The creating music & cooking, how are they alike?
Home chef George shares his thoughts on the correlation between musical chords & combining food ingredients. Learn more here!
We sat down with the talented, inspiring & way too modest home chef George. Where did his passion for food & cooking start? Learn how he caught the "culinary bug" here!
Italian born, Indianapolis resident Rosa Hanslits has been crafting artisan food for over 3 decades. We were fortunate to spend a few minutes with the very talented entrepreneur at her Back Room Eatery & learn how it all started! www.ntpastaandmarket.com
Did you know it's National Garlic Month? Garlic has been used medicinally since the Greek and Roman times. Today, garlic is a widely recognized health-enhancing supplement. It promotes the well being of the heart and immune systems with antioxidant properties and helps maintain healthy blood circulation.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of Villa Graziella Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 head of garlic, minced very fine (5 tablespoons)
2 sticks softened butter (1 cup), plus 1 tablespoon, divided
2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, minced
¼ cup freshly grated Romano cheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 loaf Italian bread
Instructions:
Preheat broiler.
In a small sauce pan over medium heat, place oil and garlic and sauté; stirring continually for five minutes. Remove just as the garlic is starting to turn tan in color and pour mixture into a medium bowl.
Add one cup of the softened butter, parsley, Romano, salt and pepper. Stir vigorously to combine.
Cut Italian bread from end to end horizontally down the center so you have a full top half and full bottom half.
Melt the one tablespoon of butter and brush each cut side.
Lay out a large sheet of foil large enough to wrap around both halves but don’t wrap yet. Line a sheet tray with it, letting any excess hang off the ends and sides.
Place buttered bread cut side up and broil just for one minute. You want a nice golden brown look.
Remove from broiler and preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Spread ¾ of the garlic butter across the cut toasted bread, saving the remaining butter to serve with the garlic bread.
Now close the top and bottoms together and wrap the foil up around tight. At this point, you could save this for later by refrigerating. Just bring to room temperature first and continue below.
Place pan in preheated oven with rack close to top and heat for ten minutes.
Remove, place on cutting board and cut into thick strips. Serve with the remaining garlic butter mixture.
HOW DID THIS RECIPE GO? DID YOU ADD ANOTHER INGREDIENT TO MAKE IT EVEN BETTER? PLEASE SHARE YOUR COMMENTS & FEEDBACK WITH US! WE WANT YOU TO HAVE A HEALTHY & DELICIOUS EXPERIENCE WITH OUR PRODUCTS!
GRAZIE DA TEAM VILLA GRAZIELLA
clientservice@villagraziellaorganic.com
At Villa Graziella we love to learn from our fans & friends; their thoughts on wine, food pairing & more. Our “1 on 1 With Wine” conversations are with passionate home cooks & professional chefs alike. They inspire us with their quest for healthy, delicious food paired with wonderful wine. We recently sat down with the very talented fashion stylist Noelle where she shared her ideas on sustainability & why she chooses organic wine.
We are grateful to our fans & friends for their suggestions on cooking & ingredients. Our “Kitchen Conversations” are with professional chefs & passionate home cooks alike, sharing their love for delicious & healthy food. On a Sunday afternoon, we had the pleasure of speaking with Judi in her wonderful kitchen. Known for her endless energy & insatiable curiosity, she shared her thoughts on recipes & a culinary adventure.
We recently had the good fortune of spending time with Chef Tony Hanslits, the Executive Chef at The Chef's Academy at Harrison College in Indianapolis. Humble, calm & extremely kind, Chef Tony brings highly respected experience & innovation to The Chef's Academy where he continues to be an exemplary role model & mentor to his students. He is also the Executive Chef & Partner of Nicole-Taylor's Pasta and Market & Back Room Eatery in the Broad Ripple neighborhood of Indianapolis, together with his lovely wife Rosa Hanslits. Part of why we enjoy spending time with Chef Tony & Rosa is that we always learn something new about cooking, ingredients & hospitality in addition to enjoying healthy & delicious food! We can’t wait to go back!
Happy National Picnic Month! Celebrate with this perfect picnic pesto!
Pesto sauce hails from the northern Italian region of Liguria, in the port city of Genoa. The word originates from the Italian verb “pestare” meaning to pound or crush. Ancient Romans prepared the sauce with a marble mortar & wooden pestle. Fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, parsley leaves, pine nuts & sheep milk cheese were pounded or crushed in a circular motion with the mortar & pestle. The paste was eaten with bread, meat & vegetables in addition to pasta.
As basil is at its peak freshness, enjoy a picnic with an easy, delicious & healthy pesto sauce made with our
Villa Graziella Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It can be served warm or at room temperature.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup Villa Graziella Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
½ cup of fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
1-2 cloves fresh garlic
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Directions:
Combine basil leaves, parsley, pine nuts & garlic in a blender or food processor.
Pulse a few times to roughly chop ingredients.
Add cheese, lemon juice, sea salt & red pepper flakes.
Blend for a 2 minutes or until ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
Run the blender or food processor while pouring in olive oil & mix.
Store in a covered container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or a cool dark place (if it lasts that long).
N.B. The Perfect Picnic Pesto can also be made with a mortar & pestle by roughly chopping all ingredients & crushing in a circular motion.
We were so excited to be the spotlight sponsor for the Chicago Food Swap this past weekend. Take a peek at this short recap video we made. We already can't wait for the next swap!