Macadamia nut oils give cooks versatility By Craig T. Kojma, Star-Bulletin
Macadamia nut oils give cooks versatility By Craig T. Kojma, Star-Bulletin
Look to infused oils' versatility as a condiment to drizzle on vegetables, pastas, fish or bruschetta. Stir them into soups or sauces. Use them as an ingredient in all kinds of sauces, vinaigrettes, pastas and other dishes.
By using infused oils, cooks can save themselves a large step in the cooking process, says chef Michael Chiarello of Tra Vigne in California's Napa Valley.
"You get immediate flavor throughout the whole dish," says Chiarello, co-author of "Flavored Oils: 50 Recipes for Cooking With Infused Oils" (Chronicle Books, $12.95).
Splash the combustible "Pele's Fire" onto spareribs, ham, eggs or pork. And, toss cooked and drained pasta with a tablespoon of flavorful "Kona Spice" before rounding out the dish with vegetables, shrimp or chicken.
A three-pack of five-ounce bottles of Pele's Fire, Kona Spice and unflavored Hawaii's Gold costs about $19. The infused oils are available at Compleat Kitchen, Executive Chef and Strawberry Connection. For information, call 637-5620.
The large onions are sweeter than regular yellow onions, and are selling for 59 cents a pound at Star Market and Safeway. At Safeway, weekend grillers may pick up boneless Spencer steaks also, at $3.99 a pound.