Olive Hut Blog

Olive Hut Blog

Friday, March 6, 2009

Muffaletta Olive Spread Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup black olives, pitted and drained
1/2 cup green olives, salad-type
1 stalk celery
2 tablespoons capers
1 red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, approx
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

Chop the olives through garlic in the food processor. Add olive oil until mixture just begins to loosen up. Transfer to a bowl and stir in herbs and pepper. Store in the fridge

NOTE: This spread is wonderful on a New Orleans style muffaletta sandwich but is also great on crostini, crackers and flour tortillas or pita bread points.


Olive Boy says -

The Olive Hut Blog is going to a new monthly format. Be certain to check periodically throughout the month for specials, however!

If you have suggestions for features you would like to see implemented into the Olive Hut Blog, please leave a Comment. Or, you may send your suggestions directly to Olive Boy!

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

Chicken with Olives - Moroccan Tajine Recipe



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Friday, February 6, 2009

Green Olive Dip Recipe


Ingredients:
1 package (8 oz. size) cream cheese
1 jar green olives
1/2 pint whipping cream
1 tablespoon salad dressing
Garlic salt

Directions:
Whip cream and set aside. Beat cream cheese, then add whipped cream and salad dressing. Fold in olives and sprinkle garlic salt to taste. Serve with crackers.



Olive Boy says -

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

Olive Tapenade Recipe



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Friday, January 30, 2009

Greek Feta and Olive Spread Recipe

Ingredients:
6 ounces Feta cheese
1 1/2 tablespoon Olive oil
1 teaspoon Lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Garlic, minced
2 ounces Sun-dried tomatoes (rehydrated in warm water for 20 minutes)
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1 tablespoon Black olives, minced
Pita bread

Directions:
Place the feta, oil, lemon juice, garlic, tomatoes and oregano in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is smooth. Place in a bowl and blend in the olives by hand. Serve with toasted pita triangles.


Olive Boy says -

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

Made in Spain - Olive Tapa



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Friday, January 23, 2009

Feta Cheese-Olive Spread Recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 package (8 oz. size) cream cheese
3 tablespoons milk (or butter or olive oil)
1/3 cup black olives, chopped
1/3 cup green olives, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in bowl. Can be made into ball and rolled in parsley. Or, to use as a spread (softer), make it in the food processor:

Start with both cheeses and mix well: add enough milk to make a spreading consistency. After you have the consistency you want, add garlic and blend. Add olives (any variety you like) and parsley and pulse a few times.

Turn into pretty bowl and serve with crackers or carrots, celery, peppers, etc


Olive Boy says -

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

Low Carb Crepe (with Mushrooms, Cheese & Olives) Recipe



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Friday, January 16, 2009

Creamy Olive Spread Recipe

Ingredients:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup pimiento stuffed olives, chopped (reserve liquid)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons reserved olive liquid
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 dash Tabasco
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with electric beater until fluffy. Add mayonnaise and beat until creamy. Add olives, nuts, olive liquid, cayenne, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce and blend well. Cover and chill for 24 hours before serving. Serve with assorted crackers or party rye slices.



Olive Boy says -

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

Olive Caper Halibut



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Friday, January 9, 2009

Chopped Olive Spread Recipe

Ingredients:
12 ounces pimiento-stuffed green olives, halved if large
8 ounces pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup drained capers
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
4 oil-packed anchovy fillets, chopped (optional)
2 cloves garlic, smashed with the blade of a knife and finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process with short pulses until evenly chopped. Do not overprocess - some texture should remain. Add­ just the seasoning and serve.


Olive Boy says -

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

Olive Oil Tasting in McLaren Vale



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Friday, January 2, 2009

Cheese Olive Dip Recipe

Ingredients
1 bunch green onions, roughly chopped
1 can black pitted olives, drained
2 cups sharp shredded cheddar
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon yellow curry powder (more if desired)
1 pinch saffron (optional)

Directions:
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and process until everything is minced well. About 5-10 short pulses. Do not over-chop, it should not be puréed. Let the dip sit for at least an hour in the refrigerator to let the flavors come together.

