[.ca] The Olive Harvest Cookbook: Olive Oil Lore and Recipes ... (ISBN 0811841626)

Just average. Unispired and unoriginal.:
As an avid chef and artisan who creates my own decorative olive oil bottles, I am immersed in the olive and olive oil culture and I have to say I expected more from this book considering the McEvoy ranch's reputation. I thought the recipes were uninspired and unoriginal and nothing I hadn't seen somewhere before. Who needs a recipe for mashed potatoes or lemon roasted chicken? If you are looking for more unique fare, I would suggest you check out Mustards Grill by Cindy Pawlcyn. In there you will find recipes for butternut squash and goat cheese risotto and salmon roulade with kalamata olive, orange and celery relish. Beth Powanda www.impressedglasswaredesigns.com

An appetizing cookbook to simply page through:
Written by the executive chef of McEvoy Ranch, a place renowned for its organic extra virgin olive oil, The Olive Harvest is a sumptuous cookbook of recipes that showcase the flavors and delights that can be created with olive oil, or that use olive oil as a garnish. Full color photographs by Maren Caruso and explicit step-by-step instructions walk the amateur to professional chef through the steps of creating such delicacies as Lemon-Tarragon Gazpacho; Warm White Bean Salad; Salt Cod with Potatoes, Leeks, and Saffron; Walnut-Olive Oil Cake, and much more. An appetizing cookbook to simply page through, offering succulent and memorable dishes.

Decent.:
First off, the recipes I've made so far were all delicious, clear directions and accurate time estimations. Three complaints: 1. OK, I get it! The McEvoy Ranch is fabulous. Stop selling "the Ranch" on every page. Very tiresome and ended up feeling like I bought an expensive brochure for . . . you guessed it: the Ranch (and some San Fran area restaurants). 2. No calorie or nutrional information. If you are going to take the opportunity to sell me on your Ranch and your friends' restaurants (on nearly every page), at least pretend you care about the reader and include this useful information. I'm no slave to the calorie counter but after you toil thru the ads and self-congratulating genius of buying the wonderous ranch, can the writers condescend to actually assist the reader? Answer: No. 3. The informational section reads like it was taken out of an encyclopedia. Very sterile and boring, basically, no flavor to the writing. Bottom line: Yes there are some delicious recipes but don't pay full price for it.