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SKILLET SKIRT STEAK FAJITAS

SKILLET SKIRT STEAK FAJITAS

2 1/2 pounds skirt steak

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

2 teaspoons ancho chile powder

2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black

pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil,

divided

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced

2 poblanos peppers, thinly sliced

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Trim the skirt steak of any excess fat (you should have about 2 pounds of cleaned steak). Cut

pieces in half if needed so they will fit inside the skillet. In a small bowl, stir together smoked paprika, ancho chile powder, salt and pepper. Sprinkle

generously on all sides of the steak.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat in the Deep Farmhouse Skillet until shimmering. Add steak, working in batches if necessary, and sear until medium rare, about 3-4 minutes on each side. (Note: make sure your hood vent / fan is turned on for this part! It can get quite smoky). Remove steak to a plate to rest.

Add remaining tablespoon oil to the skillet and stir in onion and peppers. Reduce heat to medium and toss to combine, cooking until lightly charred and softened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Thinly slice steak against the grain into long strips. Nestle into the warm skillet next to the onions and peppers. Squeeze the juice of 1 lime generously over the top and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

In a small bowl, mash together 2 avocados with the juice of 1 lime and season with salt.

Serve fajitas with warm tortillas, Roasted Tomato Salsa, sour cream, queso fresco, and smashed avocado.

Preheat the broiler. Mix tomatoes, serrano, garlic, onion, salt, and oil together in a bowl. Transfer to the Deep Farmhouse Skillet or a foil-lined sheet pan.  Broil until onions and tomatoes are softened and blistered and charred around the edges, 7-10 minutes.

Remove and let cool enough to handle. Peel garlic and discard skin. Transfer everything to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add lime and cilantro and process until smooth salsa consistency.

Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and lime juice.

Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 1 week.

ROASTED TOMATO SALSA

12 flour tortillas, toasted for 30 seconds in a dry skillet

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup crumbled queso fresco

1 serrano pepper, thinly sliced

juice of 1 lime

2 avocados

TO SERVE

5 vine-ripe tomatoes, core removed, quartered

1 serrano pepper, stem trimmed

4 cloves garlic, skin-on

1/2 yellow onion, cut into large wedges

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

 2 tablespoons olive oil

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup cilantro

STRAWBERRY, HIBISCUS & ALMOND SKILLET CAKE, by Smithey Cast Ironware

STRAWBERRY, HIBISCUS & ALMOND SKILLET CAKE, by Smithey Cast Ironware

1 CUP WATER

1/2 CUP DRIED HIBISCUS LEAVES

1 1/4 CUPS SUGAR

1/2 TEASPOON LEMON ZEST

3 LARGE EGGS, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

1/4 TEASPOON FINE SEA SALT

1 TEASPOON VANILLA EXTRACT

1/2 TEASPOON ALMOND EXTRACT

10 TABLESPOONS UNSALTED BUTTER, MELTED AND COOLED

1 CUP ALMOND FLOUR

1 CUP ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR

1/2 CUP QUARTERED STRAWBERRIES

1/4 CUP SLICED ALMONDS

1 TABLESPOON DEMERARA SUGAR

CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR, TO SERVE

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Bring water to a boil in a small pot or kettle. Place hibiscus leaves in a medium heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over the leaves and let steep for 5 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and allow to cool to room temperature. (Discard - or better yet save and drink the water, aka hibiscus tea!)

Combine sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on medium speed for about 20 seconds, breaking up the zest so the sugar is very fragrant. Add

eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed for 1 minute between each one. After the final egg has been added, beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes until mixture is light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and stir in extracts. Finally, stir in the cool melted butter and remove bowl from the mixer.

In a separate bowl, whisk together salt, almond flour and all-purpose flour, breaking up any lumps. Add drained hibiscus leaves and toss until coated with flour. Gently fold flour mixture into the batter with a rubber spatula, just until combined.