California Olive Trees






Olive Boy says -

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

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Friday, December 26, 2008

Black Olive Yogurt Cheese with Flatbread Recipe


Ingredients
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted, cut into slivers
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Assorted flatbreads and/or crackers

Directions
Wet large square of cheesecloth and wring dry. Line sieve with damp cloth; place sieve over bowl. Spoon yogurt into sieve, fold cheesecloth ends over yogurt, and chill overnight to drain. Scrape drained yogurt into medium bowl. Mix in olives and lemon juice. Do ahead: Can be made 1 hour ahead. Cover; chill. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. Place on platter with flatbreads and/or crackers.
Makes 1 cup

Olive Boy says -

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

"get Smart" - One of Our Olives Is Missing



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Friday, December 19, 2008

Cheese-Olive Dip Recipe


Ingredients
1 package (8-oz. size) cream cheese
12 green olives -- chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
salt
pepper

Directions
Mix all ingredients. Salt & pepper to taste. Chill.
Note: Serve with Fritos chips.
Makes 1.5 cups.

Olive Boy Says -

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

Olives - Picking and Making Oil



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Friday, December 12, 2008

Black-Olive Yogurt Cheese With Flatbread Recipe


Ingredients
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted, cut into slivers
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Assorted flatbreads and/or crackers

Directions
Wet large square of cheesecloth and wring dry. Line sieve with damp cloth; place sieve over bowl. Spoon yogurt into sieve, fold cheesecloth ends over yogurt, and chill overnight to drain. Scrape drained yogurt into medium bowl. Mix in olives and lemon juice. Do ahead: Can be made 1 hour ahead. Cover; chill. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. Place on platter with flatbreads and/or crackers.
Makes 1 cup.



Olive Boy Says -

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

Liver, French Fries, and Olives



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Friday, December 5, 2008

Black Olive Dip Recipe


Ingredients
2 cups grated Longhorn cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 cup diced black olives
6 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon parsley leaves
1 teaspoon curry powder

Directions
In a medium mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together. Cover and chill well. Store, covered, in refrigerator. Makes 3 cups.


Olive Boy Says -
Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

Olive farmers talk about how they like to eat olives



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Friday, November 28, 2008

Bean Olive Dip Recipe

Ingredients
2 cans (7-oz size) chili with beans
6 ounces cream cheese, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup sliced ripe olives
4 tablespoons canned diced green chiles
Sliced green scallions, washed thoroughly

Directions
In crockpot, combine chili, cream cheese, olives and chiles. Cover and heat on low until cream cheese melts, about 1 hour. Stir very gently to mix ingredients. Sprinkle with scallions. Serve with blue or white tortilla chips.


Olive Boy Says -
Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

"Good Eats" - Cooking with Olives



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Friday, November 21, 2008

Avocado Olive Dip Recipe


Ingredients
3 avocados, peeled, seeded, and mashed
1 can black olives, drained and sliced
1 can (4-oz. size) chili or Jalapeño peppers (medium to hot)
7 small green onions, chopped
3 large tomatoes, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
6 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

Directions
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Refrigerate at least 2 hours for flavors to blend.

Excellent served with corn chips.

Olive Boy Says -

With harvest ended for green olives, state-wide production is well below normal. Sevillano production was at a very low level, due to April 20 freeze of 26° F, a long with 6 weeks of north wind over 100° F. Now is the time to order your black olives! Finding black olives has been difficult, but Olive Boy is on the search!

On the farm, we are discing the ground in preparation for rigging next to the trees. Last year, we planted 7,000 new trees, provided by Vito Delandas at Visalia, CA. We tied them to their stakes and pruned the bottom growth to promote growth to the upper part of the trees.

This year’s production was on 150 acres of actual olive trees. We produce 500 tons of olives—200 tons to fresh marketing and 300 tons to the cannery for Black Ripe olives or Pizza Olives or naturals at Bell-Carter Foods.

