I got my Colavita items and was excited to see everything I got to try out. I love how everything was packaged.
The items that I got were:
Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Colavita Balsamic Vinegar
Cirio Crushed Tomato with Basil
Colavita Eggplant & Sweet Peppers
Colavita Olive Bruschetta
Colavita Marinara Sauce
Colavita Tomato Basil Sauce
Colavita Penne Rigate
Dal Raccolto Capellini
Dal Raccolto Orchiette
Almond Cantuccini
The Colavita Story
The Colavita family traces its roots to the small town of Sant'Elia a Pianisi, in the Molise region of Italy. It was there, four generations ago, that Giovanni Colavita founded the family olive oil tradition and Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil was born. Over the years, theColavita family became masters at the delicate crafts of "tasting" and blending extra virgin oils from different types of olives grown in Apulia and nearby regions. This skill enabled the family to produce 100% Italian extra virgin olive oil with a consistent fine quality – a skill that sets Colavita apart today from the other leading brands.
Today, the Colavita’s main focus is still bringing consumers authentic Italian extra virgin olive oil; however, the Colavita brand has grown to include many other quality specialty food products that are sold in over 60 countries. Colavita durum wheat semolina pasta, a full selection of balsamic and wine vinegars, traditional and organic pasta sauces, ready-to-serve soups and marinated vegetables, and olive-canola blended oils are the ingredients of choice for chefs in home, restaurant, and professional kitchens worldwide.
Penne Carbonara, Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
• 1 pound Colavita Penne Rigate
• 1 tablespoon Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ¼ to ½ pound thick sliced bacon, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 large eggs
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
1. Cook the penne according to package directions. While the penne cooks, heat the oil in a large skillet; add the bacon and garlic; sauté until the bacon just begins to brown.
2. Do not over cook the bacon; if it gets too crisp it will not blend well with the penne.
3. Beat the eggs in a large serving bowl; season well with pepper. Once the penne is cooked, drain it, reserving ½ to 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
4. Put the hot penne immediately into the bowl containing the beaten eggs and toss well to coat. Add the bacon along with ½ cup grated cheese.
5. Toss; adding a little pasta water if the mixture seems too dry. Serve immediately in warmed bowls; passing additional cheese.
While the Colavita Penne Rigate was boiling, my mom browned the chopped up bacon with the Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil and minced garlic. This process took about 15 minutes and is very easy to do. Cooking the bacon on a low heat ensures that you don't over cook the bacon. Plus less oil gets splattered.
I don't know about you, but I like to let my bacon sit for a few minutes on paper towel to let the grease drain off. This really helps a lot with my acid reflux. While the bacon set we added in our pepper to the beaten eggs.
We measured out a half cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese to mix in with the hot Colavita Penne Rigate. We drained the noodles and kept a cup of the hot noodle water on hand. We then mixed the hot noodles, bacon and cheese into the eggs while mixing thoroughly. We only needed to added a little of the water that we kept.
We then placed everything in a serving dish and added a half cup of Parmesan cheese to top it off. My family loved the Penne Carbonara, which I have never had or made before. I am very happy with all the Colavita products and glad that I got to learn about a new product and new recipe. I can't wait to see what else I or my mother cooks with the rest of the Colavita items.
You can connect with Colavita on Facebook & Twitter
** One winner per household, email address, or home address. If you have won this prize on another blog you are ineligible to win again. Winners must have a U.S.-based address to receive their prize. **
Now for the giveaway: One lucky person will win a Colavita Simply Italian Gift Basket. This is open to US and ends 12/14/14 @ 11:59 pm est. To enter, Simply do the tasks on the Giveaway Tools widget below and you're set to have a chance to win! Remember you can't win if you don't enter. It only takes one entry to win!
Good Luck, SaraLee's Deals Steals & Giveaways readers! Thanks for entering!
I participated in this event on behalf of Wendy's Bloggers for Colavita. I received Colavita products to facilitate my review.
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