California Olive Ranch eNews


 June 2009

Featured Chef
Cindy Pawlcyn

Chef Cindy Pawlcyn by Steven Rothfeld 2

Visit Chef Cindy's Restaurants

In St. Helena
Go Fish
Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen


In Napa
Mustards Grill

 
Community
 
 
Forward to a Friend
 
Did You Know?
 

COR Trey's creations 
  
Why should EVOO be in a dark bottle? 

Learn the '4 Enemies of Olive Oil' and other tips to keeping your extra virgin olive oil fresh and healthy

 
Fran Gage's New American Olive Oil book
 
New book celebrates CA olive oils

Fran Gage, SF writer and olive oil aficionado
 
Events In Season
 
Beyond Extra Virgin event at CIA

Beyond Extra Virgin
A must-see event celebrating the world of Olive Oil!  Courtesy of UC Davis and the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone

St. Helena, CA  -  June 21-23
Celebrate fresh gourmet foods, home design and all-things outdoor, Sunset-style

Menlo Park, CA  -  June 6-7
 

 
Have an event celebrating the season's fresh bounty?  Email details for future posting

 
Featured Partners
 
Thank You

Chef Cindy Pawlcyn

Viking Cooking Schools

Sunset.com

Fran Gage

CIA at Greystone

Gary Ibsen

from your friends at
California Olive Ranch
 
It's Tomato Season!
Fresh Tomato California Grown

Did you know that the tomato is actually a fruit?  A Supreme Court ruling in 1893 deemed the tomato a vegetable and is now fresh in season, exploding in variety of shape, brilliant color and size at your local market.

According to the CA Department of Food and Agriculture, every American consumes almost 80 pounds of tomatoes a year, whether processed or fresh.  "California grows 9 out of 10 processed tomatoes in the US with a crop value exceeding $547 million," according to the CA Tomato Growers Association.

According to California tomato expert Gary Ibsen, (Carmel Tomato Fest), 95% of the 30 million people who garden in America grow tomatoes.  With over 10,000 varieties, (even the Julia Child Heirloom) nothing quite compares to the taste of a home-grown tomato just harvested from your garden.  Even restaurant gardens are becoming more commonplace - see Chef Cindy Pawlcyn's Mustards Grill gardens.

The tomato began as small berry-like fruit in South America, then to Mexico, where it was commonly known as a 'tomatil'.  Traveling overseas to Italy, this heart-shaped vegetable became known as the 'love apple' ("poma amoris"), considered by some as an aphrodisiac.  But do be careful. Did you know that all parts of the tomato plant are toxic, of course with the exception of the fruit itself.

Countless studies continue to reveal the numerous health benefits Fresh Vegetable Harvestof including tomatoes in your well-balanced diet.  Rich in antioxidants such as lycopene, tomatoes help fight skin disease, have anti-aging and longevity qualities and aid in the prevention of certain cancers.  The old saying must be true..."a tomato a day...?"

Versatile and absolutely delicious, these vegetables end up in most any dish imaginable and have become a mainstay in American cooking.  Tomatoes are a central ingredient to pizza, to gazpacho, and to bloody marys.  Betcha didn't know that tomato juice is the official state beverage of Ohio!  You can also top pasta with freshly diced tomatoes, garlic and basil, but don't forget the drizzle ofEVOO!  Tomatoes can be stuffed, boiled, stewed, pureed, deviled, glazed, pickled, grilled and fried - you name it.  It can all be done with this versatile veggie.  Check out the recipes below and try something new today, while they're fresh in season.
 
 
 Recipes Featuring
 Tomatoes and CA Olive Ranch EVOO
 

Fresh and meaty, tomatoes are one of the most versatile vegetables available....grown fresh in California.
 
Thank you to Featured Chef Cindy Pawlcyn for sharing her favorite fresh tomato recipes paired with CA Olive Ranch EVOO!
And More Recipes....TomatoFest.com Recipes
 
Courtesy of Sunset.com
 
Courtesy of Riki Senn, Viking Cooking Schools

Fresh Tomato Brushetta
Susan Brooking, Culinary Educator
CA Olive Ranch



For additional tomato recipes and mouthwatering photos, check out Gary Ibsen's www.tomatofest.com and take a visual tour of the Carmel Tomato Fest

Bon Appetit!

 
 Chef Cindy Pawlcyn
 Mustards  .  Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen  .  Go Fish 
 

Accomplished Chef Cindy Pawlcyn put California's Napa Valley region on the map, not for world-class wine, but for pioneering the farm-to-table philosophy that now makes preparing seasonally fresh cuisine world renown.    Cindy's culinary accolades are vast.   An inductee of 'Who's Who of Cooking in America'', Chef Pawlcyn has twice been nominated for Best Chef in California by the James Beard Foundation, among many other honorary achievements.   This month you'll see Cindy compete for charity on Bravo's Top Chef Masters, a spinoff from the original, premiering June 10.

Pawlcyn began cooking at the young age of 13-years-old. Soon Cindy Pawlcyn by Laurie Smithworking alongside such culinary masters as James Beard and Julia Child, Cindy later trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Over the years, Cindy has been personally involved in the creation of over a dozen successful restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area.
 
Recently, Chef Pawlcyn is spending more of her time on three local restaurants within a short distance from her home in the beautiful Napa Valley. And, opening the doors of each, locals and tourists alike will know her signature style immediately.   She has created  comfortable places where "winemakers could come in wearing their boots and sit down with some table wine and get truly great food," she says in the May issue of Oprah's "O Magazine."
 
Where customers feel like family, Cindy has special events in all three of her local restaurants.  On Tuesdays at her newest adventure, Go Fish in St. Helena, Cindy's team offers "Crustacean Crawl" featuring sake pairings with fresh, local seafood. "Olive-oil poached scallops were featured on the menu last week," she says.  Due to growing demand, 'Kids Sushi Classes' will be reappearing this fall. 
 
"Cindy's Supper Club Wednesdays" - Cindy invites diners to join her on "a new culinary adventure with menus showcasing seasonal dishes from her travels abroad."  Be sure to check out the mouthwatering menu at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen.  On Thursday nights at her signature restaurant Mustards in Napa, "Mustards Pour-Off Pair-Off Dinner Series" offers diners the opportunity to pair renowned cuisine with tastings of wines that are rarely offered by the taste or glass. "We recently served an olive-oil marinated rack of lamb with a taste of a $400 bottle of 94' Cabernet.  Most folks wouldn't have the opportunity to share in something like that."
 
In her spare time, she authored three widely acclaimed, best-Appetizers by Cindy Pawlcynselling cookbooks - Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook, Big Small Plates, and her latest Cindy Pawlcyn's Appetizers - all featuring easy to prepare dishes offered at her restaurants.  She'll even personalize an autographed copy  just for youDon't forget Father's Day on June 21st!
 
Expect more great things from Chef Cindy to come your way as this may only be the beginning.  And just think, it's only tomato season.
 

Cindy Pawlcyn's Restaurants

 
Would you like to be the next Featured Chef? More info.
 
 Thank You
 
Thank you for reading our June issue of "In Season" from California Olive Ranch.  Join our Online Community -
Don't forget to make reservations at Cindy's restaurants soon.  You'll be glad you did.

Warmly,

Your friends at
California Olive Ranch
www.californiaoliveranch.com

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Olio Nuovo 2009