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Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake

 

Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake

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  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup olive oil*
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin (or 2 cups freshly roasted sugar pumpkin)
  • Powdered sugar
  • 1 package cream cheese, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a medium-sized bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cloves.

Combine sugar and oil in a large bowl with a rubber spatula until blended.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add flour mixture to egg mixture alternately with pumpkin in three batches, beating

well after each addition.

Transfer to a greased Bundt cake pan.

Bake 60-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool for approximately 10-15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack.

Remove pan carefully from cake and cool completely.

Easy Cream Cheese Frosting

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, and beat at low speed until sugar is incorporated.

Increase speed to medium high and beat until frosting is light and whipped, about 3 to 4 minutes. Use to top cookies, cupcakes, or cakes

I like to use an orange flavored olive oil for this cake.

Oct. Cooking Demo

Join us in Seal Beach

Thursday,

Oct. 11th & 18th

6:30 – 8:30, approximately

Fall Harvest Celebration Menu

Gazpacho Shooters

Fall Salad with Oranges and Pomegranate Arils

Santa Maria Style Tri Tip

Ranchero Beans

            With Tortillas

Mini Tangerine Olive Oil Cakes

$45.00
For reservations call
Temecula Olive Oil, 148 Main St. Seal Beach
(562) 296-5421
Sponsored by

 

Photo: Food and Wine Magazine

Sept. Cooking Demo

 

Join us in Seal Beach

Thursday,

Sept. 13th & 27th,

6:30 – 8:30, approximately

Italian Summer Chopped Salad

Quick Skillet Chicken Dinner

with Mushrooms, Zucchini, Cherry Tomatoes

Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce

Apple Spiced Coffee Cake

$45.00
For reservations call
Temecula Olive Oil, 148 Main St. Seal Beach
(562) 296-5421
Sponsored by

August Cooking Demo

 

Join us in Seal Beach

Thursday,

August 2nd & 16th,

6:30 – 8:30, approximately

Watermelon Radish Tartine

with  Boursin Spread

Baby Arugula Salad with Beets, Walnuts & Blue Cheese

with Apple Vinaigrette

Poached Sea Bass with Olives, Baby Potatoes,

Green Beans & Sauce Vierge (a sauce made with olive oil, tomatoes and fresh herbs)

Pina Colada Parfait

$45.00
For reservations call
Temecula Olive Oil, 148 Main St. Seal Beach
(562) 296-5421
Sponsored by

 

Photo: recipesbnb

July Cooking Demo

Join us in Seal Beach

Thursday,

July 12th & 19th,

6:30 – 8:30, approximately

Caprese Skewers with Fresh

Sprouts & Edible Flower Salad 

Couscous with Sautéed Green Beans and Almonds

Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Stone Fruit Salsa

Peach Crisp

$45.00
For reservations call
Temecula Olive Oil, 148 Main St. Seal Beach
(562) 296-5421
Sponsored by

May Cooking Class

Join us on

Thur.  May 10th & 17th

6:30 – 8:30, approximately

French Onion Soup

Bistro Salad

Beef Bourguignon

Mini Pixie Tangerine Eclairs with Chocolate Sauce

$45.00

For reservations call

Temecula Olive Oil, 148 Main St. Seal Beach

(562) 296-5421

Sponsored by

Photo by Applebees

Fall Harvest Farm, Food & Wine Tour

Fall Harvest Tour for Oct 26 – 28, 2018

Now Taking Reservations

Stay

Cambria Pines Lodge, Cambria, Ca

Hot Buffet Breakfast Included

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Events

Friday Evening

Dinner and Culinary Demo with Chef Debbi and the Debettes

Saturday Farm, Food & Wine Tour

Climb aboard with The Wine Wrangler 

We’ll travel to the Westside of Paso Robles to Halter Ranch Vineyard & Winery

Experience a private  Cave Tour with a Barrel Tasting from 3 Cave Barrels

Private Tasting of Halter Ranch’s available vintages  in the new Tasting Room overlooking their fabulous vineyards

 Vineyard Picnic Lunch on Halter Ranch’s Patio Deck overlooking the vineyards

Created for you by Chef Debbi & her Debette team

After lunch climb aboard with The Wine Wrangler to travel to

Stepladder Ranch in San Simeon

We’ll visit with their Lamancha goats and taste a variety of cheeses made from their goat milk. This farm is accessible only by invitation and is hidden in the hills above San Simeon and the Pacific Ocean

Our last stop for the day will be a visit (and tasting) at The Hearst Ranch Tasting Room in San Simeon. Step out on the porch for an exquisite view of San Simeon Beach and Harbor

Return to Cambria for late afternoon & evening private time

 

Sunday Events

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The Groves on 41 Olive Oil Farm Tour & Tasting

Picnic Lunch

Don’t Miss The Cambria Scarecrow Contest the month of Oct!

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Limited Availability, First Come-First Served

Price is Per Person based on Double Occupancy for all rooms

Sponsored by

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Fall 2018 Tour



Preferred Method of payment, save Paypal fees by paying by check!

