The Versatility of Olive Oil

I'm going to admit my olive oil ignorance. Not including all the flavored varieties out there, I really thought there was one type of olive oil- Extra Virgin, or EVOO.

A couple weeks ago I was sent three different varieties of Crisco olive oil- EVOO, Pure Olive Oil and Light Olive Oil. Because things have been busy these past few weeks I haven't had a chance to try new recipes, but I have been using these oils exclusively to see if I notice a difference.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

EVOO is the olive oil everyone knows. I use it for everything from simple salad dressings (mixed with lemon juice or balsamic vinegar) to marinades and bread dip. It has a more robust flavor than the other oils- which is why it isn't a good choice for baking.

Pure Olive Oil

Previously I used EVOO for stove-top cooking. I switched to the Pure Olive Oil for this when I don't want such a bold taste- like on morning eggs. The pure oil did seem to resist browning as much or burning quite as easily as EVOO. I also liked it for tossing pasta before refrigerating as the olive oil taste wasn't overwhelming.

Light Olive Oil

Light olive oil is your everyday cooking oil. It can be used for everything from baking and frying to simple prevention of sticking. I really never thought I would use an olive oil to bake, so I tested it on a item that is relatively flavorless: a plain white cake. I was pleasantly surprised that I couldn't detect a bit of "olive taste" in the cake.

My Take

As a fan of the benefits of heart healthy oils, I was really pleased to try these items. In my kitchen the EVOO and light olive oils would be used most often; the pure is less necessary as, depending on what I am making, the EVOO and light could fill the purpose.

The Crisco website has some delicious recipes featuring the trio of olive oil. I want to try the Florentine Pizza with Seasoned Oil and the Caprese Pesto Margherita Stackers.

How do you use olive oil? If you have an original recipe share it with Crisco for a change to win a trip for 2 to Italy! (Entry and rules can be found here.)

Disclosure: I am a member of Foodbuzz who sent the Crisco Olive Oil to me to try. While a review of the product is appreciated, it is not mandatory. All thoughts are my own.

Brownie Cheesecake Like Disney Makes

Not quite a year ago I was invited on a culinary journey at Walt Disney World . When I left the home of the magical mouse I had a new appreciation for theme park dining- and a few new cookbooks.

I made this brownie cheesecake as part of a "thank you" dinner for my brother and brother-in-law. We were stranded in St. Louis during the Blizzaster earlier this month and they cleared our driveway of snow and ice- by hand- so we wouldn't have to do it at midnight when we got home.

Since brownies and cheesecake are two desserts that regularly show up at family dinners the combination of the two was divine! This recipe is attributed to Disney's Boardwalk Bakery and was taken from the book Delicious Disney Desserts.

The addition of the cornstarch makes the cheesecake a bit more "firm" than a traditional cheesecake, and I substituted plain fat free yogurt for the heavy cream.

The recipe says it serves 12, but those are mighty big pieces! This is a perfect recipe for making "bite size" desserts- great for gatherings and parties.

Brownies
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
5 eggs
2 sticks of butter, melted
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2" baking pan. Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Beat flour mixture and eggs on low speed using an electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally and mixing until smooth. Slowly add melted butter and beat until just combined: do not over mix. Fold in chocolate chips.

Transfer batter to prepared baking dish. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Cheesecake
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 8-ounce boxes of cream cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons sour cream

Preheat oven to 325°. Cream sugar, cornstarch, and cream cheese in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Add lemon juice and vanilla extract, mixing thoroughly. Add eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl with each addition. Fold in heavy cream and sour cream. Spread batter on top of already baked brownies. Bake until cheesecake is lightly browned and firm, about 55 - 60 minutes. Cool completely and refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Freschetta - Almost Like Homemade

I'm a mom.
And a freelance writer.
And a taxi driver... a cook... a housekeeper... a laundress... a dance mom... a gymnastics mom... a volunteer with my church...

The list can go on and on (and many days it never seems to end). We all know that moms are busy. And being busy there are nights when the menu I have planned goes right out the window and I pull a pizza from the freezer.

