Warm Mushroom Salad with Sherry Vinegar

This recipe gives everyday mushrooms an elegant edge of texture and flavor by their quick sautéing, and the hot dressing slightly wilts the salad greens.  This recipe is also very versatile in the way you can change it up with different lettuces, mushrooms, and adding or substituting onions or garlic for the shallots.  My rule of thumb is to make a recipe as is directed the first time. After that get crazy and have fun with it.  Don't forget to make notes as you go.

2 cups coarsely torn radicchio

I am not a big fan of radicchio but it definitely has it's place in salads.   Not only does it add color and flavor but it also add a nice crunch.

 

 

2 cups coarsely torn red leaf lettuce

 

 

 

2 cups coarsely torn regular or red butter lettuce

Butter lettuce is my favorite and when it's red that's even better.

This salad is so colorful and delicate!

2 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbls Walnut Oil

 I do not like walnuts so, if you are not a fan either you can use any nut oil you like or try Tahitian Lime Olive oil.

1 pound large mushrooms sliced thick

Pick your favorite mushroom or try something new and go crazy.  Just remember that you might want to adjust your cooking times and amount of mushrooms because of flavor.

1 shallot finely chopped

I love shallots!!!  With that said; have you tried torpedo or walla walla onions?  Yum!

 




2 Tbls Sherry vinegar

2 Tbls finely chopped chives

If you don't have chives the greens from green onions will work.  Just remember to chop very fine and you may not want to use as much.

2 Tbls finely chopped parsley

I'm Italian so I always use Italian/Flat leaf parsley.
 

¼ Tsp salt

Fresh ground Pepper

Toss the salad leaves together and arrange them in beds on individual serving plates.

In a large skillet, heat the olive and preferred nut or Tahitian Lime olive oil over high heat.  Add the mushroom and shallot and sauté until they begin to turn golden, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the Sherry vinegar, chives, parsley, and salt: season to taste with black pepper.

Spoon the mushrooms and pan juices over the salad leaves and serve immediately. 

Lavender and Blood Orange Shortbreads

The month of June started with me having a weekend home alone.  The boys were off to upstate New York to visit family and I stayed home and "held down the fort" as some would say.  I had a really hard time deciding if it was going to be a pure all me and know one else but me weekend or to have a gals weekend.  Well, I decided I wasn't ready for a pure all me and know one else weekend so a gals weekend it was.

The "gals" consisted of mom and I.  The theme was drinking, cooking, and baking but luckily we did the cooking and baking first and the drinking second.  I thought that would be a good idea considering we were trying recipes with my products to blog about and capture all our doings digitally. 

We tried 7 recipes that weekend.  This one came out perfectly but not so many pictures.  It seemed that if we took all kinds of pictures the recipes still needs work but if we only have two like for the shortbread's it turned out awesome on the first try.  Go Figure?

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons, 1/2 teaspoon Blood Orange-Olive Oil

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 teaspoons dried lavender flowers

zest of 1 blood orange(seasonal Nov to May) or regular orangeIn a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch and salt. In a separate bowl, beat butter until creamy. 

While continuing to mix, slowly pour olive oil into butter until fully incorporated.

Stir in sugar, vanilla extract, lavender, and zest to butter mixture. 

 

Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture, stirring together until just blended.

 

Form dough into a ball and divide in half. Roll each half into a 6'' log, wrap logs in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 325. Unwrap dough logs and cut each log into 1/3''-inch thick rounds. Place rounds about 1/2'' apart on baking sheets. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire sheets and allow to cool.

This dough can be very crumbly so I would suggest making sure the dough is really cold.

 

Store the cookies in an airtight container and the flavor of the Lavender and Blood Orange will meld together into a wonderful citrus and floral sensation!

This recipe was adapted from A Couple in the Kitchen

Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Verbena

I found this recipe for olive oil cake and  I was intrigued.  I love olive oil and have many options and flavors to choose from.  The first question that came to mind when reviewing the recipe was how am I going to get my hands on Lemon Verbena?  

I figured I really had only one local option so I added it to my list of  stops and headed out the door.  Thank you to Briar Patch Coop in Grass Valley CA, you never disappoint.  I had hoped to possibly get some leaves fresh or dry but as I walked up to the door and saw all the herb and vegi plants I stopped to see if I could get lucky.  Well, it was my lucky day and I am now the owner of a beautiful Lemon Verbena Plant.   