Coat a No. 10 Skillet with nonstick spray or a thin layer of softened butter. Pour batter into the skillet and gently press strawberries across the top. Sprinkle with

sliced almonds and demerara sugar.

Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and cooked through, about 50 minutes (a cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean). Transfer to a metal

rack and let cool completely before cutting. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Tariff Challenges Here Locally!

Tariff’s

We have been getting asked about our prices going up due to tariff’s.  We are committed to keep our prices of items in stock at the price we purchased them at before the tariffs were put in place.  We will only add the tariffs to our products as they are imposed on our new shipments coming in.  As you know so many of our ingredients are coming from the indigenist country in which it is grown.  The United States just doesn’t have the growing climate or the land available that is needed for the demand of our olive oil, tea, and coffee beans.  We do purchase from within the United States where we can, but we have to depend on other countries that have larger growing areas for the climate needed to grow and supply our demand here in the United States.  Let me explain our situation a little better!

Yes, we have been receiving emails daily updating us on products that are and are not going to be affected by tariffs.  We are monitoring these items closely and will mostly, no longer carry high tariff items if they are not continuing to be demanded by our customers.  We will not trade quality for something of less quality.  Our standards have to stay put, even if the prices increase.

We have a huge portion of our shop that has locally made items coming from people we know right here in Auburn, Fort Wayne and surrounding areas. We also purchase regionally from Ohio and Michigan.

Food ingredients is a different story.

Not all food ingredients that we all use every day can be grown in the US due to not having the proper growing conditions needed.

I know where all my herbs, spices, salts, peppers, olive oil olive come from and know the quality is there, over making a profit. We are not getting rich, but providing quality ingredients that our bodies need. Our business was started because of losing my sister Pam to cancer. Eating cleaner food became a priority to combat the cancer driven foods in our diets. This is the basis of our business.  We will go without before compromising our quality.

Peppercorns, cinnamon, vanilla beans, caca beans just to name a few that cannot be grown here in the US due to the growing conditions needed. So, I do believe there are some exceptions that need to be considered with tariffs to help not interfere with our food chain and inflation of prices.  Fact is we need food to survive!

Can you even start to imagine my mom not having cinnamon to make her famous cinnamon rolls, apple dumplings or cinnamon bread or my dad not having pepper on his steak? These would no longer be available to us if we didn’t purchase them from the indigenous country in which it is grown.

World trading started with things like salt and herbs and spices. Trading items not physically available in one part of the world to another.  I for one would love to get back to a friendly trade of what I can’t grow to be traded with you for something I can grow or make.  Keeping it friendly of course!

We would love to also challenge our customers to stop buying from large on-line websites, if America is going to be committed to seeing this through the buck stops here! Shop in your locally owned shops, farmer markets, and support the people you know personally! I strongly believe canceling the on-line accounts and go out shopping again is the best place to show support to America and keep the money in our community!

We thank our loyal customers and look forward to serving you as we maneuver these new obstacles throughout this year and beyond.

If you have further questions on how tariffs are impacting us here at The Olive Twist, please feel free to reach out to us and ask questions.  info@theolivetwist.com

Mediterranean Eggs Benedict

Mediterranean Eggs Benedict

Hash brown patty, recipe below

Sauteed spinach, recipe below

Goat Cheese, crumbled

Poached egg, recipe below

Tzatziki sauce, recipe below

Kalamata olives, seeds removed and sliced in half

OT Mediterranean Blend

Fresh dill

Crispy Hashbrowns

0.5 lbs. potatoes, clean and peel (skins can be left on)

1 tbsp flour

1 egg white

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp. OT Mediterranean Blend

Peel off skin from potatoes and grate the potatoes. Place the grated potatoes in a bowl of cold water and let them soak for about 5 minutes. Drain off water and dry the shredded potatoes using kitchen towel. In a mixing medium bowl, combine the grated potatoes, flour, egg whites, seasoning and salt and pepper. Fill a frying pan with about 1 Tbsp olive oil and heat on medium heat. Once oil is hot, spoon half of the grated potatoes and gently drop into the hot oil, forming a circular disk shape using the back of the spoon. Do the same with the other half of the potatoes. Cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Remove from oil and set aside on a baking sheet lined with paper towel.