To pay by check:

Please send an email to Debbi @ [email protected]m for instructions

One Skillet Dinner

 

One Skillet Kielbasa, Potatoes, Veg & Sauerkraut

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This is a quick and easy one pot dish that you can make stove top or in your Instant Pot. For variety change the vegetables with the seasons if you like.

Serves 6 – 8

  • 4 small red potatoes, cut into slices or chunks
  • Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 1 ½ cup chicken stock
  • 2 medium carrots, cut into slices or diced
  • ½ medium sized leek, sliced in half and then into half moons
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
  • 1 kielbasa, cut into ½" pieces
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 1 8 oz. bag Boars Head sauerkraut, drained, you can use a different brand, but I think Boers head is the best I can find
  • 1 tablespoon Italian parsley, minced

Heat a deep sauté pan over medium heat and barely coat the bottom of the pan with a little olive oil or butter. Add the potatoes and stir for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper, cover the potatoes with chicken stock, reserving the rest of the stock. Cook the potatoes until almost done and the stock has reduced to almost nothing in the pan. Add a little more oil to the pan and add the carrots, cook for 1 minute before adding the leek, red pepper and kielbasa. Season again with a little sea salt and fresh pepper. Add the wine and reserved chicken stock, cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables have cooked but still have a little crunch. Add the sauerkraut and cook until heated, stirring once or twice. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Skillet Lasagna

 

After making this for a demo in a skillet because I have no oven available, I will never make lasagna in the traditional manner. An easy weeknight recipe for dinner and leftovers it’s ready in about 30 minutes with little prep. Feel free to doctor it up with herbs, spices, sausage, chopped peppers or whatever floats your boat. Be mindful of the addition of extra ingredients, you may need to adjust the amount of sauce that you use. I wouldn’t add more than a half cup of other chopped vegetables without adding another half cup of sauce. The size of the pan also matters, if you use a larger than 9″ or 10″ pan you may need more ricotta to cover the top of the lasagna but you shouldn’t need to adjust other ingredients. As I say in cooking class, try the recipe as written before you make any changes, then adapt it to your taste. Have fun in the kitchen!

Skillet Lasagna

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Great recipe to cook ‘From Your Pantry’ as you should have most of these ingredients as staples in your kitchen. Add a nice loaf of warmed Italian bread with olive oil on the side, a green salad and your set to go.

  • 1 pound lean ground beef, turkey or chicken
  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed
  • Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
  • ½ medium brown onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 8 ounces sliced mushroom
  • ½ pound dry pasta, egg noodles, rotini, rotelle, farfalle or other shape
  • 1 favorite jar pasta sauce
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup dry red wine
  • ½ cup ricotta cheese
  • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
  • 8 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
  • Basil leaves for garnish, optional

In an approximately 9" sauté pan*, preferably non-stick, with lid, brown ground beef adding a little salt, pepper and Italian seasoning as it cooks. Drain and set aside.

Add a little olive oil, if needed, to lightly coat the bottom of the pan, add the onion and sauté until lightly translucent, add garlic and stir, cook briefly, then add mushrooms and continue to cook until mushrooms are lightly browned.

Add ground beef back to the pan and add the pasta, pasta sauce, water and wine, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low boil, cover and cook about 10 minutes or until pasta is cooked. Taste and season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning to taste.

Spoon ricotta into mounds on top of the lasagna mixture, sprinkle grated cheese over the top, cover, reduce heat to low and cook until the cheese is melted.

Add parmesan cheese and basil leaves, if using.

*If you're confused about sauté pan vs. skillet, a sauté pan has straight sides and some depth to the pan whereas a skillet has flared sides and won't hold the volume that this recipe calls for.

 

Alpine Strawberries

You’ll never have enough Alpine Strawberries, also called fraises des bois, to make a pie but they are so delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or with a creamy panna cotta. I love them with my cereal in the morning fresh from the garden. Best grown in containers, in my opinion, they are small plants that will do well in partial shade or full sun. Mostly without runners I grow from transplants instead of seeds. I just never had any luck starting the tiny seeds. Alpine strawberries are related to wood (wild) strawberries and can be red or white with delicate white flowers. I think the red taste like perfume and the white are reminiscent of pineapple.

They like well-drained soil, rich in organic matter so that they drain well.  I amend my soil every fall and feed regularly with an organic fertilizer. Be careful not to cover the crown of the plant and keep the leaves off the soil. You can plant these much closer together than a bigger strawberry as the plants are small and grow slowly. Here in So. California my alpine strawberries start fruiting in Jan and finish up late fall. They do stop producing in summer if it gets too hot and sometimes I’ll move the pots to partial shade where they get morning sun. Other than protecting the delicate fruit from the birds, alpine strawberries are easy to grow and are pretty little plants in pots near my front door.

