New summertime uses for olive oil and balsamic vinegar

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Looking for some new simple and flavorful recipes to try this summer? Then consider adding olive oil and vinegar to your dishes – in new and unique ways.

Manassas Olive Oil, located on Grant Avenue in downtown Manassas, has a few recipes and summer food ideas they’d like to share.

Their shop sells a wide variety of olive oils and vinegars that they’ve paired with their summer favorites.

One of the unconventional – but delicious – recipes is for their seltzer water, which includes adding balsamic vinegar.

“It sounds weird, but it’s actually works really well,” said Manassas Olive Oil owner Cameron Thomson.

Here’s the recipe:

Seltzer with a Twist

The summer heat is hard to beat, but this low calorie, refreshing beverage will do just the trick! It sounds weird, but just a little bit of balsamic in some seltzer adds some delicious, low calorie, all natural sweetness to sparkling water!

Ingredients:

1 liter Seltzer or sparkling water

2-3 Tablespoons of MOOC cara-cara orange vanilla OR Sicilian lemon white balsamic

Add balsamic to seltzer, pour over ice, and enjoy!

Hosting a cookout or party this summer? Here are some recipes that Thomson recommends, that are simple and delicious:

Grilled Spicy Honey Wings

An easy summertime BBQ recipe that packs just the right amount of heat and flavor!

Ingredients:

6 Chicken Wings

Manassas Olive Oil Company French Provincial Sea Salt

Wing Sauce:
1/4 cup MOOC Baklouti pepper Fused Olive Oil
2 tsp MOOC Honey Aleppo Pepper seasoning

Sprinkle salt over chicken
Grill chicken until cooked thoroughly.

Mix sauce ingredients.
Brush sauce over grilled chicken wings
Eat and Enjoy!

Butter Chipotle Wings

A milder grilled wing recipe that combines buttery goodness with the smoky sweetness of chipotle flavor!

Ingredients:

6 Chicken Wings

Manassas Olive Oil Company French Provincial Sea Salt

Wing Sauce:
1/4 cup MOOC Butter infused Olive Oil
2 tsp MOOC chipotle seasoning

Sprinkle salt over chicken
Grill chicken until cooked thoroughly.

Mix sauce ingredients.
Brush sauce over grilled chicken wings
Eat and Enjoy!

Grilled Peaches:

Just the perfect healthy summer dessert treat!

Ingredients:

2 Fresh Peaches

2 Tablespoons Cinnamon Pear OR Blueberry Balsamic

Honey (Optional)

Pre-heat grill to high temperature

Slice peaches into ~8 slices (remove pit)

Grill peaches ~1 minute per side or until slightly charred and soft

Brush with balsamic and drizzle with honey and enjoy!

Do you have a sweet tooth? There are even recipes that incorporate olive oil and balsamic vinegar into dessert treats, like brownies, and even ice cream.

“Usually when you make brownies you use vegetable oil…but you can substitute in olive oil, and it’s really good. You can use olive oil for baking, which most people don’t realize,” said Thomson.

Here’s the recipe for Thomson’s brownie sundae:

“Oil and Vinegar” Brownie Sundae!

We know what you’re thinking – but trust us on this one. Substituting blood orange olive oil for vegetable oil is a healthier alternative, and adds a wonderful hint of orange that pairs perfectly with rich chocolate taste. Our aged balsamic have the perfect mix of flavor, sweetness, and just a hint of tartness that make it perfect to drizzle on ice cream!

Ingredients:

Brownies:

½ cup MOOC Blood Orange Fused oil

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup flour

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix oil and sugar until well blended.

Add eggs and vanilla; stir just until blended.

Mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Stir dry ingredients into the oil/sugar mixture.
TIP!: The secret to fudgy brownies is to mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients SLOWLY until just blended.

Pour into greased 9 x 9 square pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until sides just start to pull away from the pan.

Cool completely before cutting.

One of the quirkiest and unexpected combinations is pouring one of Manassas Olive Oil’s balsamic vinegar’s on your next bowl of ice cream.

“Some people use it as a substitute for syrup…you wouldn’t usually do that, but with a high quality aged balsamic vinegar, you get a combination that works really well,” Thomson said.

Sundae:

Your Favorite Vanilla Ice Cream

MOOC Dark Chocolate OR Black Cherry Balsamic

1 Cherry

Add 2 scoops of ice cream to bowl

Drizzle 1-2 teaspoons of balsamic on ice cream

Add brownie and cherry on top

Enjoy!

These modern takes on summer dishes may be different, but they have lots of flavor, and once you try the olive oils and vinegars for yourself, you’ll see why it’s a great addition to your summer recipes.

Thomson said that the store does offer samples of their products so customers can find what they like.

“When people taste what we have to offer, they get hooked,” said Thomson.