The Olive Cellar - Appleton WI

TOASTED BAGUETTE WITH RICOTTA CHEESE AND FRESH HERBS

Ingredients
¾ cup fresh ricotta cheese
1 ½ T chopped cilantro
1 ½ T chopped basil
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Maldon sea salt or other coarse finishing salt, available at The Olive Cellar
Baguette sliced into 1/4 inch slices
Garlic Olive Oil, for brushing the baguette slices
Chopped pistachios,

In a small bowl, mix the ricotta and herbs together just to combine. Place the herbed ricotta in a serving dish and finish with the olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. Serve with toasted baguette slices brushed with Garlic Olive Oil and top with chopped pistachios.
Enjoy.

Tuscan Herb Veggie Soup

INGREDIENTS:
3 Tablespoons The Olive Cellar's Tuscan Herb Infused Olive Oil
1 large onion
2 large green bell peppers
4 cloves of garlic
1 medium head of cauliflower
2 cups green beans (fresh)
2 14.5 oz canes of diced tomatoes
8 cups of your favorite vegetable broth
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 dried bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
A few teaspoons of The Olive Cellar's Neapolitan Herb Balsamic Vinegar (for drizzling on top of the soup)

DIRECTIONS
Wash and prep all your veggies, dice the onions and bell peppers into small pieces, mince the garlic, cut the cauliflower into 1” florets and finally trim the green beans and cut into 1” pieces.
In a large pot or dutch oven heat the Tuscan Herb Infused Olive Oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and bell pepper. Sauté for 7-10 minutes until the onions are translucent and browned.
Then, add in the minced garlic and stir, sautéing for about a minute until the garlic becomes fragrant.
Add the cauliflower, green beans and diced tomatoes to the mix, stirring to combine all the veggies. Next, add in the vegetable broth, Italian Seasoning, and bay leaves.
Bring the soup to a boil, mixing a few times along the way. Once the soup is boiling, cover and reduce the heat to low and cook for about 15 – 20 minutes until the veggies are soft.
Once all the veggies are soft, remove the bay leaves and add in salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a hearty crust bread and a drizzle of Neapolitan Herb Balsamic Vinegar on top.
SWITCH IT UP: Don't see your favorite veggies in the ingredient list? Simply add them in or substitute them for one that is listed. Can't leave with out some cheese in your day? Try adding some melty Parmesan.
Enjoy.

Apple Crisp
Cut out the real butter and substitute The Olive Cellar's Butter flavored olive oil in this beauty!

Ingredients:
4C Baking apples, such as Cortland or Honeycrisp, thinly sliced
1/2C Brown sugar, packed
2T Lemon juice
2T The Olive Cellar's Cinnamon Pear Balsamic Vinegar
1C All-purpose flour
3/4C Granulated sugar
1t Baking powder
1/2t Salt
1 Egg, slightly beaten
1/4C The Olive Cellar's Butter flavored Olive Oil
1/2t Cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, mix apples, brown sugar, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar together. Arrange in a shallow rectangular baking dish. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Add egg and mix until crumbly. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples in the baking dish. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for 35 minutes. Serve warm and Enjoy!
Serves 6-8

ITALIAN APPLE OLIVE OIL CAKE

INGREDIENTS
2 large Gala apples, peeled and chopped as finely as possible
Orange juice to soak apples in
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large eggs
⅔ cup gold raisins, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes and then drained well
Confectioner's sugar for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the chopped apples in a bowl and add orange juice; just enough juice to toss and coat apples so as to prevent browning.
In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside for now
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, add sugar and extra virgin olive oil. Mix on low for 2 minutes until well-combined
While mixer is on, add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to mix another 2 minutes until mixture increases in volume (it should be thicker but still runny)
In the large bowl with the dry ingredients, make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Add the wet mixture (the sugar and olive oil mixture) into the well. Using a wooden spoon, stir until just blended; it will be a thick batter (do not add anything to loosen it).
Drain raisins (which have been soaking in water) completely; and rid apples of excess juice. Add both raisins and apples to the batter and mix with spoon until well-combined. Again, batter will be fairly thick.
Line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper. Spoon thick batter into the pan, and level the top with the back of your wooden spoon.
Bake in 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until an inserted tooth pick or wooden skewer comes out clean.
Cool completely in pan. When ready, simply lift parchment up to transfer cake into a serving dish. Dust with confectioner's sugar.
Enjoy.

Hummus Crostini Appetizer

INGREDIENTS
12 slices baguette
1 (10 ounce) container garlic hummus use as needed
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley or to taste
Balsamic glaze to taste, available at The Olive Cellar
Salt & pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS
Note: For this recipe the measurements are merely guidelines, and you can easily make more or fewer than 12 pieces.
Slice the baguette and prep the other ingredients.
Spread the hummus onto each slice, then sprinkle with the parsley (add a fairly generous amount... more than you would just for a garnish, for example). Season with some salt & pepper, then drizzle with the balsamic glaze. Serve immediately.
NOTES
Technically, crostini is toasted. For this version, it is not, however. You can toast the baguette slices if you prefer. Brush them with oil and throw them on the grill or toast them in the oven (375F for 5-7 minutes) or even in a skillet.
Enjoy.