•  3/4 cup O Meyer Lemon Olive Oil 
•  1/4 cup Meyer Lemon Syrup
• 2 Tbls  butter
• juice of 1 1/2 large lemons (just under 1/4 cup juice)
• zest of 2 lemons
• 7 leaves lemon verbena, minced 
• 5 egg yolks
• heavy pinch of salt
• 4 egg whites
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour (the original recipe called for cake flour and to sift it but that was not a step I was going to take)

Combine the olive oil and the lemon juice and set aside in a liquid measure.

With the whip attachment, whip yolks, salt and 1/2 sugar until very light, thick and billowy.

Still whisking on medium speed, slowly stream in the oil/juice mixture.  Whisk in the zest and lemon verbena leaves.  I adjusted the amount of lemon verbena leaves from 15 to 7 because my version of this recipe uses the Meyer Lemon Olive Oil.

Whisk the whites with the other half of the sugar to medium peaks.

Fold the whites and the sifted flour together gently but thoroughly.  The batter should be very light and poufy.

Spoon into a greased 8″ cake pan and smooth the top a little.  Sprinkle with some sugar–white or demerara, whatever you have–bake at 350 degrees until light golden brown on top and well risen.  

Depending on your oven, this could take between 20-35 minutes.  Keep an eye on it, but don’t open the oven or your lovely cake won’t rise as high as it could.  

Serve warm or at room temperature.  I made this cake for dessert and felt it had to have more than just sugar sprinkled on the top.  So, staying with the lemon theme I drizzled it with this quick and easy syrup recipe.  

For the syrup; combine the Meyer Lemon Syrup and butter in a measuring cup and microwave for 30 seconds.  Whisk the syrup and drizzle over the top of each piece before serving and a hint of powdered sugar. 

The cake will hold a day or two at room temperature. 

This recipe doubles very easily, so if you want to make a larger cake, feel free to double up.  

This recipe was adapted from Online Pastry Chef

Vella Special Select Dry Jack

Photo depicts whole 8 lb. form of cheese.

Thought it would be a good idea to re post this blog since I mentioned this wonderful cheese in my blog about the Meyer Lemon Tapenade

Vella Cheese is an old timer in the world of making great American cheeses. Tom Vella began making cheese in 1931 in the Sonoma Valley of California. The company is now run by his son, Ig Vella, and is famous for its Jack cheeses. 

Jack cheese was created in the Gold Rush Days in Monterey, California by a Scotsman, named David Jacks. 

This Special Select Jack has all the same characteristics as Vella's regular Dry Jack, with its hard, pale yellow interior and sweet, nutty flavor. It is aged for a full year (as opposed to seven months) to develop an even harder texture and more intense flavor, making it similar to a Parmigiano Reggiano from Parma, Italy. 

This cheese goes well with fruit and wine and is excellent shaved over pasta.  Made from cultured cow's milk.  Suitable for vegetarians 

Vella Cheese company has received numerous awards such as:

Environmental Award for Solar Panels

Slow Foods Recognition

Lifetime Achievement Award from the esteemed

American Cheese Society in Portland, Or

History of Excellence Award 

Vella Special Select Dry Jack 8oz 

Visit Gourmet Goods To You Today 

MEYER LEMON TAPENADE

This may be the last of the O Olive Oil Tapenade Trio to introduce you to but certainly not the last time you will see me write about it.  I will be using this tapenade in new recipes to share all summer long.

 

 O love. O Meyer Lemon Olive Oil luxuriously soaking delicate chopped Picholine olives. Add a twist of zest and  O Citrus Champagne Vinegar and I'm sure you will add this to your lemony favorites. Citrus and savory with impeccable ingredients make this tapenade delicious. The essence of California and the South of France embrace in this beautiful dance of flavor. Party perfect for you and all your friends. 

• Party perfect with table crackers. Easy & fun.

• Sublime over goat cheese. Serve with crusty bread.

• Beautiful over angel hair pasta and freshly grated Vella Special Select Dry Jack.

• Delicious spread on grilled ahi

.

• Brush over grilled chicken & add cracked pepper.