Sunday, December 20, 2009

Oil & Vinegar Will Be Featured on “Kick Back and Kook” December 28th

On December 28th at 7:00 p.m. EST please join me for a radio interview with culinary specialist, Angela McKeller, on her cooking show, “Kick Back and Kook.” On the show Angela and I will be discussing some great new Oil & Vinegar recipes I have created that will turn any dinner party into a gourmet feast, where you will be sure to impress your guests. Below you will find the customized recipes. Please feel free to make them yourselves and we will be discussing them on the show. Also, if you have any questions you can also email the host Angela at angela@kickbackkook.com and she will ask me your questions on the show.

The podcast can be listened to live at: Kick Back and Kook

Truffle risotto
Ingredients:
1 package Truffle risotto
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon white truffle olive oil
1 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Heat the chicken stock in a saucepan. In a separate sauce pan, melt the butter and add the risotto mix. Toast over low heat, stirring constantly for a minute or two. Add the wine and stir until evaporated. Add a ladle of simmering chicken stock to the risotto and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally. As the liquid is absorbed, add another ladle of chicken stock, continue the process until the chicken stock is gone. About 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat, add the white truffle olive oil and parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

If you don’t have the Oil & Vinegar truffle risotto, you can substitute with 1 cup Arborio rice, 4 shallots finely chopped, 1 garlic clove finely chopped and 1 black or white truffle (optional).


Simple Romaine Salad
Ingredients:
4-6 cups of romaine lettuce
1 cup of croutons
Shaved or grated parmesan
Dressing:
4 tablespoons of Bonsecco extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of garlic mustard
¼ teaspoon of flavors and flowers sea salt

Put the romaine and croutons in a salad bowl. Put all dressing ingredients in a dressing shaker, shake well and pour onto salad and toss. Top the salad with grated or shaved parmesan.

We used a fruity, medium bodied Tuscan extra virgin olive oil to complement the sweetness of the white balsamic and the savory of the parmesan cheese.

If you don’t have Oil & Vinegar brand products, substitute the Bonsecco with a high quality extra virgin olive oil, the white balsamic vinegar with a high quality white balsamic; for the garlic mustard, use dijon mustard with 1 clove of garlic crushed. The flavors and flowers sea salt can be substituted with plain salt and pepper.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Use Your Holiday Leftovers to Create Gourmet Dishes

As the holidays approach, one of the most exciting aspects is all the delicious food. Thanksgiving is a day filled with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and of course fun with your family. With this holiday comes a tremendous amount of leftovers, which can be just as tasty the following day. As a way to turn your holiday leftovers into a gourmet feast for your friends and family to enjoy, I have created a few recipes of customized Oil & Vinegar dishes. Below you can find some fantastic recipes to try out this holiday season and surprise your relatives with some new flavors even after Thanksgiving is over. Create Oil & Vinegar’s Savory Potato Pancakes and Turkey Mushroom Risotto and let me know what you think!


Savory potato pancakes

2 cups mashed potatoes
1 egg, beaten
1 small onion, minced
1 Tbsp parmesan dipper
3 Tbsp olive oil


Mix together the mashed potatoes, egg, onion, and parmesan dipper in a bowl. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Drop large spoonfuls of the mixture into the frying pan, making sure they don’t touch each other. Cook until the bottom is brown and crisp, turn over and cook the other side until brown and crisp.



Turkey Mushroom Risotto

1 package Boscaiolo Risotto
1 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped turkey


Make the Risotto according to the package directions then add 1 cup chopped turkey, mix well and serve.


Package directions: Put 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a pan with 1 package Boscaiolo Risotto, stir over medium heat for 1 minute. Add 1 cup white wine; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce to a simmer. As the liquid is absorbed into the rice, add the chicken stock one ladle at a time until absorbed into the rice; about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining olive oil and parmesan cheese.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Say Thanks to Your Loyal Customers & Staff This Holiday Season



As a business owner, it is important to celebrate the holidays with your customers and staff as a way to connect with them on a personal level. Corporate Gifting is a trend that is becoming increasingly more popular and despite the economy it is more important than ever to foster relationships with your loyal customers and employees. The most important aspects with corporate gift giving are personalization, uniqueness and practicality.


At Oil & Vinegar, we offer personalized gifts with customized labels so our guests can share unique, gourmet products with their loved ones, colleagues and patrons, while still branding their company’s logo. We offer a selection of over 40 different types of on-tap olive oils and vinegars from around the world and this allows for variety and personalization depending on the gift receivers likes.


Also, we offer practical gifts that your employees and customers can enjoy on an everyday basis for cooking and entertaining. Also, Oil & Vinegar offers our customized labels with a lead time of only 3 to 4 days. Our labels can be customized with companies’ logos and photos, messages or other holiday greetings. This is a fun service we provide our customers because it is a way to personalize gifts and offer something that the receiver will really enjoy. The best part is the labels are very affordable; individual bottles start at $14, sets start at $26.


To purchase a unique and personalized gift for your customers or staff, please visit a local retail store or www.oilandvinegarusa.com.


Give Us a Call and We Can Help This Holiday Season:

Oil & Vinegar Bellevue: (425)454-8497

Oil & Vinegar Skokie: (847) 763-1446

Oil & Vinegar Charlottesville: (434) 975-5432

Oil & Vinegar Woodlands: (281) 419-6601

Oil & Vinegar Missoula: (406) 549-7800

Oil & Vinegar Charleston: (847) 763-1446

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Oil & Vinegar Provides Hand-Crafted Turkish Pottery Line; Continues to Provide Unique, Gourmet Products to the Culinary Industry

Here at Oil & Vinegar, we have just launched a holiday-specific product line, hand-made Turkish Pottery, which is not only perfect for home decoration and special occasions but it is also a unique collectors’ item.

In addition to supporting the everyday foodies’ craving to become top-chef, Oil & Vinegar’s we pride ourselves in providing unique products to the culinary gift-giving segment. Our guests can create their own gifts or meal flavorings with the “on-tap” oils and vinegars, along with mustards, pestos, tapenades, honeys, fig spreads, fondue chocolates, dried herb mixes, as well as a fine selection of ceramic table ware, cruets, kitchen accessories, salt/pepper mills, international cookbooks and other culinary accessories fill the shelves.

This season Oil & Vinegar introduces Turkish Pottery designed by world renowned ceramic artist Nimet Varli. Each piece is handmade, hand painted and signed by the artist. Created using techniques from the 14th-16th century, the patterns found in the collection are typical, yet have definitely taken a new dimension in the hands of the contemporary artist. Nimet Varli is the first woman to ever professionally produce ceramics in Turkey and in 2002 she was named “Artist of the Year”. Each piece is customized and tells a strong and dynamic story. The pottery collection that is inspired by the grace and beauty of nature is reminiscent of snowflakes.

This customized gift is extremely exclusive and can only be found in the U.S. at selective locations, including Oil & Vinegar. Prices range from 9 to 120 dollars depending on size and style of pottery selected; styles include bowls, plates, vases, etc.

We are honored to be able to offer these one of a kind pottery collections. The beautiful artwork of each piece tells a unique story and sharing it with our guests as gifts is a great way to offer history and richness at each of our stores. This is a perfect gift to share with someone you care about and want to find something original and meaningful.