Balsamic Caprese Burgers with Artichoke Pesto

1 8.5 oz can artichokes, drained and minced finely
1 8.4 oz jar Delizia Basil Pesto, available at The Olive Cellar
1 1/2 lb ground chuck
3 tbsp The Olive Cellar's Basil Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 thick slices of fresh mozzarella
4 large hamburger buns
lettuce leaves
sliced tomatoes
2 tbsp The Olive Cellar's 18-year-old Traditional Balsamic Vinegar

Add the artichoke and pesto to a small bowl and stir until well blended, set aside.
Add the ground beef, 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic to a large bowl and mix together.
Form the meat into 4 patties. Use your thumb to make a gentle indentation in the center of each one.
Prepare your grill to high heat.
Transfer the hamburgers to the hot grill.
Cover and grill for about 5 minutes, then flip and grill for another 3 minutes.
Top each patty with 2 slices of mozzarella cheese. Continue to grill for about 2 minutes.
Remove the burgers from the grill and loosely tent with foil.
Brush the insides of the hamburger buns with the remaining olive oil and grill, oil side down for a moment or two.
To assemble the burgers, spread the artichoke pesto on both sides of the hamburger bun.
Layer on the hamburger, then lettuce and tomato.
Drizzle the tomato with the balsamic vinegar then top with the bun lid. Enjoy.

Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Caramelized Apples
Pork Chops with Apples is a simple dinner recipe perfect for any time of year! The apples are caramelized in butter with brown sugar, cinnamon, and honey. The pork chops are pan-seared to a beautiful golden-brown crust and are tender, juicy, and moist.

Ingredients
1 green apple Granny Smith
1 red apple Gala
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons honey
Pork Chops
1.5 lb pork loin chops boneless (4 pork chops)
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil
fresh thyme

Prepare the pork chops
Pat dry pork chops with paper towels.
Brush pork chops with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Allow the pork chops to rest while you prepare the apples as follows below. This brings pork chops closer to room temperature which will help them sear better.

Cook apples
I used 2 apples (1 red Gala apple and 1 green Granny Smith apple, for presentation purposes). Core the apples and slice each one length-wise.
Place sliced apples into a large bowl, add brown sugar, cinnamon, and mix. Let apples sit for about 10 minutes to release juices.
In a large pan (I used a large stainless steel skillet), heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil on high heat. Add sliced apples (without juice at the bottom of the pan) and cook on high heat for about 3 minutes on one side, checking periodically. After 3 or 5 minutes, flip sliced apples to the other side, reduce heat to medium and cook the apples for another 3 or 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Cook the apples in a single layer, without overcrowding to get a slightly "roasted" appearance. That means you might have to cook apples in 2 batches. Use the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter for the second batch.
Depending on how hot your stove gets, it might take you less or more time to cook apples, the key is to brown them or even get a slightly “burned” effect. But don’t overdo it, remove the cooked apples from the skillet once the apples have this “roasted” appearance.
Right after you remove the pan with roasted sliced apples from the heat, immediately add honey to the hot skillet – it will make apples sizzle and will caramelize them beautifully, off the heat.

Cook pork chops
For best searing results, use a cast-iron skillet. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes to heat it through.
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil - the oil should shimmer. Add the pork chops, and cook them on one side for 5 minutes, without moving.
Reduce the heat to medium, flip the pork chops over to the other side, and cook them on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Cook longer (depending on the thickness of your pork chops) until the pork chops are cooked through.

Assembly
Spoon the cooked apples, together with the sauce from cooking the apples, over the pork chops. Top with fresh thyme.
Serves4, enjoy.

Broccoli Cashew Salad with Apples and Pears

Ingredients
Salad:
5 cups broccoli florets chopped into small bites
1 apple cored and diced
1 pear (firm, not soft), cored and diced
¼ cup red onion diced
1 cup cashews toasted or roasted
1 cup dried cranberries

Creamy Salad Dressing:
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream or kefir or Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup honey softened or warmed up
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions
In a large bowl, combine together chopped broccoli, diced apple, diced pear, diced red onion, cashews (toasted or roasted) and dried cranberries.
In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, sour cream (or kefir or Greek yogurt), lemon juice, honey, and salt. Note that honey should be soft and runny, warm it up if needed, so that it mixes easily. Whisk the ingredients until well combined and smooth. Add salt if needed.
Add the dressing to the broccoli salad and stir everything together.
Notes
Pears. Choose pears that are firmer in texture and to the touch. Otherwise, they might get mushy in this salad. I used firm pears without any soft spots or visible bruising on the skin. The same applies to apples.Enjoy.

DARK CHOCOLATE POPCORN DRIZZLE

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup un-popped popcorn kernels
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 tbsp The Olive Cellar's Dark Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large pot on medium-high heat
Pour in the popcorn kernels and cover with a lid, leaving a tiny bit of space to allow it to vent.
Remove popcorn from heat and pour into large bowl.
Drizzle the Dark Chocolate balsamic over popcorn and toss to mix!
Enjoy.