olive oil review

A while back on the food blog, I wrote a glowing Montana Mex Seasoned Salts review. I still use them daily and love them wildly. If you aren’t familiar with these world-rocking salts, read the review – then try them for yourself. They’re found, conveniently, on Amazon.

It turns out Montana Mex has more than just badass seasoned salts. They also bottle their badassery. Because I’m one lucky food blogger, I received a bottle of their Extra Virgin Olive Oil to review. I will also be reviewing a few of their other better-than-they-have-a-right-to-be condiments in a follow up post.

But let’s stick with this addictive, smooth and flavorful EVOO for now – as it deserves our full attention. See the picture above? If you see a photo of something I’ve reviewed, pictured alongside the product I bought on my own, you know it was a huge hit. I ordered my own bottle before my review bottle even ran out!

Montana Mex Avocado Oil is a 100% natural, cold pressed, extra virgin avocado oil with omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids. Not only is it (naturally) gluten free, it’s non-gmo verified and kosher certified to boot. See the words “… with high levels of antioxidants” on the front of the bottle? Yeah, I’m crazy wild about that.

‘Cold pressed’ simply means that all the goodness is still inside. It has not been treated or heated. The avocados are simply handpicked, mashed and then pressed to give you nutrient rich avocado oil.

Simply delicious and deliciously simple.

Roasted Asparagus and Carrots with Montana Mex Avocado Oil

My Favorite Ways to Use the Montana Mex Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Avocado Oil

It is ideal for frying eggs – which I then season with one (or a combo) of the seasoned salts (Chile Seasoned Sea Salt, Sweet Seasoned Sea Salt, Picante Seasoned Sea Salt). I have always loved a mixture of butter and EVOO when frying eggs. The butter brings the flavor to the party, while the EVOO keeps the butter from embarrassing itself. This beautiful Avocado Oil doesn’t need any butter, thank you very much, as it has plenty of flavor on its own.
I also love this Avocado Oil for sauteing onions and other vegetables. It gives them an extra subtle flavor that brings out their best.
One of my favorite ways to cook chicken strips is to marinate them in a mixture of Italian Dressing, honey, and lime juice for a few hours. Then I fry them in an iron skillet with a little olive oil. Montana Mex’s Avocado Oil gives these strips even more flavor. Somehow the lime and honey (two of my personal culinary obsessions) work with the avocado oil in a way they don’t work with any other oil. The flavor combo is like a match made in culinary Heaven.
Vinaigrettes – This is a fun and tasty new way to add excitement to your tired old vinaigrette recipe.
Drizzled on top of vegetables before roasting, it gives them an extra layer of flavor.
When I made a huge taco salad a few weeks ago, I drizzled a little Montana Mex Avocado Oil in a dish and added a little lime zest and fresh black pepper. It made a delicious dip for heated tortillas.

Basically, I use it anywhere I typically use EVOO. The above are just a few that come to mind (because I make them so often).

Why I have this review listed under “Christmas Gift Guide Ideas”

Foodies and cooks get a special kind of excited when we receive gift baskets filled with new ingredients, foods, condiments, etc. Placing something unique and extra cool like Montana Mex Avocado Oil (as well as their salts and condiments) in a bag with colorful dishtowels or a great looking set of salsa bowls is thoughtful… heck, it’d give you hero status. Trust me.

Visit Montana Mex‘s Official Website for more information and read more about their delicious Avocado Oil here.

You can also follow Montana Mex on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

I was recently sent a set of Pasolivo Olive Oils to try and it was love at first sight and life-long commitment at first bite. There’s a saying young people have when they’re completely blown away by something – they say that particular thing is “everything right now.” I’m going to go ahead and borrow that phrase because in my kitchen, Pasolivo Oils are everything right now. Read the review along with ways I’ve used these beautiful oils below. Be sure to keep reading after each picture, because the raving will continue.

When it comes to not only being the best cook you possibly can be, but also keeping your cooking exciting and fun, my number one tip is this: set yourself up for success by filling your pantry with the best ingredients you can get your oven mitts on. Not just your favorite staples that you swear by, but also exciting, refreshing new ingredients and food that’ll take the ordinary to the extraordinary.

The concept… the very words, in fact… of taking the ordinary to the extraordinary came to me recently when I made something I make probably 20 times a month – fried eggs.

Fried Eggs with Pasolivo Citrus Olive Oil

Pasolivo’s Citrus Olive Oil

Typically, I use a combination of olive oil and butter in the pan when frying eggs. Butter, of course, brings a wonderful flavor to the egg game, as does olive oil. Olive oil also keeps butter from getting too dark and ruining everything. However, a few weeks ago, as I was about to make a couple of eggs over easy, I reached for my Pasolivo Citrus Olive Oil instead of my regular olive oil. I told the butter he could sit this one out – so I simply added a little of the beautiful smelling Citrus Olive Oil to the pan and cooked my eggs as I normally do

Holy. Cats. It was out of this world. The citrus flavor combined with the eggs in a way that is almost impossible to describe. Basically, it took something that I’ve made a million times and made it seem like it was something brand new.

It took ordinary to extraordinary.