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

Beautiful Olives from Ngai Tuhoe



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Friday, November 14, 2008

Anchovy Olive Dip Recipe


Anchovy Olive Dip Recipe

Ingredients
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup finely chopped stuffed green olives
1 1/2 tablespoon anchovy paste
1/2 teaspoon grated onion

Directions
Combine all ingredients; mix well.
Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving.
This recipe makes 1.5 cups

Olive Boy Says -

With harvest ended for green olives, state-wide production is well below normal. Sevillano production was at a very low level, due to April 20 freeze of 26° F, a long with 6 weeks of north wind over 100° F. Now is the time to order your black olives! Finding black olives has been difficult, but Olive Boy is on the search!

On the farm, we are discing the ground in preparation for rigging next to the trees. Last year, we planted 7,000 new trees, provided by Vito Delandas at Visalia, CA. We tied them to their stakes and pruned the bottom growth to promote growth to the upper part of the trees.

This year’s production was on 150 acres of actual olive trees. We produce 500 tons of olives—200 tons to fresh marketing and 300 tons to the cannery for Black Ripe olives or Pizza Olives or naturals at Bell-Carter Foods.

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

Seggiano - Olive Picking



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Friday, November 7, 2008

The Harvest


Olive Boy says:

With harvest ended for green olives, state-wide production is well below normal. Sevillano production was at a very low level, due to April 20 freeze of 26° F, a long with 6 weeks of north wind over 100° F. Now is the time to order your black olives! Finding black olives has been difficult, but Olive Boy is on the search!

On the farm, we are discing the ground in preparation for rigging next to the trees. Last year, we planted 7,000 new trees, provided by Vito Delandas at Visalia, CA. We tied them to their stakes and pruned the bottom growth to promote growth to the upper part of the trees.

This year’s production was on 150 acres of actual olive trees. We produce 500 tons of olives—200 tons to fresh marketing and 300 tons to the cannery for Black Ripe olives or Pizza Olives or naturals at Bell-Carter Foods.

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

Growing California Olives Is a Family Business



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Friday, October 31, 2008

Lye Curing Green Olives

Olive Boy says -

Always lye-cure green olives. If air bubbles through the lye solution, those green olives turn black; the California black olive is born. Pick and clean the olives. Immerse the olives in a lye solution (2 tablespoons flake lye in 1 quart water) for 12 hours. Dispose of lye solution, immerse olives in new lye solution for 12 more hours. Cut into some of the largest olives to see if the lye penetrated the olive (olive will be soft to the pit, easy to cut to the pit, and the flesh will be yellowish green when ready). Soak olives in water for 3 days, changing the water at least 3-4 times/day. Taste an olive on the fourth day. It should taste sweet and fatty, with no bitterness, a little like a tiny avocado. Immerse for 1 week in a light brine, about 6 Tbs salt in gallon of water.

***Lye is caustic! Remember to wear rubber gloves. Use lemon juice or vinegar to neutralize lye burns.***

You can also make marinades for your cured olives! Good flavors/herbs to use in various combinations are: garlic, bay leaf, oregano, thyme, dried chiles, fennel seed, peppercorns, coriander seed, orange peel, lemon peel, lemon slices, cumin seed.

Thanks! - Olive Boy

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton


Olive Oil Tasting in McLaren Vale



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Friday, October 24, 2008

Brine Curing

Olive Boy Says:

Brine-cured red-ripe or black-ripe olives are Greek-style; brine-cured green olives are Sicilian style. The red-ripe olives generally turn a grey green to pink, while the black-ripe ones keep their color, becoming a Kalamata-deep purple. Deeply slit each olive using a sharp paring knife, then place them into a brine (1/4 cup canning salt in 1 quart water). Weigh down the olives, making sure they are fully immersed. Cover the olives, stir once in awhile, wait one week. Rinse, and change the olive brine once/week for at least 3 weeks. Taste, if still too bitter, keep changing brine 1/week. The scum that forms on top of the vat is harmless if olives are immersed, but get rid of it when you see it.

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

Picking Olives on the Croatian Adriatic



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Friday, October 17, 2008

Pasta with Black Olive Sauce: Stringozzi Alle Olive


Olive Boy says, "Try this recipe featuring olives!"

