Christmas Recipes with Olive Oil

It is that time of year! Now is the time where we all gather with family and friends to enjoy the holiday season.

Here are some ideas that might help with your menu plan:

Tucson Roasted Potato 

Ingredients

• 2 pounds new red potatoes, unpeeled and cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus 2 tablespoons to brush the pan
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut potatoes and put into a large enough bowl to mix. Add oil, wine, garlic, salt, pepper, sage and rosemary. Toss all ingredients to coat potatoes.
3. Pour onto a sheet pan and place in oven. Potatoes should be close but not touching to get proper browning. a typical 9 X 12 sheet pan is perfect.
4. Roast for 25 minutes and remove from oven. Using a spatula, turn potatoes and return to oven.
5. Cook for an additional 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are crispy. Cooking time will vary depending on accuracy of oven and size of potatoes. For our photo, we cut them on the larger size and it took an additional 15 minutes to get the right degree of browning. The trick is to get the potato tender before the liquid evaporates and then brown until done without burning the herbs. The final 10-15 minutes are crucial to the perfect potato.
6. Remove from oven and adjust seasoning by adding more salt if needed and serve.

Prime Rib and Oven Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients 

• 15 dried bay leaves, crumbled, plus whole leaves for garnish
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh sage leaves, plus whole leaves for garnish
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt
• 1/3 cup finely grated orange zest, (from 3 oranges)
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 (about 7 pounds) three-rib prime rib of beef, trimmed and frenched
• 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and halved lengthwise

Instructions 

1. Stir together bay leaves, sage, oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and the orange zest in a small bowl. Season with pepper. Rub herb mixture all over the roast. Refrigerate roast, covered, overnight.

2. Put potatoes into a large pot of water. Bring to a boil; add salt. Cook 5 minutes. Drain. Score lines lengthwise in potatoes using the tines of a fork.

3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Transfer roast, fat side up, to a metal roasting pan; let stand until it comes to room temperature, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Roast 15 minutes. Add potatoes; roast 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Roast, turning potatoes after 30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into meat (away from bone) registers 115 degrees for rare, about 1 hour. Let stand 20 minutes (temperature should rise to 125 degrees), and slice. Garnish with bay leaves and sage.

Cook's Notes

Rub the roast with the herb mixture the day before you cook it; the roast needs to be refrigerated overnight.

Olive Oil-Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients

• 2 head cauliflower
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 2 clove garlic
• salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss cauliflower, oil, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat once more.
2. Transfer cauliflower to a large baking sheet and roast until golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes, tossing halfway through.

Olive Oil Orange Cake

Ingredients: 

• 2 Small Seedless Oranges
• 1/3 Cup Olive Oil (Not Extra Virgin!)
• 2 Cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• Dash of Salt
• 4 Large Eggs
• 1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar

To Garnish:

Powdered Sugar

directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and lightly grease a 9 inch spring-form pan.
2. Cut off a small slice of the thicker top and bottom parts of each orange, discard these pieces, and then cut the rest of the oranges (flesh and peel) into chunks.
3. Place them in a food processor and puree until blended but with some texture left.
4. Add the oil to the oranges and pulse until blended.
5. Mix together the flour, baking powder and soda and salt in a large bowl.
6. In a separate bowl beat the eggs until they are light and fluffy and then slowly add in the sugar.
7. Begin to add the egg mixture in three parts alternating with the orange mixture just stirring until combined. (Be careful not to over mix which will deflate the eggs and create a dense cake.)
8. Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or just until a cake tester comes out clean.
9. Cool before slicing.