French Yogurt Cake

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I love this bright lemony cake so much I adapted it slightly from Dorie Greenspan by adding these super sweet little strawberries, Alpine strawberries.

  • 1 1/2   cup all-purpose flour
  • 2         teaspoons baking powder
  •            Pinch of salt
  • 1         cup sugar
  • 1         lemon, grated and zest
  • 1/2      cup plain yogurt
  • 3         eggs
  • 1/4      teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2      cup citrus olive oil
  • 1         cup Alpine strawberries, whole or halved

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter an 8 1/2-x-41/2-inch loaf pan and place the pan on a baking sheet.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Put the sugar and zest in a medium bowl and, with your fingertips, rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar is moist and aromatic.

Add the yogurt, eggs and vanilla and whisking vigorously until the mixture is very well blended.

Still whisking, add the dry ingredients, then switch to a large rubber spatula and fold in the oil and then the strawberries. You'll have a thick, smooth batter with a slight sheen. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the cake begins to come away from the sides of the pan; it should be golden brown and a thin knife inserted into the center will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then run a blunt knife between the cake and the sides of the pan. Unmold, and cool to room temperature right side up on the rack.

Glaze (optional)

½ cup lemon marmalade mixed with 1 teaspoon water

To Make the Glaze:

Put the marmalade in a small saucepan or in a microwave-safe bowl, stir in the teaspoon of the water and heat until the jelly is hot and liquefied. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the cake with the glaze.

Chicken and Barley Soup

 

Chicken & Barley Soup

Print
  • Poached Chicken
  • 1 qt. chicken stock
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 1 carrot
  • ½ small onion
  • 2 medium chicken breasts, bone-in, skin on
  • Sea salt and ground pepper
  • Soup
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 2 carrots, peeled
  • ½ small onion
  • Olive oil
  • Sea salt and ground pepper
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 2 medium chicken breasts, bone-in, skin on
  • 1 cup cooked barley*
  • 1 small can diced tomatoes
  • ½ cup frozen peas
  • ½ cup snow peas, cut diagonally into bite sized pieces
  • 1 cup baby spinach
  • zest of 1 lemon plus 1 Tb. or more of juice

Poach chicken or purchase 2 cups cooked chicken.

To poach the chicken, bring chicken stock to a boil, turn heat down so the stock is just barely simmering. Roughly chop the celery, carrot and onion and add to the stock along with the chicken, season with a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper, and simmer for 20 min. to ½ hour or until chicken is cooked through but not dry. Remove the skin from the chicken and pull the meat from the bone, discard skin and bone. Shred or chop the chicken into pieces and strain the stock through cheesecloth and reserve.

For the soup:

Cut celery, carrots and onion into bite sized pieces. Heat a Dutch oven or lg. saucepan over medium high heat, add just enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan, add the vegetables and sprinkle with sea salt and fresh ground pepper and sauté until lightly translucent and soft. Add enough chicken stock to the reserved stock to measure 6 – 8 cups and add to the vegetables. Add remaining ingredients except the lemon juice and simmer until the spinach is barely wilted, adjust seasonings and serve with a little squeeze of lemon juice.

*See How to Cook Barley, Debskitchen.com

Salisbury Steak

 

 

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

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Here’s a great recipe for a weeknight dinner, easier than stopping at the store or fast food for dinner. Make sure to stock your pantry ahead of time.

  • Salisbury Steak
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (or 1/3 cup ordinary breadcrumbs)
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Large pinch of sea salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ onion, finely chopped
  • 1 package mushrooms, sliced or 5 oz.
  • Gravy
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • Sea salt and pepper

Be sure to form the patties into ¾” thick ‘burgers’ and cook according to directions. This will ensure that your Salisbury Steaks come out perfectly cooked and not overdone. The recipe is really as easy as cooking one of those frozen dinners and tastes so much better! Serve with mac and cheese, mashed or roasted potatoes.

Mix the Salisbury steak ingredients with your hands or a wooden spoon, form into 4 thick patties (about ¾” thick) and set aside.

In a deep sided skillet, heat oil and when hot add onion and sauté until translucent. Add the mushrooms into the pan and cook, stirring until lightly browned. Transfer into a bowl.

Add a splash of oil, if needed to the pan and add the meat patties, cook the first side for 1 minute or until browned, then flip and brown the other side (they will still be raw inside).

Take the skillet off the stove and transfer meat patties onto a plate. Turn the heat down to medium low.

Return skillet to the stove and add butter. Once melted, add flour and cook for 30 seconds. Whisk in remaining Gravy ingredients until smooth. Increase heat to medium then transfer the reserved onions and mushrooms into the gravy. Stir, then add the patties into the gravy along with the juices on the plate. Cook for 7 minutes, or until gravy is thickened and patties are just cooked through, stirring occasionally around the steaks. If the gravy thickens too quickly, add more water.

Remove steaks onto a plate. Adjust the seasoning, if needed, with salt and pepper.

Adapted from Recipe Tin Eats

Photo: Recipe Tin Eats

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