Friday, February 19, 2010

Monica’s Fine Foods Featuring Calabrian Olive Oil (and a giveaway!)


Posted on: Feb 15, 2010

Did you know 25% of Italy’s olive oil comes from my favorite little region that is burrowed down deep at the toe of the boot? Well, it does.

It is also a staple in every Calabrian kitchen and is used in antipasto dishes, pasta plates, meat, fish and even desserts. In fact, it is a little joke around our house because most recipes don’t even list olive oil or garlic in their ingredients … because, you know, they are a given – you should know to use them.

Marcella Hazan, renowned Italian food

writer and author of Marcella Cucina cookbook said, “The taste of a dish for which you need olive oil will be as good or as ordinary as the oil you use. A sublime one can lift even modest ingredients to eminent heights of flavor; a dreary oil will pull the best ingredients down to its own level. Partial clues to the quality of the olive oil you are buying are supplied by the label and the price, but ultimately, the only way to determine which one, among those available, is right for you is to taste and compare.”

And that’s where we come in.

Through the magical interwoven web of the Internet, I met Monica Kripalani, a new distributor of Calabrian olive oil whose recent trip to the mezziogiorno changed her life. After a brief tour through Calabria and into the hills of Lamezia Terme, Monica decided to open Monica’s Fine Foods to share her new-found love of Davoli Olive Oil with North America.

And that, my friends, means you.

Monica is giving away one 250ml bottle of Davoli Extra Virgin Olive Oil to one lucky Facebook Fan *and* a $50 gift certificate to a random blogger.

Interested, any? Here are the details!

To be eligible to win the free 250ml bottle of Calabrian olive oil, all you need to do is become a Facebook fan of Monica’s Fine Foods before Friday, February 26 at 5:00 PM (Pacific Time). At that point, Monica will randomly select a winner from her Facebook Fans and the winner will be announced here on My Bella Vita on Monday, March 1.

Bloggers, this part is for you …

For your chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Monica’s Fine Foods, just re-post this contest information in full on your website or blog by Friday, February 26 at 5:00 PM. Leave a comment here on My Bella Vita telling us about your post, and you will automatically be entered into the drawing.

Due to distribution restrictions, Monica can only ship items in the US and Canada, so if you have a US address … you are good to go!

In bocca al lupo!