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In this issue:
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The New Oils
Tasting Notes
Skillet Jam
Back in Stock
Recipes of the Week
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Pianogrillo
Food and Wine Magazine chose it as one of the best holiday presents you can give and we at ChefShop.com love this oil every year.
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Olio Nuovo Harvest
Nothing welcomes the New Year like Olio Nuovo. Break open a bottle of new oil before the Champagne with Wild Hibiscus Flowers, and enjoy a savory treat that can only happen once a year. A fresh pasta drenched in December's Oil with a small amount of salt from Trapani and you feel like you are already part way to your New Year's Resolution of eating better!
This is the perfect time to look forward to the New Year. Even knowing that with so many elements that are out of our control, we can still have a positive effect on our own stomach.
One element that we do control is what we eat. Selecting good over evil, moderation versus gluttony, and simple over French (kidding) is how we can keep grounded for the whole year. Start it right, with a talkative, alive, personality-driven New Oil. It's clean, fresh, fruity (sometimes), peppery (some), flavor makes for a good conversation with yourself and with others. And, on the morning of January 1st, 2011, your bottle of December's New Oil will still be with you by your side, and unlike those empties that are littered about, that now smell like a used and unappealing alcoholic, you realize your bottle of oil is still slim and chic, with a cork that can still be used over and over.
It's time to look for those things that last, or help you last. Good food, good for you, and makes you healthy, wealthy and wise.
(note: Consume new oils quickly to avoid a bitter life!)
Shop now for a Healthy New Year
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 Tasting Notes
Last Saturday we asked our store customers to give us their impressions of the new oil. All the oils were lined up on the "tasting-bar," and many tried them all ... while some only went for their favorites. Here are their comments ... and ours too.
Olio Verde
"...very grassy, think of fruit, green, like munching on green leaves." Olio Verde is one of those oils that can really grow on you over time.
Laudemio "...refined grassy notes, mild fruit and grass notes, mild start with a pepper finish, hints of fruit, smooth and finishes with pepper." The clearest oil with no residue visible, this oil has a touch of bitterness to it.
Pianogrillo
"...perfect, a bite, not too much, my favorite oil every year." This is an interesting oil. Always full of flavor, with a nice peppery finish. It is our go-to oil year round, and the Olio Nuovo is always great. Last year's milder flavor has been replaced with the full mouth flavor. Almost buttery, dissolving into a hint of olive, and then a pepper finish in the back of the throat. This is always an oil to have.
Colline di Santa Cruz - This oil just arrived! These olives lived through freezing temperatures around Thanksgiving and, in turn, produced a really rich green oil. Not only does the taste of olives running down the side of your tongue, it fills your mouth with the classic grassy taste and finishes, with a good pepper feel in the throat. Highly recommended. Limited amount available.
Katz December's New Oil
"...smooth, with a perfect after bite, assertive, green/bitter and not pepper, very grassy, a nice match to many foods." As you know, December's New Oil is always one of my favorites. With a less pronounced "early" olive flavor, but with a more sophisticated mature olive feel. Almost a little salty on the edges of your tongue with no harsh ripe olive taste that sometimes comes with new oils. Taken in small sips, it is intoxicating and you want to have more. Limited amount available.
Tiburtini Novello
"...my personal favorite, nice strong olive & fruit with only a hint of grass." This oil has a dedicated following. In a clear bottle so you can see the just pressed "freshness"" Clean, smooth, fresh olive, we love the fact that this oil is so reliable!
Capezzana
"...very grassy, some green grass, smooth finish." A good "nose", this dark green oil finishes smooth with a hint of pepper. Not like any prior year, and not "familiar" or classic Capezzana.
Shop now for Olio Nuovo!
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Skillet Bacon Jam!
One of the runaway surprises of the Holiday Season. Who would have thunk that something called Bacon Jam would be featured on the Today Show. We love it. Drop it on a sandwich or, like Skillet does, on a burger, it's one of those transforming condiments that takes the plain and makes it insane!
On almost any day of the week you can order'up from the Skillet Airstream Trailer some great lunch food including a burger topped with
Bacon Jam,
or order your own from ChefShop.com and have it standing by for a wintery day.
Shop now for Skillet Bacon Jam
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Colline di Santa Cruz
We first met Chris in January of 2002. Eliza, my daughter, and I were headed home from Monterey, California when we stopped in Santa Cruz to pick up our order of olive oil. Chris Banthien, the founder of Colline di Santa Cruz, had agreed to give us a tour of her olive groves.
Somewhere near the Santa Cruz High School, the road began to weave, dip and twist amongst the trees of the Santa Cruz foothills. Houses were neatly tucked away, peaking out here and there, along with the sun. Above, driveways left and right, seemed to lead to nowhere. Suddenly, we rounded a corner and broke out of the forest, and spied her olive groves to our right, terraced rows of silvery fruit trees. It was a sunny surprise to finally be able to see farther than the next corner.
A quick hairpin turn to the right and we stopped at a steel gate. The gate opened and we drove slowly up the winding driveway towards a quintessential farmhouse.
On our left, rows and rows of purple flowers that gently sloped down to the neighboring property. On our right, rows and rows of shimmering olive trees. We pulled to a stop in front of a modern barn just to the left of the farmhouse. Moments later, Chris Banthien came out to greet us and extended a hand in a warm handshake. With smiles all around, we introduced ourselves. It was our first face-to-face encounter with the olive groves of Santa Cruz and the person who created what is now one of our all time favorite olive oils.
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