Olive Oil

Consumers discouraged by a barrage of news reports that make it seem almost every food they love is bad for them -- milk, coffee, eggs, butter, burritos, and kung pao chicken, just to name a few on recent hit lists -- can rejoice in a bit of good news.Olive oil is good for you. It's especially good for women, a new report says, because "alone among fat types," olive oil appears to reduce the risk of getting breast cancer. The assessment is based on a study of women in Greece, where olive oil is widely used in cooking.

Baltimore's Sip & Bite restaurant is one of the restaurants featured in Guy Fieri's new book, "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: The Funky Finds in Flavortown," in which Fieri takes readers back to some of his favorite finds from recent seasons of his long-running Food Network show. Apparently Fieri really had a good time at the Sip & Bite .  "I'm not allowed to watch the rerun of Sip & Bite because I fall off my chair laughing," Fieri writes in the new book. "These guys are some of the funniest people I've met in my Triple D travels.

The first pickings of the season are a spring tonic for vegetable lovers. What better way to make the most of their freshness than by serving them as a separate course? Dipped or cooked in olive oil, young vegetables are a favorite form of antipasto. Italy's Piedmont region is the home of bagna cauda (hot bath), a warm, pungent dip for raw vegetables or bread. A zesty antipasto or side dish for grilled fish or chicken is new potatoes and onions in an olive-oil marinade. Bagna Cauda Makes about 1/2 cup 1/2 cup virgin or pure olive oil 1 tablespoon butter 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic 2 ounces anchovy fillets, mashed salt and freshly ground pepper In small skillet over moderate heat, heat oil and butter until bubbly.

If you won't be in the Grandstand at Pimlico, you can still celebrate the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes in style with a black-and-gold party. Black and gold — the colors of the Calvert family — pop up everywhere at the Preakness, from the state flag to the winner's wreath of black-eyed Susans. Recreate that feeling at home with black and gold stacks of polenta, goat cheese and olives, deep brown chocolate bread pudding with a gold topping, and Black & Tans, a fruity cocktail with turn-of-the-century Maryland roots.

There are more olive trees in Puglia than anywhere else in Italy. In fact, with an estimated 50 million trees growing in the Italian boot's "heel," there's nearly one for every man, woman and child living in the entire nation. Driving south along the Adriatic Sea, as I did late last fall, I saw acre after glorious acre of Pugliese olive trees, which have gnarled and windblown trunks, making sculptural shapes that are both colossal and somehow ethereal.

Instead of inviting friends for dinner, I sometimes ask them to come for wine and simple appetizers. For me, this is one of the easiest ways to entertain, especially when I'm busy. I prepare one or two nibbles, open a bottle of wine, set out glasses and napkins, and that's it. Several weeks ago, after learning that a dear friend from the Midwest was coming to visit her daughter who was expecting twins (and who happens to live only a few miles from us), I had planned such a get-together.

If you won't be in the Grandstand at Pimlico, you can still celebrate the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes in style with a black-and-gold party. Black and gold — the colors of the Calvert family — pop up everywhere at the Preakness, from the state flag to the winner's wreath of black-eyed Susans. Recreate that feeling at home with black and gold stacks of polenta, goat cheese and olives, deep brown chocolate bread pudding with a gold topping, and Black & Tans, a fruity cocktail with turn-of-the-century Maryland roots.

Focaccia and pizza are my favorite things made from bread dough and they are as good as they are easy to prepare. Focaccia, the Italian flat bread, can be made in round or rectangular shapes, and its dough is nothing more than flour, water, yeast, salt and a little oil, which is added for flavor and ease of handling. Usually no more than an inch thick, most focacce (the plural) are served as an accompaniment to a meal, or, especially in the rectangular shape, split for sandwiches.Typically, a focaccia is baked with a topping, often nothing more than a drizzling of olive oil and a sprinkling of coarse salt.

It's been years since Maggie Lebherz lived in sunny Spain as a college exchange student. Yet just one taste of fresh olive oil takes her back in spirit. "In 2007, I lived with a family in Salamanca, and my host mother cooked everything in olive oil, in a big cast-iron skillet," recalls Lebherz. "She rarely changed the oil, and it became spiced. Whether she was frying potatoes in olive oil or making paella, every meal was so delicious. " After Lebherz returned to the States and graduated from college, her cravings for the quality olive oil she'd enjoyed abroad turned her into an entrepreneur.

Baltimore-based Pompeian Inc. has become the first olive oil maker to have the quality of its products backed by the United States Department of Agriculture, the company announced. The manufacturer has obtained approval for its extra virgin and extra virgin organic olive oils through the USDA's Quality Monitoring Program, which tests products to verify purity and quality. To enter the USDA program, Pompeian agreed to unannounced visits and testing of product samples. The product verification will allow the privately owned company to start placing a USDA logo on its products this month and will give consumers additional assurances, said David Bensadoun, chief executive officer of Pompeian.

