From South to North, the Mobile Kitchen!

Thanks for all of the excitement from last week; the accolades are still rolling in!The We Olive Tasting & Dinner Event in the Huntington Beach Standards of Excellence showroom was very exciting. I am grateful to the whole SOE team led by Scott Emerick. You all were so ready, willing and able and thanks to you, it was a blast for your guests. So what was so fun, you may ask?

We Olive was in the house! What a discovery. We Olive is the premier retailer of California extra virgin olive oil in the U.S., with several retail outlets throughout California. Their mission includes educating consumers about California's extra virgin olive oil and creating a place where together with the growers, chefs and customers they can share their passion for olive oil. Owners Phil and Debby Brooks brought this exemplary experience to our gorgeous showroom with a full tasting event. My mission was to cook with these products using top notch Thermador appliances! (Thanks, Kevin!) Look at the gorgeous oils set up for sampling…


While guests sipped and sampled, Arlyn and I were rocking out Flat bread Pizzas and Parmesan Crisps in the Thermador Convection Ovens. We made Assorted Flatbread Pizzas with Calvirgin Olive Oil, Heirloom Tomato Salad with We Olive Tuscan and Balsamic Reduction, Summer Squash and Tagliatelle with We Olive Lemon Oil and Ricotta Salata, Oven Poached Chicken with Sage and Lemon and a special dessert…
I love cooking on top notch appliances! Here are two tips from this event for rocking your convection oven:
Great Tip 1: Par Cooking Pizza Doughs. Roll out raw dough very thinly onto an oiled piece of parchment paper. Slide dough and paper together onto the very bottom of a pre-heated 400°F convection oven ( this only works if the bottom elements are hidden!) . It will smoke a little and paper will crisp, use your ventilation. After about 3-4 minutes, carefully check bottom of dough. Crisp and brown? You did it! Remove from oven, discard paper, brush with We Olive Oil and top with toppings such as goat cheese and ripe sliced figs, or fresh tomato and mozzarella. Return to the convection oven, on a rack this time, with a sheet pan placed on the rack below the pizza to catch any drips. 4-5 minutes gets you to “Crisp, brown and gorgeous”. Remove and top with arugula and sliced basil and drizzle with We Olive Balsamic cooked down to a syrup. (Balsamic reduction) Salt and pepper, oh, yes!

Great Tip Two: Parmesan Crisps. Buy a pack of soft lavosh flat bread (Trader Joe's has great lavosh). Cut into long triangles, place on parchment lined sheet pans, brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Top with a generous dusting of Parmesan cheese. Bake at 400°F convection for about 7-10 minutes. Sensational toppers for salads and more!

Without convection, you will just not be able to get the same crisp, even, brown results and will have to keep turning and shifting the pans in the oven.

Now check this out! Phil and Debby suggested a great idea, which I played with for dessert. Vanilla Ice Cream with We Olive Pasolivo Citrus Olive Oil, Balsamic Drizzle and Apricot Sea Salt! I added seasonal nectarines and blackberries into an ice cream cone and WOW! Guests loved it! 

JOIN US! Come to spectacular Sonoma this Saturday from 12-4 for the Sonoma Wine Country Weekend! Our partner, Viking is bringing their magnificent Viking Mobile Kitchen for a spectacular chef battle, cooking demos and incredible wine and food tastings at the Mac Murray Ranch located at 9015 Westside Road in Healdsburg, CA.
Standards of Excellence is there from 11-4 doing a luscious sampling, appliance advising and interviewing chefs and vintners from the Standards of Excellence/Viking interview tent! Who is coming? See you there!