Dipping Oil

I've launched a little food-related project in conjunction with the folks at Fooducopia, a site where small food producers sell their products. My part in this is that I'll be creating recipes specifically for products sold on the Fooducopia site. This is one of those recipes. 

In this case the product was Monte Olivares Olive Oil.

I use plenty of olive oil. It's my oil of choice for everything except high heat frying. But it's seldom the star of the dish.

This time, olive oil needed to be the star - it was the ingredient I got from Fooducopia to write about. I briefly considered salad dressing, since it's a major component. But in salad dressing, most of what you taste is the vinegar and then the spices. No, I needed a recipe where you could taste the olive oil - to savor it.

I considered an olive oil cake. I considered a few other things. Finally I hit on the perfect thing. Dipping oil. You knows those oils that you get at restaurants for dipping bread? They're a great alternative to butter - probably healthier. And they're easy to make.

I suggest that you make this at least a little bit in advance. You want the flavor of the shallot (or garlic, if that's what you use) to mellow a bit, and you want to give the herbs a little time to hydrate.

I've had dipping oils that are ALL oil with herbs added, but I think a small amount of vinegar cuts the richness of the oil nicely. I've also seen recipes that have so much vinegar that they're simply salad dressing in a bowl. That's a little too much. To me, the vinegar should be an accent. Just enough to tickle the end of the bread when you dip it in, but much more than that.

I used a shallot when I made this - I like the oniony-garlic flavor. But you could use garlic instead. And I completely lazed out with the herbs. I used an Italian herb mix that included marjoram, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and oregano. You could use any mix you have on hand, or combine individual spices to make your own mix.

Dipping Oil

1 small shallot (or very small garlic clove) minced
1 teaspoon Italian herb mix
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Pinch of salt*
1/4 cup olive oil
Bread, for dipping

Combine the shallot, herbs, and vinegar in a small container or your dipping bowl. Let it sit at least 15 minutes for the herbs to hydrate. Add the oil. Serve with slices or chunks of baguettes for dipping. You can make this a day or more in advance. The longer it sits, the more the onion or garlic will mellow.

You can make larger quantities of this well ahead of time. If you give it a good shake, it will emulsify briefly so you can portion it into dipping bowls. After it sits for a few minutes, it will separate into layers again.

*If you're using a commercial herb mix, read the label to see if salt is included. If it is, you probably won't want to add any more.


To be clear, I'm not reviewing or endorsing the products in this recipe. I've created the recipe for Fooducopia to post on its site and I'm re-posting the recipe here for my readers as well. Then again, since I created the recipe, rest assured that I liked it. I don't cook stuff that we're not going to eat.

Whole Foods Friday: Vanilla Bean Cheesecake (Tart)

Make cheesecake in a tart pan? Yes, you can!

I love my tart pans. I use them all the time for fruit pies. I like to be able to take the dessert out of the pan - it looks pretty and it's easier to serve, as well.

But there's another benefit to making a dessert in a tart pan instead of a pie pan or any taller pan. Serving size. When you serve a slice of pie or cake, you look at the size of the wedge to judge serving size. You'll probably serve close to the same size wedge, whether the dessert is an inch tall or is a triple layer cake. It makes portion control just a little bit easier.

So when I decided to make a cheesecake, I decided to make it in a tart pan. Why not?

The bourbon in the sour cream topping takes the place of vanilla. You could use vanilla instead, if you prefer.

For the crust, I made a shortbread cookie crust. Any shortbread or vanilla cookie would work well, whether it's store-bought or home made. If you like the cookie for eating, it will make a good crust.

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Tart

For the crust:
Shortbread cookies to make 1 cup of crumbs (4-5 ounces of cookies)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
For the filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or the seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean pod
1/4 cup cane sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup sour cream
For the topping:
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon bourbon
2 tablespoons sugar
For the whipped cream (optional):
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust:
Put the cookies on your food processor and pulse until you have small crumbs. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is incorporated and the mixture is like wet sand. Don't overprocess or you can turn it into a paste.

Press the cookie mixture into the bottom and part way up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan. You can go all the way up the sides, if you like, but you don't have to.

Place it on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, until it is lightly browned. Remove it from the oven an let it cool while you prepare the filling.

To make the filling:
In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each time until it is fully incorporated. Add the cornstarch, vanilla, vanilla bean paste, sugar, and salt. Mix on low speed until it is combined. Mix in the sour cream.

Pour the filling into the crust in the pan, and smooth and level the top. Bake on the baking sheet at 350 degrees until the filling is starting to set but is still jiggly in the center, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the topping:
Combine the sour cream, bourbon and sugar in a medium bowl.

Pour the topping evenly over the partially-cooked filling. Bake on the baking sheet for an additional 15 minutes. The filling should still be just a little jiggly in the center.

Remove from the oven, and let it cool on a rack to room temperature, then refrigerate until fully chilled - about four hours, or longer, if you prefer. The cheesecake can also be frozen, if you prefer.

If it was summer, I'd say this would be great with fresh berries. At this time of year, fruit preserves or fruit syrup would be nice, along with a small dollop of fresh whipped cream.

To make the whipped cream:
Combine the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer (or whisk by hand, if you prefer) until the cream is at soft peaks.

Whole Foods Friday: Bourbon and Maple Baked Beans

Baked beans - real baked beans - are nothing like the baked beans you can buy in cans. Not at all.

The great thing about making your own baked beans is that you can add special ingredients that make your baked beans unlike what anyone else makes. Or, you know, just borrow this recipe. Because it's pretty darned good. Besides the usual molasses and tomato product, these beans include maple and bourbon.

Baked beans are great at any large gathering, since they're economical to make in large quantities, they reheat well, they're pretty hard to overcook, so you you leave them on low in a crockpot for serving, and people will think you're a genius if you make your own.

There are some traditional beans used for baked beans, but truthfully you wan use whatever you like. The cooking time will change if you use larger beans, and the color could be different if you use dark beans. But you still have a lot of options. I used an heirloom variety of beans that were a mottled yellow and white that I bought in the bulk sections.

Bourbon and Maple Baked Beans

1 pound dried beans, uncooked
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound bacon, cut in small pieces
1 large onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup bourbon

Soak the beans overnight in a sufficient quantity of water to cover the beans several times their volume.

The next day, drain the beans and rinse. Put the beans in your slow cooker, add 1 teaspoon of salt, and enough water to cover the beans by a few inches. Cook on low until the beans are fully cooked - 8-12 hours, depending on the beans and your crockpot. Drain the beans, reserving a cup or two of the cooking liquid.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Put the cooked beans into a Dutch oven and add the bacon, onion, celery, ketchup, molasses, maple syrup, and bourbon. Add about a cup of the cooking liquid.

Cover the Dutch oven and put it in your preheated oven. Cook at 325 degrees until the vegetables and bacon are cooked and the beans have absorbed the flavors - about 2 1/2 hours. Add more of the bean cooking liquid or water, as needed, to keep the beans moist. You don't want the soupy, but they should stay moist.

Serve hot.