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On the KBK Podcast, Angela interviews gourmet food expert and chef, Debbie Gokhan, who is the COO and Chicago small business owner of Oil & Vinegar.  Chef Gokhan shares her own customized recipes with us and talks daily with her customers and fellow foodies in the U.S.  Debbie tells us all about her world travels, discovery of new flavors and how she uses unique, new flavors from around the world in her dishes. 

Gokhan is passionate about flavor and is responsible for traveling the globe in search of the most unique and flavorful products to add to the brands product line which includes “on-tap” oils and vinegars, along with mustards, sauces, pestos, tapenades, olives, marinated vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes, honeys, fig spreads, fondue chocolates, dried herb mixes, sea salts, spices and a variety of flavored pastas. 

Read Chef Debbie Gokhan's blog at http://passionateabouttaste.blogspot.com/

Today, we discuss her recipes for White Truffle Risotto and Simple Romaine Salad with our recipe testers!  (And it was DELICIOUS!)

Truffle risotto

(highlighted ingredients are from Oil and Vinegar, but substitutes are listed)

Ingredients:

1 package Truffle risotto

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon white truffle olive oil

1 cup white wine

2 cups chicken stock

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Heat the chicken stock in a saucepan. In a separate sauce pan, melt the butter and add the risotto mix.
2. Toast over low heat, stirring constantly for a minute or two.
3. Add the wine and stir until evaporated.
4. Add a ladle of simmering chicken stock to the risotto and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally.
5. As the liquid is absorbed, add another ladle of chicken stock, continue the process until the chicken stock is gone. About 20 minutes.
   
6. Turn off the heat, add the white truffle olive oil and parmesan cheese and serve immediately. If you don’t have the Oil & Vinegar truffle risotto, you can substitute with 1 cup Arborio rice, 4 shallots finely chopped, 1 garlic clove finely chopped and 1 black or white truffle (optional).

Simple Romaine Salad

4-6 cups of romaine lettuce
1 cup of croutons
Shaved or grated parmesan

Dressing:

4 tablespoons of Bonsecco extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of garlic mustard
¼ teaspoon of flavors and flowers sea salt

1. Put the romaine and croutons in a salad bowl.
2. Put all dressing ingredients in a dressing shaker, shake well and pour onto salad and toss.
3. Top the salad with grated or shaved parmesan.
4. We used a fruity, medium bodied Tuscan extra virgin olive oil to complement the sweetness of the white balsamic and the savory of the parmesan cheese.

• If you don’t have Oil & Vinegar brand products, substitute the Bonsecco with a high quality extra virgin olive oil, the white balsamic vinegar with a high quality white balsamic; for the garlic mustard, use dijon mustard with 1 clove of garlic crushed. The flavors and flowers sea salt can be substituted with plain salt and pepper.

We also discussed this awesome gadget that easily juices lemons without waste and while retaining the seeds!  To get yours, contact the

Oil and Vinegar Store nearest you at: http://www.oilandvinegarusa.com/ 

I can't wait to get mine!

Krizia, aka MissK, is one of our recipe testers that shared her experience with us.    She is an international author of an acclaimed food guide and she's also a former self-taught personal chef who helped people make smart lunch choices. Krizia's approach to healthy eating is about keeping it simple, approachable and REAL!

In June 2009 (two months after launching Eat Smart Age Smart), Krizia was awarded with the nomination of ‘Top 200 Health Blogger' in the Healthy Eating category by Well Sphere.  Well Sphere has over 3000 health bloggers as part of their network, but only 200 (located in 35 countries) have received the mention of ‘Top Health Blogger'!

Congratz, MissK!  You can visit Krizia's on Eat Smart Age Smart:

http://www.eatsmartagesmart.com/

Emily, our second recipe tester, loves risotto, so this show was right up her alley!  Her husband was happy with these recipes, too!

Emily’s number one hobby is to cook and eat! Past jobs have included Public Relations for a firm as well as an online specialty food company… But there’s no business like show business, so she’s currently the director of marketing for Far Away Entertainment and spends her off time cooking (and eating!). Favorite foods include gnocchi, butternut squash, quince paste, cheese, Hood Canal Dungeness crab and anything that comes out of her husband’s smoker.

Blog: http://swankytacotuesday.blogspot.com/

Far Away Entertainment: http://farawayentertainment.com/

Thank you for listening and please comment on how the recipes worked for you!