Pasta with Black Olive Sauce: Stringozzi Alle Olive

Ingredients
1 recipe basic pasta dough, recipe follows
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 pound white mushrooms, cut into thick slices
2 cups pitted black olives
1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped to yield 1/4 cup
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Parmigiano-Reggiano, for grating

Directions
Prepare the pasta dough according to the recipe and roll it out to the fourth from last thickness on a pasta rolling machine. Cut into 1/4-inch thick ribbons and set aside.

In a 12 to 14-inch skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat until smoking. Add the garlic and mushrooms and saute over high heat until the mushrooms are browned. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the sauteed mushrooms and garlic, the olives and the parsley and puree. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.

In the same sauté pan, heat the butter over high heat until it foams and subsides. Add the olive puree and chile flakes and cook 5 minutes. Season to taste.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water 1 or 2 minutes. Drain and toss in the saute pan with the sauce. Divide evenly among 4 warmed pasta bowls, grate Parmigiano-Reggiano over, and serve immediately.

Basic Pasta Dough
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
4 extra large eggs
1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Mound 3 1/2 cups of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and the olive oil. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and oil and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well.

As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up from the base of the mound to retain the well shape. The dough will come together when half of the flour is incorporated.

Start kneading the dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands. Once you have a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up and discard any leftover bits. Lightly reflour the board and continue kneading for six more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Roll or shape as desired.

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

Eating Green Olives



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Friday, October 10, 2008

Olive Boy Says -


Harvest has been steady as we go! With lighter than normal harvest tonnage, labor has been plentiful. Pickers has great attitudes about harvest, because the olives are abundant in the orchards that have olives. 2008 brought the April 20th freeze—24 - 27 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on your location. Then May saw temperatures of 100+ degrees, with north wind, for a month. The culmination of harvest is about two weeks away.

Thanks sincerely! - Olive Boy

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton

The Pimento

The Pimento, Pimiento, or Cherry Pepper is a variety of large, red, heart-shaped chili pepper (Capsicum annuum) that measures 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 inches) long and 5 to 7 cm (2 to 3 inches) wide (medium, elongate). The flesh of the pimento is sweet, succulent and more aromatic than that of the red bell pepper. Some varieties of the pimento type are hot, including the Floral Gem and Santa Fe Grande varieties. Pimento or pimentão are Portuguese words for "bell pepper," while pimenta refers both to chili peppers and to black peppercorns. It is typically used fresh, or pickled and jarred.

Pimento as an olive stuffing

Green Spanish olives stuffed with pimento visibleThese sweet pimento peppers are also the familiar red stuffing found in prepared Spanish green Olives. The pimento was originally cut into small pieces and hand stuffed into fresh green olives to complement the strong flavor of the olive. For ease of production pimento is often pureed and formed with the help of a natural gum (such as sodium alginate or guar gum) into strips. This allows the olive stuffing to be completed by a machine and increases the availability of the olives by lowering their cost of production. However, it also makes the olives less accessible to consumers with peanut allergies, as those individuals may have a cross-reaction to guar.

Rachael Ray Makes Her Mom's Olive Spread



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Friday, October 3, 2008

Olive Boy Says -


The Olive tree is an evergreen tree or shrub native to the Mediterranean, Asia and parts of Africa. It is short and squat, and rarely exceeds 8–15 meters in height. The silvery green leaves are oblong in shape, measuring 4–10 cm long and 1–3 cm wide. The trunk is typically gnarled and twisted.

The small white flowers, with four-cleft calyx and corolla, two stamens and bifid stigma, are borne generally on the last year's wood, in racemes springing from the axils of the leaves.

The fruit is a small drupe 1–2.5 cm long, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than in orchard cultivars. Olives are harvested at the green stage or left to ripen to a rich purple colour (black olive). Canned black olives may contain chemicals that turn them black artificially.

Olive harvest began August 25th for fresh olives. The large (Bell-Carter, Musco) canneries opened on September 8th. Harvest found us with plentiful help—fewer olives than pickers. But we shall survive! Warm summer temperatures sized the fruit and ripened it to perfection. Thanks! - Olive Boy

Shop The Olive Hut! The Olive Hut features an excellent assortment of olives, olive oils, olive products, nuts, fresh produce, and specialty items.

Be certain to check out our Free Recipes!

- Scott Patton


Olive Picking



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