Sautéed Spinach

2-3 cups fresh clean spinach leaves

2 Tbsp OT Butter Olive Oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Place olive oil in a small heated skillet (med heat) and add spinach, Sautee until the spinach is wilted.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Roasted Onion and Bell Peppers

2 Bell Peppers, cleaned and cut in half, seed removed

2 Tbsp OT olive oil of choice

1 small onion, peeled and cut into 4ths

Place on a lined rimmed cooking sheet.  Toss with olive oil of choice, I like to use our Butter olive oil.  Salt and pepper as needed.  Lay peppers and onion in a single layer and place in 350-degree pre-heated oven.  Roast until peppers blister about 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven and place a piece of foil over the top to sweet the peppers.  This usually takes about 15 minutes.  Remove the skins from the peppers and discard.  Slice into strips for serving .  Set peppers and onions aside.

Poached Eggs

2 fresh whole eggs

1 tsp salt

1 tsp OT white vinegar

To make poached eggs, boil about 2 inches of water in a saucepan. Add salt and vinegar. Lower heat and bring water to a gentle simmer. Crack an egg into a small bowl. Create a whirlpool in the middle of the water in the saucepan by stirring it using a spoon. Quickly and gently transfer the egg from the bowl into the saucepan, placing the egg in the middle of the whirlpool. Let egg cook for about 3 minutes for a runny yolk. Using a slotted spoon, gently remove egg from water and place on a plate. Repeat steps with other egg.

Greek Tzatziki Sauce

1 cup of plain Greek yogurt (full-fat)

¾ cup cucumber, finely grated and drain off excess liquid

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped (or 1/2 tablespoon dried dill)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (OT Lemon balsamic can be used as a substitute)

1 tablespoon OT extra virgin olive oil of choice

1/2 teaspoon OT white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Gently squeeze or press the cucumber to remove as much liquid as possible set aside to dry more.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, minced garlic, fresh dill, lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Whisk the ingredients together until well-blended.  This can be made a day ahead.

Gently fold the grated cucumber into the yogurt mixture, ensuring it is evenly distributed throughout the sauce.

Assemble

Divide the hashbrowns into 4 servings.  Layer on each plate the hashbrowns, sauteed spinach, peppers and onions.  Place poached egg on top of hashbrown.  Sprinkle goat cheese and sliced olives over the egg and a dollop of the sauce.  Garnish with fresh dill.

Blackberry- Caprese Bites

      Blackberry- Caprese Bites

20 wooden skewers

20 fresh mozzarella balls

20 large fresh blackberries

1 tablespoon OT Blackberry Ginger Balsamic

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground 4-peppercorn

3 tablespoons olive oil of choice (we like to use a fresh Extra Virgin)

Garnish: fresh thyme leaves

For a twist you could add a slice of cucumber

To each skewer, add 1 mozzarella ball, 1 blackberry, place on serving tray and cover. Chill until ready to serve.

In The Olive Twist Mixing bottle pour together vinegar, thyme, salt, and pepper. Slowly pour in olive oil, shake constantly, until fully incorporated.

Before serving, drizzle skewers with vinaigrette. Garnish with oregano, if desired.

Strawberry Cucumber Salad

Strawberry Cucumber Salad

2 cups fresh strawberries, slice

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup cucumbers, sliced

1 cup mixed greens

½ red onion, thinly sliced

Dressing

2 Tbsp OT Cara Cara Orange and Vanilla balsamic

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp pure maple syrup

1 Tbsp OT Gravenstein Balsamic

In a large bowl combine the first 5 ingredients.

For the dressing:  in a small bowl whisk together the last of the ingredients.

Pour over the salad and toss.  Serve immediately.

