Monthly Archives: April 2010

Joyce Goldstein’s Pasta “In Zemino” w/ Seafood & Greens

I’m a big fan of Joyce Goldstein. And the award-winning chef  and cookbook author is a big fan of extra virgin olive oil. She used lots of EVOO when she demonstrated Italian dishes at a healthy cooking conference in California. … Continue reading

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Bow-Tie Pasta with Crab Puttanesca

My love for crab dates back to the time I spent living in Annapolis, Md. Add pasta,  particularly one with a spicy Italian riff, and I’ll even go without dessert. This is a variation on the classic Italian dish spaghetti … Continue reading

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Filtered vs. Unfiltered Olive Oil: What’s the Difference?

Here’s a topic I get asked a lot about: unfiltered versus filtered extra virgin olive oil. What’s the difference?  Why filter EVOO? Which tastes better? Do you filter your extra virgin olive oil? (No.) I’ve fielded these questions upwards of … Continue reading

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Olive Oil Primer: Unfiltered vs. Filtered EVOO

I get a lot of questions from people about filtered versus unfiltered extra virgin olive oil. What’s the difference?  Which tastes better? Why filter EVOO? Do you filter your extra virgin olive oil? (We don’t.) I’ve fielded such questions upwards … Continue reading

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Lucca Restaurant’s Marinated Olives and Green Olive Pesto

A while back we received two excellent olive-themed recipes from the former chef at Sacramento’s Lucca Restaurant & Bar. One is for marinated olives made from four different types of olives. The second is for an olive pesto made from … Continue reading

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Olive Oil May Be Key to Med. Diet’s Benefits – Study

Consuming good quality olive oil may help stifle genes in your body that can trigger the kind of inflammation that produces heart disease, a study suggests. The finding may partly explain why people who eat a Mediterranean diet are found … Continue reading

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Olive Oil Health Primer: the Science Behind Cooking w/ EVOO

Liz Tagami, a friend who’s a specialty food and wine professional, recently alerted us to some misinformation about extra virgin olive oil published on a newspaper Web site. The article erroneously nixed the use of cooking with EVOO, calling it … Continue reading

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James Beard Award Winning Pastry Chef’s Apple-EVOO Cake

We first met Emily Luchetti last fall when she was handing out her own gourmet ice cream sandwiches deliciously flavored with cardamom. The professional pastry chef was among those serving exquisite dishes for a stand-up luncheon at the Culinary Institute … Continue reading

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Chef Holly Smith’s Zeppole with Extra Virgin Olive Oil Gelato

If you’ve wandered the streets of New York’s famed Little Italy neighborhood in September you may have savored a zeppole. Street vendors serve these fried Italian fritter-like treats at the annual Feast of San Gennaro in lower Manhattan. In the … Continue reading

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How to Avoid Burning Extra Virgin Olive Oil When Cooking

Ever set off a smoke alarm when cooking? Plenty of us are guilty. Maybe it was popcorn in the microwave, pizza in the oven, or French toast in the frying pan. When you cook with extra virgin olive oil, you … Continue reading

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