The Pasolivo Citrus Olive Oil is also fantastic for grilled asparagus. Asparagus is a frequent guest in our kitchen, and I love the fresh new flavor the Citrus Oil gives to this longtime friend. I would imagine Pasolivo’s Lemon Oil would also be fantastic with grilled vegetables. I look forward to finding out!

Roasted New Potatoes with Pasolivo Rosemary Olive Oil

Pasolivo’s Rosemary Olive Oil

Pasolivo’s beautifully fragrant and delicious Rosemary Olive Oil has the exact same effect on chicken, roasted new potatoes (pictured above), pork, and (of course) pasta. It woke up a pasta salad recently by infusing such a wonderful rosemary flavor that you’d swear you were eating in an herb garden.

I love using the Rosemary Olive Oil in my skillet for cooking chicken strips. The Rosemary Oil brings a fresh, authentically Italian flavor to anything you pair it with. Drizzled over new potatoes, it made possibly the best roasted potatoes I’ve ever had.

Roasted Tomatoes with Pasolivo Rosemary Olive Oil

The Rosemary Olive Oil makes the best roasted tomatoes I’ve ever had and I have no intention of ever roasting tomatoes without it again. Sometimes I drizzle the Rosemary Olive Oil over the tomatoes and roast them in the oven, but my favorite way to “roast” the tomatoes is simply to drizzle the pan with the Rosemary Oil, then (after the skillet has gotten hot), simply place the tomatoes – right on the vine – in the skillet.

They sit and “roast” while I’m getting everything else ready. Finish off with a little sea salt or Kosher salt and you have a side that’s as delicious as it is nutritious.

I’d expect that Pasolivo’s Basil Olive Oil is a Heavenly combo with tomatoes, too.

You can, of course, simply slice tomatoes (or halve cherry tomatoes) and arrange them on a platter with mozzarella slices or balls… then drizzle with Olive Oil or Rosemary Olive Oil, a little salt, and BOOM! A quick, easy, and oh so good appetizer or side.

Pasolivo’s Lime Olive Oil

I’ve also completely loved the Lime Olive Oil. I have used it with fish and chicken – so good! I haven’t tried the Lemon Olive Oil yet, but I have a feeling it is every bit as memorable as the Lime. Seriously, the lime olive oil brings out a fresh, new flavor in fish and chicken dishes.

The Lime Olive Oil pairs beautifully with chicken (grilled chicken with the lime oil is pictured toward the top of the post). The subtle flavor it adds somehow compliments chicken’s natural flavor and kicks it up to a whole new level.

I’ve also used the Pasolivo Lime Olive Oil when making tacos and other southwestern dishes. Pictured above is a Black Bean Rice Bowl I made for supper one night not long ago. I steamed the rice, sauteed onion, jalapeno peppers, and chopped green pepper in the Lime Olive Oil, then added canned black beans (drained and rinsed), a little more lime olive oil, and salt.

When it came time to assemble the bowls, I put the steamed rice on the bottom, followed by the black bean mixture, chopped tomatoes, shredded leaf lettuce, white cheese, crumbled Queso Fresco, and cilantro.

The flavor the lime olive oil brought to the party made the entire dish fresh, flavorful, and flat out delicious.

There is absolutely NO artificial or “off” flavor with Pasolivo’s Rosemary, Lime or Citrus Olive Oils – they simply taste perfect. You’d swear the flavor came from real citrus and rosemary. They’re mind-bogglingly delicious.

Pasolivo Rosemary Olive Oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pasolivo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pasolivo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil is also excellent. To be honest, it’s in a league of its own. When you specialize in making the best Olive Oils you possibly can, you tend to become something of an expert in the field. You can taste Pasolivo’s expertise each and every time. I also LOVE the adorable tins these oils come in. They’re fun, unique, and make me smile every time I see them on my counter.

They’re far too good looking to put into a pantry or cabinet. Mine sit out right beside my Rachael Ray gadgets – an honor afforded to precious few.

Pasolivo’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil is also a delicious and healthy alternative for buttery garlic bread. Pour a little into a beautiful dish, add a little cracked black pepper – then dip your bread into the deliciousness – healthier than butter and uncommonly delicious. As you’d imagine, the Rosemary Olive Oil is PERFECT for this approach. PERFECT.

Pasolivo has a beautiful assortment of olive oils (click here to view all of them):

Rosemary Olive Oil
Citrus Olive Oil
Basil Olive Oil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Tangerine Olive Oil
California Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Lemon Olive Oil
Lime Olive Oil
Kitchen Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I often love the food products and kitchen gadgets I’m sent to review on Get Cooking. Every now and then something will come along and I honestly wonder how I ever lived without it. I’ll go on to become their biggest fan and most loyal customer. This is definitely the case with Pasolivo Oils. I have no intention of ever running out of the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Rosemary Olive Oil, Citrus Olive Oil, or Lime Olive Oil.

What’s more, I fully intend to buy and use each of the others. I’ll let you know how wonderful they are.

Visit Pasolivo’s Website for more information about the company, tips, recipes, and ideas for using their award winning olive oils. Be sure to order some for yourself today.

You’ll be incredibly glad you did so.

Montana Mex Avocado Oil: Review of a Complete Obsession