Bread Dipping Oil and Girls' Weekends

My sister-in-law and I are kind of two peas in a pod.

I don't see her nearly enough, but every once in awhile I manage to get away for a weekend for some girl time and we get to hang out eating the things no one else wants to eat and drinking the things no one else wants to drink and doing the things no one else wants to do.

It's kind of wonderful, to be honest.  :-)

While we may try new restaurants or wineries or go to a museum or get a pedicure during the day, our evenings are always the same.  We pop in a movie that we will only half watch (if that), pour some wine, and create one amazing spread on the coffee table on which to nosh while we talk and laugh.

It's dinner and dessert and evening snacks all rolled into one.

There's always a baguette and crackers.

An amazing spread of cheeses.

Hummus, maybe some tapenade.

And flavored olive oil in which to dip our bread.

Heaven.

What could possibly be better than a spread like that and good company?

That's right, nothing.

I came home from my latest girls' weekend a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't stop thinking about that oil and bread.  The rest of it is pretty fantastic too, but I just wanted more baguette and delicious oil.

Thankfully, making flavored oil for bread dipping is insanely easy and incredibly satisfying.

I tend to shy away from big, heavy meals and sometimes a little bread and cheese to nibble on is the perfect way to end the day.

Here's a simple little recipe to run with the next time you're looking for a simple snack or appealing appetizer!

Bread Dipping Oil

From Allrecipes.com

2 C olive oil

1 Tbsp dried basil

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 Tbsp garlic powder (this is my favorite!)

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp dried crushed rosemary

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper, or to taste

1/2 tsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1. Stir together the olive oil, basil, parsley, garlic, thyme, oregano, black pepper, rosemary, salt, red pepper, and lemon juice in a bowl. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the surface of the oil mixture.

{I made a full batch of this to keep on hand.  It was delicious as-written, but the next day I ended up adding little more of most of the seasonings to taste and whirring the whole thing in the food processor to break up the herbs in the oil.  I'm super happy with the results!}