Jandro's Olive Oil
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A year and a half ago my friend Alejandro Levins decided that he had had enough of the San Francisco / Silicon Valley urban scene. He and his wife Allison packed everything up and moved back East to Western Massachusettes. Jandro is one of the most entrepreneurial people I know, always bubbling with ideas. But what to do in Western Mass? Knowing Jandro he must have examined a hundred ideas before settling on this one. Artisanal olive oil.
Sure, why not? What better way to combine one's love of travel, Europe, fine foods, the Internet, and friends? A few weeks before Christmas I got an email that saved me a lot of shopping this season. Jandro had teamed up with a friend of his and was selling olive oil. And not just any olive oil, but the super-duper extra-virgin oil that they don't usually let out of the country. You can read more about Alejandro and Martin here at www.AlejandroAndMartin.com. The oil comes in four flavors, from four countries - France, Italy, Portugal and Greece. So far we have only broken into one bottle - Olivey and Peppery from Italy - which is delicious. Thank you Jandro, and congratulations on the launch of your new business!
An afterthought...
Oh yes, concerning recipes. I once read on a food forum that olive oil is a good substitute for butter in cookie recipes. I couldn't believe it, and besides didn't think it sounded that tasty. However, my mother insists that olive oil is an excellent substitute for butter in many baking recipes, including my oatmeal raisin cookie recipe.
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Posted by Elise on Jan 9, 2004
Elise,
Jandro sent me this link, and I'd like to tell you something about substituting butter and olive oil -- THEY ARE NOT IN THE SAME PROPORTIONS! You use less olive oil than butter in any recipe, by a factor of roughly a third, although it varies. Check out my sesame seed cookie recipe that came with your oils, and see many many more great olive oil desserts in my book, The Flavors of Olive Oil, James Beard Award 2003, published by Simon and Schuster, and available everywhere, including from alejandroandmartin.com. I also published a piece on olive oil baking in Eating Well magazine this past year, with cakes, and cookies and more.
Best,
Deborah Krasner