (since I didn't have a thermometer, I allowed the mixture to sit on high heat for about 2-3 minutes)

2. In another small, heavy saucepan, put the chocolate over low heat. (Break up the chocolate into shards, if not using small baking pieces.) Heat slowly, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is completely melted. Take off the heat and stir in the coffee, if using, and the olive oil.

3. Add the milk and egg mixture to a blender or food processor, along with the maple syrup, vanilla, and a pinch of fine salt. Blend to combine blend the combine eggs, milk, olive oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt.

4. With the food processor or blender running (I just stopped the blender and added a bit at a time), slowly pour in the chocolate and coffee mixture and blend until well combined. The final mix will be frothy and smooth.

5. Fill four 6-ounce dishes or eight to ten smaller ramekins and put in the refrigerator to chill. Depending on the size and depth of the dish this mousse will take from a half hour to three hours to set.

6. Serve with whipped cream and just a pinch of rough salt. (I only had some fine sea salt; worked just fine in my opinion)

I'll provide an updated list of remaining ingredients later.