¼ cup garlic olive oil
¼ cup baklouti olive oil
2 (15.5 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from one lime, plus more if desired
A few tablespoons of water if necessary
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish (optional)

Directions
Add the black beans, olive oil, salt, cumin, lime juice, water and cilantro to the blender. Blend until smooth (if you're using a blender, you may need to stop and stir a few times to help it out). If the dip is too thick, add a bit of water or lime juice, little by little, to thin it out. Taste and adjust seasoning, then transfer to a serving bowl. Serve warm, cold or room temperature with tortilla chips.
*The heat comes from the baklouti chili olive oil, so if you like it mild, replace with unflavored extra virgin olive oil or simply double the garlic olive oil used and omit baklouti.

Serve with tortilla chips or pita chips.

Ingredients for the Pot Pie
2 cups sliced carrots, diced
1 cup chopped celery
1 large yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup peas
1 cup yellow potatoes, diced and microwaved for 3 minutes
2 cups cooked diced skinless chicken
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup mushroom-sage olive oil
3 cups chicken stock or broth
1 cup heavy cream or milk
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Grease a 13" x 9" baking pan or casserole

Heat a large, heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil, celery, onions, and carrots. Saute for 5 minutes until carrots are just tender.  Add the flour and stir thoroughly so no dry spots remain. Whisking constantly, add the chicken stock to the flour and vegetables. Bring to a simmer stirring constantly until thickened. Add the cream and continue simmering and stirring for a couple of minutes. Check and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes, cooked chicken, peas, and thyme. Scrape the filling into the casserole or baking pan and set aside to cool slightly while you make the biscuits.

Ingredients for the Buttermilk Biscuits
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 cup buttermilk1/4 cup butter olive oil

In the bowl of a food processor add all of the dry ingredients and pulse. Add the chilled butter and pulse a few times to incorporate and create small pea sized lumps of butter. Add the butter olive oil to the buttermilk and pour over the dry ingredients. Pulse a few more times until a loose, moist dough forms.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Roll out the dough to 1" thickness and cut out biscuits 2" in diameter. Place the biscuits on top of the pot pie filling about 1" apart. Brush with additional buttermilk and bake for 25 minutes until biscuits are fluffy and golden.

Serves 6-8

Bring out this refreshing show stopper for brunch or anytime you want to "wow" your guests.

Ingredients
1 small sprig mint
2" long zest of of lime peel
4-6 fresh raspberries
1 fluid ounce Wild Cascadian Raspberry White Balsamic
2 fluid ounces rum
2 fluid ounces club soda

Directions
Muddle mint leaves, lime peel, raspberries, and balsamic together in a shaker. Fill the shaker with ice and add the rum; cover and shake until chilled. Pour entire contents of shaker into a Collins glass and top with club soda.

Serves 1

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup Balsamic - your choice  (UP dark balsamic works best here)
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons dry mustard
2 tablespoons Baklouti Olive Oil, UP EVOO or any fused/infused olive oil of your choice
1 small white or yellow onion, minced
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons smoked paprika  (mild or spicy)
2 teaspoons cayenne (optional for lover's of heat)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste


Heat the olive oil of your choice in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add ketchup, Worcestershire, molasses, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, mustard, granulated garlic, smoked paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes, stirring frequently.

Transfer sauce to the jar of a blender and blend until smooth. Let cool to room temperature, transfer to a jar and store in refrigerator for up to a month. This is great on everything - chicken, ribs, burgers, shoes. You can literally put it on anything, and I encourage you to do so.

Makes approximately 3 cups

Ingredients:
•                    1 pound dark chocolate chips or whole bars chopped coarsely
•                    1 cup heavy cream
•                    1/2 cup milk
•                    2 Tbs. Blood Orange Agrumato Olive Oil
•                    1 Tbs. Fresh Orange Zest
•                    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•                    Pinch kosher salt
•                    2 tablespoons Mt. of Olives Traditional
•                    Cookies, Fruit, marshmallows or pound cake, for serving

Directions:
Special equipment:  6-quart slow cooker
Heat a 6-quart slow cooker with insert on high until hot. Combine the chocolate, cream, milk, vanilla and salt and olive oil in the hot insert. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes, then whisk the ingredients together and set on low. Whisk in the balsamic just before serving. 

Serve with cookies, cut up fruit, marshmallows or pound cake.

Olive Oil Roasted Lemon Garlic Potatoes
2 pounds waxy skin potatoes cut in half (or quarters if large)

Marinade
1/2 cup Mt. Of Olives Tuscan Herm
5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
3 tablespoons Mt. Of Olives Sicilian Lemon
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
2 teaspoons kosher salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
finely chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Whisk the marinade ingredients except the water in a large bowl. Toss the potatoes with the marinade and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Add water to the bottom of the pan with the potatoes. Cook for 40 minutes until the water is evaporated and the potatoes are crusty-golden brown. Adjust seasoning as necessary and serve sprinkled with fresh parsley.

Serves 6 as a side dish.

Ingredients:
3 tbs Mt. of Olives Persian Lime Olive Oil
Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper (added at end to taste)
3 Ripe Avocados Pealed and Pitted (keep the peals in halves)
1 Jalapeno finely diced (optional)
1/2 Small Red Onion
1 Lime, Juiced
1/4 cup Chopped Cilantro Leaves
4 tbs of fire roasted tomatoes
Juice of 1/2 Orange

Serves: 6-8
Mash avocados in bowl with lime juice and Persian Lime olive oil to desired smoothness leaving desired level of chunks of avocado.  Add all other ingredients and mix well.  For a fun way to serve place mixture in the half avocado peals you saved.  Enjoy

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1 clove garlic finely minced
1/4 cup of Flavored Balsamic Vinegar (my favorite for this recipe is Raspberry)
3/4 cup of Mt. of Olives Picual Ultra Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions:
In a serving bowl combine all ingredients and mix briskly.  This recipe can be adapted to meet everyone's personal preference of dressing flavors.  To add an extra layer of flavor try combining a flavored vinegar and a flavored oil such as Cranberry-Pear Balsamic and Blood Orange Olive Oil.

Yield: 1 Serving    
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients
Ingredient | 1 Lamb Chop    
Ingredient | Greek Seasoning
Ingredient | 2 Tablespoon Mt. of Olive Arbequinia extra virgin olive oil
Directions 
Preheat pan to medium-high heat (if oil begins to smoke the pan is too hot, reduce heat).  Lightly season Lamb chop with greek seasoning to taste.  Add Lamb to the pan (you should get a nice sizzle sound but no smoke).  Cook Lamb both sides to desired doneness (I prefer medium rare).  While cooking the Lamb; preheat a sauce pan with about ¼ cup of pomegranate balsamic vinegar.  Bring vinegar to boil and let reduce by half.  When Lamb is at desired doneness let rest covered for 5 min then spoon glaze over lamb or put balsamic in a small bowl for dipping.

​

Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:

1 Bottle of Mt. Of Olives Lemongrass-Mint Balsamic Vinegar
1 Can of your favorite croissants

Directions. 
​Lay out croissants on prep surface.  Coat both sides of croissants with Mt. Of Olives Lemongrass-Mint Balsamic Vinegar.  Bake according to instructions.  When Croissants begin to brown remove and lightly re-coat them.  Great for the Holidays

Serve Hot and Enjoy