Cooking Contest because your blog deserves FREE Gourmet Olive Oil

Click the O Olive Oil Logo to visit their Home Page

eRecipeCards.com partners with  O Olive Oil for November FUN

Olive Oil, We all use it, we all could use more AND we all would like a chance to try a premium gourmet oil for FREE!  O Olive Oils are different and better than the run of the mill.  Pressed replaces infused for a deeper, richer taste; perfect for salads, raw vegetables and light sauteed dishes!

With a combined prize pool of over $600, you will want to be a part of the contest and the FUN!

A word about our sponsor

O Olive Oil

O OLIVE OIL is the premier producer of California specialty olive oils and wine vinegars O was the first in this country to crush organic citrus with olives to produce our signature line of oils.  Additionally, we travel the world to source the finest extra virgin olive oils.  Our products are sold in gourmet, natural food and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, Japan and Europe, and Latin America.

1n 1995 Greg Hinson, co- founder and president, combined his unusual passion for citrus and healthy eating bycrushing whole organic citrus with fresh California Mission olives to create an unparalleled new product category—the extra virgin citrus olive oil.  These oils are neither infused nor flavored after pressing as is common in the industry.

In 1997 Hinson turned this same respect for simple natural processes to hand crafting varietal wine vinegars.  O Olive Oil is one of the few remaining vinegar makers in this country using the old world Orleans method of natural aging in wood barrels rather than mechanically force-aging the vinegars.  The difference is noticeable.  In 2003 Cook’s Illustrated named our O Zinfandel Vinegar, “ overall winner among gourmet brands, “ touting its “ distinctly earthy, fruity flavor.” 

Who likes O Olive Oil

"oil that tastes fresh squeezed“While living in Italy, Greg and Marta Hinson heard about an Abruzzese olive mill that crushed lemons along with the olives. They brought the idea home to the company they dubbed O OLIVE OIL. The Hinsons have done lemons and blood oranges, but their latest release, made with organic ruby grapefruit, may be the best yet; each rosy drop seems to swell with ripe flavor.” —The SAVEUR 100, Saveur Magazine And if you visit their "Media Page", you will see reviews from Bon Appetit, Cook's Illustrated, New York Times,  Town & Country and many more!

O, while not named after her, The best known "O" loves them too!

"the well-dressed dressing" The O on these terrific oils and vinegars doesn’t stand for Oprah, so I can’t take credit for them, but I can say they’re a delicious gift for friends who like cooking or eating.” —Oprah, Oprah Magazine Oprah calls them “terrific wines and vinegars” and has featured them on both her show and in her magazine.  O products have fast become a favorite of home cooks and professional chefs alike. The food industry agrees. O Olive Oil has been recognized with 10 awards at the annual International Fancy Food Show in New York City. Watch for O Olive Oil on classic episodes on The Food Network, Iron Chef, Naked Chef, ABC Good Morning America & Top Chef.  And they have even been shown recently on Modern Family!!!

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And now... The contest rules!
First off, we need to select the cooks...

1... You must be registered and be a submitter at eRecipeCards.com.  Registering is easy (all you need is an email address and a food blog).  If you do not have an account yet, go ahead and register.  Go ahead and look around and submit at least one recipe to the site (more if you like).  There is a very easy, step by step guide to getting started that you can see by clicking HERE.

2... You must have a FaceBook account and you must "LIKE" both eRecipeCards and O Olive Oil.  Again, setting up an account is easy.  If you do not have an account and are unwilling to set up an account at this time, please drop me an email at the address at the top of this blog.

Drop me a comment on this blog once you "Like" us and that you "Like O Olive Oil.

Click http://www.facebook.com/pages/eRecipeCardscom/115234838571713 to "Like" eRecipeCards.com (and BTW, we will "Like" you back!

and Click http://www.facebook.com/pages/O-Olive-Oil/144301775611027 to "Like" O Olive Oil

Click the photo of the Paired
Pressed Oil and Vinegar
To see the 8 Freebies

3... Next, you will be asked to visit the "Gifts" page and then view the "Natural Box" items.  O Olive Oil has paired a pressed flavored oil with a premium gourmet vinegar.  In fact, they have paired 8 different pressed citrus oils with one of their best gourmet California vinegar (Like the Meyer Lemon pressed Olive Oil paired with the Pinot Noir red wine Vinegar shown in the photo to the right).

These 8 box sets will be shipped to 8 selected cooks/bloggers (one set per blogger).  Each set has a $30 value.  These are the products you will use to make the dish you submit for the contest.  But first, you will need to be selected as one of the lucky cooks.

Each potential cook should look over the 8 options and get inspired (from Garlic pressed Oil paired with White Balsamic Vinegar to Zinfindel Vinegar paired with Clementine pressed Oil the "Natural Box" page certainly has something to inspire you).

There are two ways to be one of the 8 chosen cooks, 

based on a random drawing and based on a submitted idea.

Just drop me a comment on this blog.  Let me know which of the 8 pairings inspire you (and sure, you can post more than one, but please use a separate comment for each).  You must say the pairing in the email.  No need to say what you intend to do with the oil/vinegar, just mention which option and that you think you have a good idea.  The more comments you leave (2 comments for FaceBook Likes and 1 comment for each of the pairings, the better your chance of being randomly chosen)

AND/OR

We will also select recipients based on a submitted idea.
These you need to send to:

Contact@eRecipeCards.com.

These cooks will be judged on the understanding of the product.

HINT: these are tasting oils/vinegars, not really meant for cooking and certainly not for frying.  Best ideas will be salads and vegetable dishes that show off the unique aspects of the oils.  The O Olive Oil website features an "about the CRUSH" page that gives the story of why these are special and what the differences are from the ordinary.  Plus if you check out the individual products page they give ideas for how best to use each individual bottle.  A glance through their website will give you plenty of inspiring ideas of how to adapt a favorite recipe of yours with their products.  Just email me an idea.  You can select more than one pairing idea, no need to send separate emails.  "Winners" will be chosen based on the idea and how well it matches the product, not the number of submissions.  We will pick the best.

Except, sadly, due to shipping costs, the contest must be limited to bloggers living in the US and CANADA only.  However I do have an idea for a way International bloggers can be a part of the fun.  Drop me an email if you would like to participate but live outside of Canada or the US.

And that's it for this stage... Just be a submitting member of eRecipeCards.com, "Like" eRecipeCards.com and O Olive Oil, AND be inspired.  Once we have our 8 finalists, they will win a pairing of gourmet pressed citrus O Olive Oil with a premium Vinegar to use for the contest.  The actual contest will start with these 8 winners.


And now... The prizes.  A separate prize will be awarded for each of the three most important aspects of a food blogger...

One Winner will be awarded a prize based on their photo and food stylings skills (Valued at $50).

One Winner will also be awarded a prize based on their writing skills (Valued at $50).

And of course, we are a recipe portal.  So a GRAND Prize (Valued at ONE HUNDRED and FIFTY DOLLARS) will be awarded based on the "best" recipe.

This phase of the contest (choosing the participants) closes at midnight on November 8 (Tuesday night).  Please leave all your comments on THIS BLOG by that date and email your ideas to Contact@eRecipeCards.com by that date.  Winners will be contacted by email with the "rules" of the contest (Cook, post, include links to our sponsor... the rules are pretty easy)

And of course, please drop me a note if you have any questions.  We worked hard on this promotion.  I feel it rewards our sponsor, while at the same time provides bloggers access to a premium product not always on their shopping list.  If you have any suggestions for ways to improve future contests, please drop me a note.

Good Luck all...

Dave