A recipe for Irish boxty, courtesy of Slainte chef Chris Marquis: 1 1/2  cups grated raw potato 1 cup  flour 1 cup leftover mashed potatoes 1 egg 1 Tablespoon skim milk olive oil salt and pepper Toss the grated potatoes with flour in a large bowl. Stir in mashed potatoes until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and skim milk; mix into the potatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

New research has found that the Mediterranean diet is linked to a healthy heart. The diet is rich in vegetables, fish, olive oil and nuts. Thinking of switching or adopting some of the principals of the diet? Here is a Mediterranean diet recipe from the Mayo Clinic to get you started. Have a healthy recipe you'd like to share? Send it to andrea.walker@baltsun.com. Ingredients 1 small eggplant, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch slices 1 small yellow zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices 1 small green zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices 6 medium mushrooms, sliced 1 sweet red pepper, seeded, cored and cut into chunks 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil 6 cups water 1 1/2 cups coarse polenta (corn grits)

Even those of us who enjoy the intimacy (and challenge) of sit-down-style dinner parties like the more informal holiday gatherings that revolve around appetizers and desserts for larger get-togethers. The host gets to strut a greater variety of interesting edibles than he usually whips up, and the guests get to mingle while enjoying each other's company and what are essentially finger foods. Another virtue of an appetizer and dessert party is that the "menu" can be eclectic, drawing inspiration from world cuisines in offerings that can appeal to virtually any tastes.

This potato salad recipe bucks the usual drenched-in-mayo stereotype — and that's a good thing. It's vegan (and gluten-free), but don't let that steer you away. You can't beat the flavor, thanks to a dressing with a base of apple cider vinegar, olive oil, red onion, herbs and more. My husband's cousin Coco, who blogs at http://www.operagirlcooks.com , developed the recipe to be served warm, which is outstanding. But the few times we've had leftovers, we've enjoyed it chilled, too. The flavors intensify as it sits, so if you make it ahead for a tailgate party or other event and chill it overnight, it's just as good.

Chicken is everywhere, from road-side shacks to four-star restaurants. The problem with chicken these days is that it has been bred more for quantity than quality. Luckily in the past few years, local farmers have been producing chickens that have amazing flavor and texture (and that are raised in much better conditions than typical supermarket birds). At the farmers markets around the area, chicken is one of the easier products to find now that most vegetables are out of season. This recipe is perfect for the cold weather.

Beets are back in style. Long thought of as the food of older generations, or deemed too messy to deal with, beets have come back with the help of great chefs across the world. A culinary staple for thousands of years, beets are among the more striking of vegetables, ranging in hues from yellow to dark crimson and all colors in between. There are even some varieties that resemble a bull's-eye. I usually roast beets and dress them with olive oil and a splash of vinegar, but sometimes I want to do a little more.

A person who broke into an East Baltimore company and opened a valve to a tanker holding nearly 6,000 gallons of olive oil caused a spill that marred the harbor's waters and could take days to clean, authorities said yesterday. Baltimore police and state environmental officials believe someone broke into Pompeian Olive Oil Co. in the 4200 block of Pulaski Highway and opened the valve. It's unclear what the intruder's motives were, authorities said. The extra-virgin oil ran from the plastic-lined steel container into a storm drain, flowing for two miles into the harbor near Boston Avenue and Linwood streets in Canton.

A prominent Baltimore-based advertising firm has won a $2.5 million- to $3 million-a-year contract from the Greek government and its olive oil industry to promote olive oil in the United States and Canada.Trahan, Burden & Charles, which until recently marketed the Spanish Pompeian olive oil, was selected by the Hellenic Foreign Trade Board in Athens over four New York and Chicago agencies that competed for the two-year contract. The Athens board represents 24 olive oil producers.The contract calls for Trahan not only to promote all olive oil produced in Greece, but individual brands as well.

Radishes are lucky to be at any American table. Used in salads as filler and crudités plates for color they are always the last to be eaten (if they're eaten at all). It's understandable, though, because the varieties we buy from the supermarket are extremely bitter and rather unpleasant by themselves. The varieties of radish at the farmers market are more varied, but even the milder English versions are peppery and conducive to eating by themselves. The way to bite back at these is to roast them.

It's been years since Maggie Lebherz lived in sunny Spain as a college exchange student. Yet just one taste of fresh olive oil takes her back in spirit. "In 2007, I lived with a family in Salamanca, and my host mother cooked everything in olive oil, in a big cast-iron skillet," recalls Lebherz. "She rarely changed the oil, and it became spiced. Whether she was frying potatoes in olive oil or making paella, every meal was so delicious. " After Lebherz returned to the States and graduated from college, her cravings for the quality olive oil she'd enjoyed abroad turned her into an entrepreneur.