italian Archives - Queen of the Food Age

Wild Olive

April 5, 2013

So, I’ve mentioned before that Wild Olive is my mom’s favorite restaurant in Charleston (and possibly all of South Carolina), but I’ve never actually taken the time to write it up before. Since I had the pleasure of dining there a couple weeks back, I made sure to take lots of photos to put on this blog. Looking back at the photos, the’yre pretty terrible (low light + cell phone camera = crappy pictures), so I’ll just have to woo you over with my words (and pictures I find on Google). Here’s an interior shot I took before the sun set.

And this is one of the better ones.

I’ve been with my mom a couple of times. She absolutely loves the “marinated warm olives,” so we always end up ordering those.

This picture comes from the Wild Olive website and makes me really wish I liked olives.

I love the “house cured salumi with mozzarella, caponata, chicken liver rustica crostini” appetizer because it is delicious. I know a lot of people see “chicken liver” and get grossed out, but trust me. It is so freaking good. I also love the fresh mozzarella, but let’s face it, I am a sucker for fresh mozzarella. Plus, salami/salumi is delicious, and they give you a bunch of different kinds of salami on a platter, so how can you go wrong with that?

As you can see, I took this from the Wild Olive website. I wish my pictures looked this fly.

I also really love the arancini balls there, or as they’re listed on the menu, “suppli al telefono risotto fritters stuffed with sausage, spinach, parmesan, mozzarella.” So delicious. They’re not big like the ones they make in Boston, but they’re still really yummy. When you bite/cut into them they’re hot, cheesy, and really delicious.

Also, I am always a huge fan of anything deep fried and stuffed with cheese.

The most recent time I went with my new friend Regina, we started with the beef carpaccio (beef carpaccio with parmesan, horseradish aioli, melba toast, arugula, Sicilian sea salt). It’s basically like a beef salami and I really loved it. I think the sea salt and horseradish aioli added a nice element to the dish as a whole. The consistency kind of threw me off a little bit, because it’s very soft. I’m glad they gave me the crostini to balance it out.

As you can see, I took a piece from the middle of the plate before I remembered to take the picture.

We also got the bruschetta which is different than normal bruschetta as it came topped with rapini, purple cape beans, chile flake, garlic, and pecorino sardo. I think they change it out seasonally, because I’ve seen different pictures online. It was kind of weird eating bread with beans on it, but I think I really liked it. They did a really good job of balancing the flavors of each ingredient.

I’ll have an entire salad on my bread, please. Thanks!

I usually try to be adventurous, so I was intrigued by the “squid ink linguine with local shrimp, tomato, garlic, fresh spicy red chile, basil.” However, I’m not crazy about shrimp pasta, but I really wanted to be able to say that I’ve had squid ink pasta before. I asked the waiter how it was and he said “It’s good, but it basically tastes like seafood pasta. If you don’t like fishy tasting food, don’t get it.” So. Instead I was lame and basic and opted for the chicken parmesan. I know, I know. But it’s SO GOOD. It comes with “potato alfredo, marinara, mozzarella, arugula,” and it is SO good.

This picture I grabbed from Charleston Crafted

Last time we went, my mom got the “Grilled Stevenson Place Farms grass-fed steak with smashed fried and truffled Yukon gold potatoes,” but she doesn’t love truffle oil, so instead she replaced the potatoes with an order of potato gnocchi in marinara sauce. As I recall, she loved it.

Even though that steak is the size of her whole head.

Regina and I also got dessert, because apparently she considers herself something of a tiramisu connoisseur. Luckily for me, she was nice enough to share it with me, and let me say. Wow. That tiramisu is damn good.

This picture I grabbed from Urbanspoon.

I’ve always had a really positive experience every time I’ve gone to Wild Olive. From the food, to the ambience, to the service, to the wine, it’s always a good time. It’s definitely worth driving out to John’s Island!

Ok. Time for my lunch break.

Wild Olive
2867 Maybank Highway
John’s Island S.C. 29455
(843) 737-4177

3 Comments

Events

The Feast Of Saint Anthony, Boston, MA

September 12, 2012

So a few weeks back, I went to Boston with my mom to help move Naomi into her dorm at Emerson. At first, I was overwhelmed by the sheer size and scope of the city and pretty much decided that I’d never be able to handle living in a city that big. After a few days of exploring the city and subway system, however, I pretty much owned the city.

Soon it’ll be a crown atop my head instead of dollar store sunglasses.

We picked a great time to go, as the North End of Boston (aka where to find all the delicious, authentic italian food in Boston) was holding the The Feast of Saint Anthony. There was a huge religious aspect of it–mass, prayers, devotions, singing, hanging aprons made of dollar bills around a statue’s neck–you know, the usual Catholic stuff.

“Everyday I’m hustlin” -St. Anthony

I was drawn to the Feast not for the religious aspect, (shocker) but for the numerous food stands offering delicious italian fare. Below is a list what we feasted on at the festival.

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Arancini (rice balls)

What. Were you not expecting to receive a ball of rice the size of a small pumpkin?

We got one from an un-named vendor at the Thacher Street entrance of the feast. It was about the size of a softball, maybe a little bigger. They were making them homemade right at the feast, so I know we were getting fresh, delicious, homemade food, nothing pre-frozen or manufactured. You could get them stuffed with either spinach and cheese or meat and peas, and topped with gravy (aka marinara sauce). We split a meat-and-peas-stuffed rice ball between the 4 of us, and still had some leftover. It was amazing. The gravy was clearly homemade and better than any red sauce I’ve ever gotten anywhere in the south. My mom kept saying that it tasted like her grandmother’s spaghetti sauce, and then she got this far away look in her eyes.