Fun Easter Baskets for Adult Kids, Family, or Friends

What a great way to give a fabulous Easter Basket!  Nothing better than customizing it the things they would love to use in their kitchens.  Come into the shop and customize your Adult Kid Easter Basket!

Cauliflower Ceviche

Cauliflower Ceviche

1 head of cauliflower rinsed and cut into florets, (optional use white, purple and green)

½ red onion, diced

3 tomatoes seeds removed and diced 1 jalapeño finely diced

2 scallions diced

4 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped

1 juice from one lime

2 Tbsp OT mango balsamic

2 Tbsp OT lime olive oil

1 tsp OT Brazil Blend

salt and pepper to taste

tortilla chips

Put water to a large stock pot that would cover the cauliflower and bring to a boil.  Add cauliflower florets and cook for 5 minutes.

Drain cauliflower in a colander, then transfer to a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking process.  Drain again.  

Chop the cauliflower into smaller pieces and then add the rest of the diced vegetables. Chop the cilantro and toss with the vegetables.

Pineapple and Pepper Jelly Glazed Ham

Pineapple and Pepper Jelly Glazed Ham

1 -8-10# bone in ham

1 cup water

1 jar Grandma’s Hot Pepper Jam

1 -8 oz can crushed pineapple

2 Tbsp Pineapple balsamic

¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

Bring ham to room temperature, score the outside of the ham lightly in a diamond pattern.  Place ham in roasting pan with 1 cup of water.

In a blender process the pepper jelly, pineapple, brown sugar and balsamic, until smooth.  Brush the pineapple mixture over the ham and loosely cover with foil.

Place in oven and bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees.  Remove foil and continue to bake until the internal temperature registers 145 degrees (about 1- 1 ½ hours).  Basting occasionally with the mixture and adding more water if needed.

Remove from oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.  Serve with juices drizzled over the top.

Citrus Olive Oil Cake by itself or with Berrys and Cream

I absolutly love the idea of  how simple this cake looks, tastes and sounds like a huge labor of love.  Trust me with the premade ingedients from The Olive Twist it is made simple.

Citrus Olive Oil Cake with Berries 

1 Olive Twist Olive Oil Cake Mix (prepare as directed)

Zest from 1 lemon

A pinch of sea salt

1 lb blackberries, raspberries, blueberries or mixed berries of choice

1/4 cup edible flower blossoms, optional

1 jar Mamma Duck Berry Jam

1 jar American Spoon Lemon Curd

Mascarpone Cream

4 large egg yolks organic pasture raised

4 tbsp granulated sugar

3/4 lb mascarpone cheese

1.5 cup whipped cream (until Stiff)

zest from 1 lemon

Make the Mascarpone Cheese Filling:

Add the egg yolks and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Use a mixer with a whisk cream the sugars and egg yolks until fluffy and pale in color.

Add the lemon zest and spoonsful of the mascarpone cheese and mix until incorporated.

Using a spatula fold the whipped cream (must be stiff) into the whipped mascarpone cheese until combined. Make sure to not over mix. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Baking:

Bake cake as directed and allow to cool.

Once cooled off, remove the cake from the spring form pan by releasing the sides first, then remove the bottom.

Assembly:

Very carefully slice a thin layer off of the top to remove the top crust and expose the inside of the cake.

Extra carefully slice the cake in half using a serrated knife.

Place the bottom part on a plate or cake stand.

Using a small spatula spread the lemon curd on top of the olive oil cake. Spoon half of the mascarpone filling on top. Then top it with half of the berry jam and some of the fresh blackberries.  Repeat with the next layer.

Add the next olive oil cake layer and spoon all the remaining blueberries with the sauce on top. Add the remaining whipped mascarpone (or however much you feel comfortable working with) and with the back of a spoon or spatula rustically spread it over the top. Place the fresh blackberries all over the top, reserving some to decorate the sides of your olive oil cake.

Garnish your lemon olive oil cake with edible flower blossoms and enjoy chilled.