Though I tend to be a frugal shopper, I have always subscribed to the notion that "you get what you pay for" and my pizza choices have reflected that; I usually purchased Freschetta or that other brand that's "not delivery".

While at the Blissdom conference I had a chance to meet with Freschetta, learn more about the company and ask some questions.

Made by a Name I Know

Growing up in the Midwest, Schwan's was synonymous with home food delivery. Every two weeks the big cream colored freezer truck would rumble down the gravel road and up to our farmhouse. I remember my mom buying ice cream in a 2 gallon metal container. Today my girls recognize the truck, too, as "Shawn from Schwan's" arrives at our home every other Wednesday.

Knowing that Freschetta was made by the Schwan's company gave me a little burst of Midwest pride; learning more about how they make the pizzas made me feel good about buying them.

Like You Would Make - If You Had The Time

Beginning with the crust- made without leaveners and allowed to rise- of sweet spring wheat, ripe tomatoes and natural cheeses, Freschetta strives to create a homemade pizza experience with the ease of a frozen pizza. Toppings are fresh and crisp- not soggy- and are plentiful.

I had the chance to try the Brick Oven Spinach and Mushroom pizza and am surprised to say I really liked it- which is HUGE because I am not a veggies-on-my-pizza kind of girl. (OK, that's putting it mildly- I am a meat-and-cheese-only kind of girl.)

My daughter loves Hawaiian Pizza. Pineapples are her favorite topping ever. I've never been impressed with the pineapples on frozen pizzas; they are either so tiny you barely notice them or are so soggy you wish you hadn't noticed them. Not so with the Freschetta Canadian Style Bacon and Pineapple. The chunks of pineapple are flash frozen so the cells don't break down and they are perfect after baking- almost like you cored and sliced the pineapple yourself.

Want to Try Freschetta?

The Freschetta folks gave me a few coupons for free pizza (any variety) to share with my readers. Just share your favorite Freschetta pizza in the comments! Be sure to leave an email so I can contact you. Eight (8) readers will receive a coupon. (contest ends February 18; I will draw winners 2/19/11)

Haven't tried Freschetta yet? My suggestions:
Naturally rising crust: Canadian Style Bacon & Pineapple
Brick oven crust: Spinach and Mushroom
California style crust: Mediterranean Garden Veggie (the sauce is divine!)
PizzAmore: Zesty Meat Medley
Flatbread: Roasted Garlic and Spinach (you can never have too much garlic!)

Another way to win: Enter the Fresch from the Silver Screen contest for a chance to win a Hollywood beauty bag and Freschetta pizza for a year!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

Last year at BlissDom (the most fabulous blog conference evah!) I was lucky enough to sit with my friend Andi when she won George Duran's cookbook Take this Dish and Twist It. Since Andi doesn't cook- and she knew I did- she graciously gave me the cookbook.

This chocolate chip cookie cake, which George credits to his mom, is one of my favorite recipes. And since I'm at BlissDom again (as this publishes) I thought it would be the perfect time to share this yummy dessert!

Ingredients

Nonstick baking spray with flour added

¼ c butter (½ stick) softened

2 T granulated sugar

2/3 c chopped pecans

2 T mini chocolate chips (or mint chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch, white chocolate...)

2 ¼ c all-purpose flower

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 c butter (2 sticks), softened

½ c granulated sugar

½ c packed brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

¾ c buttermilk

1/3 cup Irish cream liqueur (yummy!))

1 3/4 c mini chocolate pieces (for chocolate topping- optional)



Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 12-cup fluted tube (bundt) pan with the nonstick baking spray.
For the topping, in a small bowl combine the ¼ cup butter and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar until creamy. Stir in the nuts and 2 tablespoons chocolate chips. Spoon into the bottom of the prepared pan; place pan in refrigerator while you make the cake batter.

For the cake, in a bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixing bowl beat the 1cup butter with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the ½ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla; beat for 1 minute. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Combine the buttermilk and Irish cream. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the 1¾ cups chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake about 50 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Immediately invert the cake onto a cooling rack and let cool completely, If desired, drizzle with Chocolate Topping (recipe below).