A galaxy far, far away kind of look

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Gnocchi

om nom nom

I don’t even know how to describe the consistency of the gnocchi that we got at the fair, but I loved it. It wasn’t quite firm, but it wasn’t soft either. I think it was made with ricotta, but it’s hard to say. All I know is we pretty much inhaled it.

No, not *that* kind of inhale.

Real Italian Meatballs

BALLS OF MEAT ARE MY FAVORITE

This is where Tina and I got into a bit of a tiff. I thought the meatball we got at the feast (which was about the size of a baseball) was the best I’ve ever eaten. She claims hers are the best and got all offended when I suggested otherwise. Some people just can’t take criticism.

Did it just get chilly in here, or is that just me?

1 Comments

Recipes

Italian-Style Turkey Meatballs

August 22, 2012

So, I recently started dieting, kind of, and was trying to find some ways to use ground turkey in place of ground beef to save some calories and fat. I Frankensteined some recipes that I found off of the internet together to come up with this Turkey Meatball recipe that I think is pretty delicious…but then, I think everything I cook is delicious, so…

…ok, well MOST everything I cook.

Ingredients:

1 pound Ground Turkey 93/7
1/2 C Red Onion
1/4 C Chopped Red Bell Pepper
2 tsp Minced Garlic
1/2 C Ricotta Cheese, part skim milk
1/2 C Italian-style Breadcrumbs (I used Progresso)
1 Tbsp Dried Parsley
3 Tsp Italian Spices Mix
2 Tsp Black Pepper
2 Tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, mix together everything but the olive oil.

Oh, boy, doesn’t that look appetizing!

2. Add the olive oil to a frying pan set on medium-high heat and start rolling out your meatballs. I got about 16 balls out of the whole thing, but depending on how big you’re making them, you might get more or less.

They’re getting there!

3. Cook them until they register 165 degree internal temperature. I like to have a little crisp on the side, so I turned the heat up a bit at the end, but it’s totally up to you.

That’s not burned, it’s “crisp!”

4. Serve the yummy meatballs with some pasta or just with some marinara sauce for a meal. Only 300 calories per serving (serves 5 people, or one person over 5 meals, which is what I ended up doing). I also sprinkled it with some fresh basil and parmesan cheese. Yummm!

See, now it looks really yummy. OH YE OF LITTLE FAITH

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Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week 6/25/12

June 25, 2012

So, I’ve been in Cleveland, Ohio since Wednesday night visiting the Italian side of my family to celebrate my cousin Naomi graduating from High School. That’s 3 kids down, 5 to go on my mom’s side in terms of high school graduations. I’ve got a good feeling that the rest of the kids will do just fine.

As it is with any italian family gathering, there’s been food galore. I’ve definitely been overeating (the food’s so good it’s impossible not to). I can already tell I’m going to hate myself this time next week for all the food I’ve eaten, but I’ll worry about that later. You can expect next week’s food quote to be about salad or something lame like that, I’m sure. But for this week, I have the perfect quote. I hope it makes you laugh, because I definitely did.

“The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you’re hungry again.”
–George Miller

After this picture was taken he ate both the penguin and the oscar.

1 Comments

Recipes

The World’s Best Lasagna

December 13, 2011

So for my official “Night Before My Last Day Dinner Party” I decided to make lasagna for the coworkers I invited over to share in the feast. I had all of these people to impress so I knew I had to do something more than just thaw out a Stouffer’s lasagna (although Stouffer’s is delicious). So I found this recipe online HERE and tweaked it a bit to fit with what I had and how much time I had to do it in. Here is my tweaked recipe:

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet Italian sausage (I used Johnsonville)
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
6 tablespoons dried parsley
No-boil lasagna noodles (I used about 24)
32 ounces ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
12 slices provolone cheese
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

In a large saute pan (one with high sides, you’re going to be adding a bunch of liquid to it), cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 4 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Meat sauce done right.
In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with eggs, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
To assemble, spread 1 ladle full of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with ricotta cheese mixture, and layer with sliced tomatoes. Top with sauce, and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. I eyeballed this, so just use what feels right. I topped it with a bit more meat sauce and then stacked the noodles on top. Repeat layers.
Noodle meat. (that’s what she said)
Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Add 6 slices of provolone and cover with foil. I used non-stick foil with the non-stick side down toward the cheese to keep the cheese from sticking. You could do the same basic thing by spraying aluminum foil with some Pam or other non-stick spray.
I’ll have a side of cheese with my cheese, please. Also, noodle meat.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. I noticed that the cheese was browning a bit too much around the 19 minute mark, so I took it out a bit early.
Right after I took the foil off.

19 minutes later. aka perfection.

Needless to say, the lasagna was pretty ballin’. Everyone ate pretty much all of it. I made two casseroles full and only one little slice was left over. I laid out hors d’oeurves to accompany the lasagna, including buttery crescent rolls, meat balls and tomato sauce, and mini caprese salad bites (grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil on a toothpick).

I seriously could eat ten thousand of these things. So. Good.

Les brought salad and we all drank wine to go with it. We laughed and talked for like 3 hours. Probably the most fun I’ve had in a really long time. Plus the lasagna was delicious. Then I made chocolate chip biscotti for dessert. It was pretty decadent.

Biscotti is italian for “Cookies from Heaven”

I’m pretty freaking awesome.