Olive Oil, Shrimp Scampi and The Bright Angle

Olive Oil is in My Top 5

Olive oil is probably one of my top 5 used products in my kitchen. I don’t have just one variety either. Currently, I have 5 out in my counter. I use it for cake, pizza dough, pasta dishes, finishing a steak, basically if I made it, there is olive oil in it. My most used oil is for sautéing and it is beautifully housed in my new elixir bottle from The Bright Angle.

The Bright Angle and Olive Oil

When the The Bright Angle folks sent me the ceramic cookware set I was thrilled. What a lovely gift!

I picked up the box from the front porch and was immediately surprised at how light the box felt. Taking out the first product I was immediately in love. The look and feel of the elixir bottle was stunningly gorgeous. I quickly continued to unpack and found a handmade porcelain spoon rest, utensil crock holder and porcelain salt cellar. All in a their beautiful shade, Silk White. This is their Ceramic Cookware Set. The pieces are available in a beautiful array of colors, ready to enhance any kitchen decor.

As a self-proclaimed olive oil addict, I always transfer my bulk olive oil into a dispenser to keep on my handy on my counter. I was thrilled to check out the gorgeous elixir bottle. I immediately pulled out the bulk can of oil and dispensed it into the Elixir bottle. Even full of oil, it isn’t too heavy. The unique shape is stylish but also helpful for gripping the bottle. I placed the pourer that accompanies the Elixir bottle to the top and test it out. Perfection. Then, I filled the salt cellar with flaky salt. I placed the elixir bottle on top of the salt cellar and giggled with delight. It was stunning and user friendly. How awesome is that!?

If you need a gift for Mother’s Day, a birthday, or maybe a friend who loves to cook, I can’t suggest these products enough. Not only the items above, but their whole line of beautiful wares. If you are interested in receiving a 10% discount use my code  JERILYNNE10 on the The Bright Angle website.

Olive Oil Deep Dive

Fake olive oil came to light in the mid 2010’s. There have been books and many magazine articles written about this sad but true trend. Learning how to spot a fake olive oil was more popular as spotting a fake Fendi in the early 2000s. Don’t want to buy the fake stuff? The Greek olive oil brand, Kosterina, has written a great blog post about it. It is filled with information to help you become an educated olive oil connoisseur.

Here are some things you can do to avoid the pitfalls of buying subpar or fake olive oil according to Food and Wine magazine:

Avoiding Pitfalls of Bad Olive Oil

1. Only buy oil labeled extra-virgin. This is not a guarantee that the oil will be the best, but at least it will probably not be among the worst. Bottles labeled just plain “olive oil” and “light olive oil” are refined oils and, like vegetable oil, while they’re not bad in any way, they are not very interesting.
2. Read the label. Even if it’s written in Italian, French, or Spanish, you can probably figure out enough to recognize harvest and “use by” dates. The finest producers always put the harvest date proudly on their olive oil. The use-by date can be a little deceptive since it is usually 18 months from bottling, rather than from harvest.
3. Avoid anything in a clear glass bottle, no matter how pretty and enticing the label. Light is the great enemy of olive oil; clear-bottled oil will likely have lost most of its flavor and aroma. Look for extra-virgin olive oil in dark glass bottles or, better yet, opaque tins.
4. Know that the term “first cold pressing,” although widely used, is redundant. By legal definition, extra-virgin oil must come from the first (usually the only) pressing, which must be accomplished with no added heat (at ambient temperatures no higher than around 80°F).

I hope these tips will help you. I always smell olive oil when I try a new brand. It is like wine. You can tell a lot by the smell. If it smells rancid or not smell at all, it isn’t true olive oil. I find this article from The New York Times gives great options for olive oils so you aren’t left guessing if it is the real deal.

Let’s Make Shrimp Scampi

I hate to be the English police but Shrimp Scampi is basically saying, shrimp, shrimp. Scampi is the Italian word for shrimp. A better name for the dish might be Shrimp with Lemon and Garlic over pasta. I love to cook this dish with the biggest, freshest shrimp I can find. Lightly season with sliced garlic and lemon with fresh parsley. It is like I have died and gone to heaven. After you have plated your dish make sure you top with a drizzle of really good extra-virgin olive oil from your stylish Elixir bottle and some flaky salt from your salt cellar.

Here is my take on the dish. I hope you enjoy!