Special Event

Get a preview of Chef Debbi’s upcoming NEW book!

A Little Book of Cheese

Cooking Demo at Temecula Olive Oil Co. Seal Beach

Thur. Jan 31, 6:30 – 8:30, approximately

Small Cheese Tasting
Smoked Gouda and Red Pepper Grilled Cheese Sandwich Bites
Fried Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives
Italian Stuffed Shells with Broccoli and Pine Nuts
Brie Puff Pastry Pockets

Taking reservations for all classes & Events

$45.00

By Reservation Only
(562) 296-5421
Temecula Olive Oil Co.
148 Main Street
Seal Beach, CA 90740

Fontina & Tomato Tart

7 / 6 / 17

Add a baby green salad tossed lightly with olive oil & vinegar for a nice summer lunch or light dinner.

Fontina & Tomato Tart

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator, keep cold until ready to use
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 ounces grated fontina cheese
3 large tomatoes, cut into 1/4" thick slices
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or use with a non-stick tart pan.

Unfold one sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it lightly to an 11-by-11-inch square or roll to the size of your tart pan adding ½” for the sides. I using the tart pan, fold up the pastry carefully and lay into the pan, unfold the pastry draping it over the sides of the pan. If using just the sheet pan, lay the pastry in the middle of the piece of parchment on the pan. Prick (called 'docking') the pastry with a fork leaving a 1/2" edge clear.

Spread a thin amount of mustard on the pricked part of the dough.

Sprinkle an even amount of the cheese on the mustard and top with slices of tomato. Fold a couple of inches of the dough over the filling, leaving a large part of the middle open, disregard if using the part pan. If the pastry is warm, chill for 15 minutes.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Garnish with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Puff Pastry Tart

4 / 11 / 17

This recipe is great as a side dish, an appetizer or a light lunch with a salad. It’s easy to make, most of it can be done ahead of time and assembled just before baking. Be sure to use a quality puff pastry dough such as Dufour’s which is made with 100% butter and no preservatives. It’s a little more expensive but if you want real puff pastry, this is it. Be sure to keep the dough refrigerated and if it warms up a little while you are rolling it out, pop it back in the refrigerator until cold. It won’t puff correctly unless the dough is as cold as possible into a hot oven. Be creative and add some chopped (blanched) asparagus to this, it’s a perfect spring time recipe. Enjoy!

Leek and Goat Cheese Puff Pastry Tart

1 cup baby leeks, sliced thin
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1 box (14 ounces) frozen puff pastry, such as Dufour, thawed
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup Nicoise olives, pitted
6 ounces goat cheese, room temperature

Rinse leeks well, and drain; set aside.

Melt butter with oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add leeks and sprinkle with salt; cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, cook until translucent and soft, add thyme. Leeks can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 day; bring to room temperature before assembling tart.

Cut or roll out pastry to a 6-by-14-inch rectangle; place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (reserve remaining pastry for another use). Score a 3/4-inch border. Brush with egg wash; sprinkle with Parmesan. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°. Bake pastry until light brown; remove from oven, and press center area with spatula. Using an offset spatula or a spoon, smear the pastry with the cheese within the border, add leeks and olives, and bake until crust is golden brown, about 10 minutes. If bottom is soft, bake 3 to 5 minutes more.

Remove tart from oven place tart onto a wire rack; let cool slightly. Cut into pieces; serve warm or at room temperature (tart can stand at room temperature up to 1 hour).

Olive Magazine Photo

Temecula Olive Oil Tasting Room, Seal Beach Feb. Cooking Demo

2 / 2 / 161 / 22 / 17

Temecula Olive Oil Tasting Room

Seal Beach

Thur. Feb. 4th Sold Out!! Repeat class available Thur. Feb 18th, don’t miss out!

6:30 – 8:30, approximately

Also presenting this Valentine Day menu in the

Temecula Olive Oil, Temecula Tasting Room in Old Town

Sat. Feb. 13th, 12-2 Still some spots available

See below for reservations

Panzanella Salad with Ca. Avocado

A classic Italian salad with Toasted Bread Cubes

Creamy Ca. Avocado & Blood Orange Olive Oil Vinaigrette

Individual Puff Pastry Filet Mignon Tarts

with Caramelized Onion-Mushroom & Blue Cheese Sauce

Grilled Asparagus with Lemon Gremolata

Spring asparagus with a Garlic-Lemon Dust

Strawberry Brownie Bites

For Seal Beach Reservations please call:

562-296-5421

For Temecula Reservations please call:
951-693-0607

Quick Puff Pastry

12 / 31 / 15

Use this delicious puff pastry to make these quick and easy

Smoky Ham & Gruyere Cheese Empanadas.

I learned this recipe from Nick Malgieri, it takes about 15 minutes to make once you learn the technique. Keep it in your freezer for easy access to sweet and savory dishes.

1 1/4 stick of cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup ice water
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup flour*

Cut 1 stick of butter into ½ - to ¼ “ dices, place on a plate and refrigerate.

Measure the water and stir in the salt to dissolve. Set aside.

Coarsely dice the remaining ¼ stick of butter. Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the ¼ stick of butter and pulse until the butter is absorbed—about ten to twelve 1-second pulses.

Add the chilled butter and pulse once or twice to distribute. Add water and salt mixture and pulse repeatedly, until the dough forms a rough ball—do not over process. (I have found with this method the dough doesn’t form much of a ball, do not add extra water, just continue with the recipe and it will come together easily).

Invert the mixture onto a floured work surface or rolpat. Remove the blade and press the dough into a rough rectangle.

Flour the dough and press (don’t roll) it with a rolling pin to flatten. Move the dough, making sure there is still flour under it to prevent it from sticking, and give the dough a 90° turn. Press again.

Again making sure that the surface and the dough are adequately floured, roll the dough until it forms a rectangle about 15 x 24”.

Fold the top long edge over the middle section, and then fold the bottom edge over that to make 3 equal layers. Roll the dough up like a jelly roll from one of the short edges. Use the palm of your hand to flatter the dough into a rectangular shape, about 6 x 10” and about 1” thick.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using or the dough can be stored in the refrigerator up to 2 or 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.

*4 - 1/4 ounces if using King Arthur Flour, which I prefer, or use the scoop & sweep method.

New Year Empanadas

12 / 31 / 1512 / 31 / 15

Another quick and easy appetizer from the pantry, the refrigerated pantry that is. Make ahead, freeze and cook as many as you like. I made these pastries using a 3″ cutter and fold them over to look like half moons. You can make them round, square, make them larger or smaller, whatever your needs might be.

Try and get puff pastry that is made with real butter for a better flavor and defrost it in the refrigerator. The trick to working with puff pastry is to keep it as cold as possible, if it becomes sticky, put it back in the refrigerator until it firms up. If you don’t have time to freeze the pastries before baking, let them rest and chill up in the refrigerator while your oven is preheating.

(If you’d like to try your hand at making Quick Puff Pastry at home try this recipe~it’s easy! Just start the day before)

Quick Puff Pastry Recipe

Make extra, these are tasty treats that will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Happy New Year!

Smoked Ham and Gruyere Cheese Empanadas

1 box puff pastry, defrosted or homemade
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, approximately
¾ cup Manchego or gruyere cheese, grated
¾ cup Serrano or Black Forest ham, chopped
1 egg whisked with a little water

Preheat oven to 400°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Roll out dough* and using a round cutter, cut shapes in 3" rounds.

Spread with a small amount of mustard and sprinkle half the dough with ham and cheese leaving a 1/4" border around the edge of the dough. Brush the edge of the dough with water, fold over and crimp edges with a fork. It's best to freeze the empanadas and cook from a frozen state. Freeze individually on a baking sheet and then store in a freezer tight bag. If you don’t have time to freeze then bake, refrigerate them until they are very cold, about 1 hr.

Brush the egg/water mixture over top of the dough and bake for 15 min or until crust is lightly browned. If baking from a frozen state it may take 25 minutes to baking.

*Keep puff pastry as cold as possible, if dough begins to stick return to the refrigerator until cold and then continue with recipe.

Mushroom and Gruyere Puff Pastries

12 / 14 / 14

Mushroom and Gruyere Puff Triangles

A wonderful easy appetizer to make ahead and freeze individually, pull out cook as many as you need.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups finely chopped Cremini mushrooms
1 onion, chopped finely
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs, crushed
Sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoon flour
½ cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons dry white wine
1/3 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed (12x12 inches)
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water, whisked together

Serves: 32

Preheat your oven to 400°.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Heat a medium sauté pan over medium high heat, add butter and olive oil, and add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the mushrooms, herbs, sea salt and pepper and cook until the mushrooms are lightly browned and no liquid remains in the pan.

Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, add the wine and cream.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the Gruyere cheese. Chill.

Place a rolling mat on your counter, or a large piece of parchment paper. Add a little flour and lightly roll out the puff pasty, cut into 16 pieces using a pizza cutter or knife.

You should keep the puff pastry as cold as possible, if it starts to stick or becomes doughy, return it to the refrigerator for about 10 min. Keep the second piece of puff pastry in the refrigerator while you work on the first one.

Scoop about 1 t tablespoon of the cold mushroom mixture into the center of the dough (do not overfill or they will leak). Fold the over in a triangle and, using a fork, press the edges together to seal them.

Place the mini turnovers onto your prepared baking sheet, at least 1 inch apart. Place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes and prepare the second batch. Refrigerate the second batch for 20 minutes for best results.

Brush the sealed edges and tops of the turnovers with the egg mixture.

Bake each tray for about 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

Adapted from Jo-Anna, A Pretty Life in the Suburbs, courtesy of Kendall Jackson