CHOCOLATE TOPPING: In a small saucepan combine 1c mini chocolate chips and 2 tsp shortening over low heat. Stir until melted.


NOTE: For best results, have all ingredients at room temperature.

Fish & Hush Puppy Skillet

The minute I saw this recipe in the latest issue of Cuisine magazine I knew I would be making it. I love that it utilizes one of my favorite cooking tools: a cast iron skillet!

This is a very easy recipe to put together and is a bit lighter than traditional fish and hush puppies since it's not deep fried. The recipe calls for catfish, but I personally prefer cod, so will be making it with that fish in the future. This recipe will definitely be making a return trip to our table!

Ingredients

2 c self rising cornmeal mix (I used Jiffy corn muffin mix)

1/4 c scallions

1 red jalapeño, seeded & minced

2 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp table salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

3/4 c lager beer

1/2 c buttermilk

1 egg

1/4 c canola oil

2 catfish fillets (8 oz each) cut into 2" pieces

1/2 c fish fry mix (note: get one that is cornmeal based and used for dredging rather than batter frying)

1/2 c ketchup

1/3 c mayonaise

1 T dill pickle relish

1/2 tsp prepared horseradish

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Mix cornmeal mix, scallions, jalapeño, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk beer, buttermilk and egg together; stir into cornmeal mixture and set aside.

Heat oil in 10 inch cast iron skillet until it shimmers.

Dredge fish in fish-fry mix, then fry in hot oil, on only one side, for 2 minutes.

Pour hush puppy batter over fish in skillet. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean- about 15 minutes. Remove and let rest 5 minutes. Loosen edges with a knife then top skillet with serving plate and flip both plate and skillet- carefully as skillet is still hot!

Whisk together ketchup, mayonnaise, relish and horseradish in a bowl for sauce.

Serve with coleslaw (of course).

Irish Cream Cheesecake

This Irish Cream Cheesecake has become one of my most requested desserts for family gatherings. It is so unbelievably creamy... The mixture of the cream cheese and the Irish Cream is so amazingly smooth...

I adapted this recipe from one found at cooks.com.

Ingredients

Crust

1 c graham cracker crumbs

6 T melted butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix crumbs and butter together and press into 9" springform pan. (if crumbs are too dry add a bit more melted butter) Bake about 20 minutes and cool on wire rack.

If you prefer a chocolate crust use chocolate wafers or chocolate grahams.

Filling

4 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, room temperature
4 eggs, at room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. Irish Cream

Blend cheese and sugar together until smooth. Mix in 1 egg and Irish Cream. Add remaining eggs, one at a time. Pour into cooled crust.

Bake at 325°F for 45 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or up to 2 days. Top with whipped cream and chocolate curls.

Tip: To keep cheesecake from cracking use a waterbath:

Cheddar Ale Soup

Because my family lives so close together we gather annually for Christmas. The kids open gifts from their cousins and grandparents and we adults plan a meal that usually centers around soups for the main dish.

This year I found a recipe in the Williams Sonoma catalog that I had to try. They were doing an "English Christmas" theme and the Cheddar Ale Soup sounded like just the thing to follow an afternoon of sledding.

The soup was smooth and rich and pairs wonderfully with fresh baked Irish Brown Bread.

Ingredients

4 thick cut bacon slices, cut into 3 " strips

2 Tbs. unsalted butter (If you omit the bacon, use 4T butter)
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced

3 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 c pale ale
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

2 c milk

2 c chicken broth
1 1/4 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

In a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium high heat, approx. 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels; discard all but 2 T of bacon fat.

Reduce heat to medium add and melt the butter. Add the onion, celery and carrots and cook, covered, until soft- about 20 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minute.

Stir in the flour and cook for 3 or 4 minutes.

Add ale, stir constantly 3-4 minutes.

Add Worcestershire, milk and broth; bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium low; simmer 10-12 , minutes.

Puree with an immersion blender.

Set pot over medium low heat. Add cheese by handfuls, stirring constantly; do not boil. Season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with crumbled bacon. Serves 4 to 6.