Chile Olive Oil #ChileEVOO Event hosted by David of Cooking Chat

My friend David from the blog Cooking Chat (he can also be found on multiple Twitters including @CookingChat) invited me to attend a Chile Olive Oil dinner he was hosting at his home. The dinner was sponsored by ChileOliveOil.com -  The National Association of Manufacturers of Olives and Olive Oil in Chile (ChileOliva) and Whole Foods Woburn. David was kind enough to let me bring along my husband and my father-in-law, who happens to be from Chile! At the event were some social media experts including @BostonFoodFan @clownface3 and @eric_andersen. It was a wonderful time and David and his wife Jodi did a great job as hosts!

All the food at the #ChileEVOO event was prepared using Chile Olive Oil in either Smooth or Bold flavors.

Appetizers included this Roasted Red Pepper Dip made with Chile Olive Oil and David's secret ingredient: pomegranate molasses!

Next up were Pesto Crostinis made with Chile Olive Oil. I'm usually not a big fan of pesto but these were delicious!

There is my husband Carlos @fastefelson enjoying a Pesto Crostini.

We all enjoyed Chilean Red and White Wines while we were waiting for the main course.

The third appetizer was a Caprese Salad served with the Bold version of the Chile Olive Oil. What's not to love about this salad? It's so light and refreshing and fulfilling. The smooth Chile Olive Oil over the top made it all come together.

While we waited for the main course, we were able to check out some pamphlets about Chile Olive Oil and where in Chile the olives were harvested. Carlos' dad talked a lot about Chile and his experiences with olives from the Northern region. The olives used in these oils were from the central region.

Next up was an Olive Oil tasting. I have never drank straight olive oil before! It was quite an experience. David poured Smooth and Bold flavors of the Chile Olive Oil in these little square cups and we got to taste them separately to note the differences in flavor. We cleansed our palates in between oils with some slices of Granny Smith Apple.

The smooth was by far my favorite. I primarily use Extra Light Olive Oil in my cooking versus Extra Virgin Olive Oil which to me is too heavy in taste. The smooth Chile Olive Oil was just like my favorite olive oil but a deeper yellow in color. It also had a peppery aftertaste. The bold was quite heavy and the peppery taste is something you can tell right away. The smooth is a great cooking oil while the bold would be better for dressings and dips.

Here David is sauteeing some red and white onions for the main course.

Carlos waiting for the food.

Another glass of Chilean wine!

And here was the main course! On the right is a mixed green salad with walnuts and tomatoes topped with Bold Chile Olive Oil and Balsamic dressing. On the right was Honey Chicken with Onions and Yukon Potatoes cooked with some thyme and Smooth Chile Olive Oil. The meal was absolutely delicious! Good work David!

David's son has a Egg allergy so this was a Chocolate Olive Oil cake sans eggs. It was delicious! Almost brownie like in texture. Since I've been dieting for my wedding in July, it had been a VERY LONG TIME since I had chocolate cake. So I savored every bite.

The other dessert was courtesy of Whole Foods Woburn. An Angel Food cake with whipped cream frosting and fresh berries. It was quite delicious. Carlos isn't even a cake person, he hates overly sweet and dense cakes and fake frosting, and he had two slices!

It was a wonderful evening of good food, good olive oil, good wine and good conversation. We took lots of photos, tweeted with hashtag #ChileEVOO and generally had a great time. David sent us home with little gift bags with Chile Olive Oil samples and some more information about the product.

I really like this type of event. David wasn't a sales person, just a host, so we didn't feel a lot of pressure to buy anything and it didn't feel like we were being pitched. The casualness of it allowed for independent exploration of a product which I think worked very well. Thank you to David, Chile Olive Oil and to Whole Foods Woburn for a great night!