Happy Wednesday to you! Guess where I was last night? You will never guess…. I was invited to a special “invited guests only” tasting at Liquid Gold Tasting Bar downtown. How cool is that? Well beyond the cool part, How tasty is that? The combination of atmosphere paired with amazing products and delicious food made the 2 hour tasting a true joy.

I wanted to share a little bit about Liquid Gold and then get into some of the pics and food tasting from last night.

“Olio Fresco”.  It’s Italian for fresh oil.

Pure, fresh, extra virgin olive oils are now in Charlottetown. Here to be sampled, savored, bottled and combined with spectacular balsamic vinegars in an awesome array of combinations. Smooth, buttery, zesty, earthy, rich, deep, moody and delicious.

The oils are pure, single fruits called cultivars, or are cultivars that have been deliciously flavored. In spring/summer, our oils come from the southern hemisphere where the winter crop is harvested between May and July. In the fall & winter, our oils will come from the Mediterranean.

Our balsamic vinegars are from Modena, Italy. They are either dark or white and are traditional, organic or spectacularly flavored

We also carry an assortment of gourmet oils, mustards and glazes, Italian pastas, stuffed olives, sea salts, ceramics, olive wood products, hand creams, skin moisturizers and soaps.

The place is super cool! They had chef John Pritchard serving up some amazing eats with their products. Do you remember when I teamed up with John for the potato festival last year. From truffle oil aioli, flavored hummus, tons of bread( to sample the amazing oils and vinegars to a peach balsamic martini that would knock your socks off – the tastes were amazing.

As I was walking around “chatting with folks” I had so many ideas of recipes with these products. Is there anything better than working with “real” ingredients? In thinking about food, I checked out their site on my phone as I was taste testing and realized they had some nice recipes on their site that almost made me drool.

As soon as I got home, I checked out their site and talked to Mrs. Zesty about the store…. I was impressed.  I then went to their blog and I found a nice variety of recipes that they have posted that use their ingredients…. I think you might like some of them – actually who I am trying to kid – you are going to love them.  See below for a sample.

How about White Truffle Fries w/ Parmesan? or Pomegranate Glazed Salmon?  I know…. makes me excited just to think about it.

Tuna Salad , White Truffle Fries and Pomegranate Glazed Salmon

Totally a fun tasting night…. I could do that every night for sure. great job to both the G! and Liquid Gold for putting on a fun event. I hope it will become a tradition and they invite me again. If you have any questions about Liquid Gold you can check out their site or let me know and I can pass them along. have a super bump in the road Wednesday and i will talk to you on Friday with a Movember update.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Well, I don’t really know where to start but I guess I will get to it and go with the food.  We were invited to attend a Pizza Party on Saturday night at the Zesty In-laws.  You know what that means?  Haul out the expandable pants because the food will be crazy good.

I can say this night was no exception.  Read the line up of food.

• Homemade Bruschetta
• Nachos and Salsa
• Caesar Salad
• Mussels
• Raw and Baked Oysters ( Pics never turned out for the baked oysters )
• 8 Racks of Smoked Ribs
• PIZZA ( As many as you can think of ) – Including Dessrt
• Brownies ( that change your life)
• Chocolate Cherry Cake  ( forgot to take a pic )

I think I will just finish this post with pictures.  The food was amazing and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.  Thanks Zesty In laws.

Have a good start to your week and I will talk to you Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

I love any cookies that have molasses in them and these soft, chewy ginger cookies are no exception!  I don’t know what my issues have been as of late but I feel I am hooked on SWEETS.  It is crazy and normally I am just hooked on potato chips, french fries and double cheese burgers.  Haha kidding…. maybe!  Ok so as I type this post I am still reeling from the fact that as I was driving home last night – I get pulled over by the cops for speeding.  Grrrrrrrr.  Anyway my own fault as I was driving pretty fast and well over the speed limit.  But what a way to dampen your day!

Let’s lift our spirits with a soft chewy ginger cookie.  Usually when you eat these, I recommend 2-3 per serving and a heaping glass of chilled white milk.  YUM!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 Cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 Tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 Tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 Tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 Tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 Tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 Tsp. allspice
• 1/3 Cup butter, softened
• 1/2 Cup sugar
• 1 Egg
• 2 Tbsp. molasses
• 2 Tbsp. white sugar (for rolling cookies)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, blend flour, baking soda and spices together and set aside.
3. In another bowl, cream together butter and 1/2 cup of sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg until well mixed. Then add the molasses and mix to combine.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.
5. Using rounded teaspoonfuls (or not quite full tablespoons), form dough into balls  and roll them in the extra 2 tablespoons of sugar.
6. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet, lightly flatten and  bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
7. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
8. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The rolling in white sugar really adds a nice dimension of both flavor and texture to these cookies.  Whatever you do  – do not skimp on this step.  You will be disappointed if you do.

I need some ideas on what to write for the Christmas edition of the G! magazine.  I was thinking a fun gum drop cheese cake recipe, some sticky date pudding but I need a third recipe.  Any ideas?  Have a super Friday and a fun weekend.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty