Oh my gosh… dinner last night turned out so amazing. Check out the main course:
Gah! Want more.
As I mentioned, The Olive Oil Press in Sonoma sent me four different kinds of their award-winning olive oils to try with a challenge: Create a 4-course meal using one of the olive oils in each course.
I was sent three extra virgin olive oils of increasing intensity (Arbequina, Mission, and Italian Blend, respectively), as well as their special Blood Orange Olive Oil! I had so much fun brainstorming ways to use all of it 🙂 Here’s the final result!
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(For the recipes, click on the name of the course!
I created a separately recipe page for each.)
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Menu
…
First Course:
featuring robust intensity Italian Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Second Course:
Mixed Green Salad with Pear, Feta, and Walnuts
with homemade balsamic vinaigrette
featuring delicate intensity Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Main Course:
served on a bed of White Beans and Sautéed Spinach
featuring medium intensity Mission Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Dessert:
with vanilla ice cream
featuring Blood Orange Olive Oil
Wine Pairing:
What a delicious dinner and fun challenge! Major thanks to the The Olive Oil Press for the opportunity! 🙂
And special thanks to my assistant (the homemade vinaigrette was all him!) and hot date 😉
Here are the recipes again with a few notes:
- Curried Carrot Soup (Super easy, healthy, and flavorful thanks to the curry seasoning and creamy coconut milk!)
- Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette (My new favorite dressing! SO much more flavor than the bottled kind)
- Seared Scallops served on a bed of White Beans and Sautéed Spinach (Scallops are a restaurant favorite of mine and these tasted JUST like a fancy restaurant!! I also had no idea how easy it was to sear scallops — literally 3 minutes flat and you are done!)
- Citrus Zest Cake (Whole wheat and amazing!! It’s not too sweet and almost tastes like biscotti or something — it would be delicious with tea or coffee!)
Check out the recipes and give one a try this weekend! 🙂
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Time to study!! Our second exam in Anatomy & Physiology is this afternoon. It’s also looking sunny out — I’m thinking my scheduled training run (4 miles since I only did 3 Tuesday) today will be outside!! Yay!
**Don’t forget that you have until tonight at 9 p.m. to enter my Aurorae yoga mat giveaway! I’ll be announcing the winner around then so come back to see if it’s you 🙂
