Great recipe, Chuck
I make them exactly the same way, except they never make it a month, three weeks or even two.
Taste too good.
Of course extra virgin, anything else is adulterated or processes with some sort of hideous solvent or such low quality/high acidity that it just doesn't pass muster.
Ironically, the EC has poured hundreds of millions of dollars over many years into expanding the groves and improving the conditions for olive growers throughout Europe. Today, olive oil in outstanding quality is still as rare as it ever was. But really quite good extra virgin quality is cheap and easily available.
There is no 'one' taste to olive oil, just as there is no one 'Italian' cooking style. Thank goodness. I hope by now (at least the emails have died down) that everybody understands that I genuinely consider American Italian cooking a valid and wonderfully good tasting cuisine.
One of the greatest contributions of the many hundreds of thousands of Italians who came to Germany in the post war period to work was their outstandingly good cuisine. German cooking has its high points, but generally speaking, compared to Italian cooking it is a bit like one of the recipes here compared to Olive Garden. You won't die from Olive Garden, but the recipes here are real food.
A quick and wonderful snack which the Italians brought with them is this one. Don't be surprised, in Italy butter is used either alone or with olive oil in enormous quantities. It was only here in America, where butter was too expensive for poor Italian immigrants that the Italian American cuisine moved away from it somewhat.
Slice salt-free bread (Italian taxes on salt were horrendous, thus salt reduced and salt free breads are common, especially in the South of Italy) thick enough not to tear but not thicker.
Slather with a really good butter (Italians in Italy love Irish butter).
Skin several garlic cloves.
Cut into fine slices.
Layer onto the buttered bread.
Heat under the infra-red grill just until that heavenly smell arises of perfectly melted butter and ever so slightly just barely turning brown garlic (fried garlic is bitter, so never done).
Heavenly.
I make them exactly the same way, except they never make it a month, three weeks or even two.
Taste too good.
Of course extra virgin, anything else is adulterated or processes with some sort of hideous solvent or such low quality/high acidity that it just doesn't pass muster.
Ironically, the EC has poured hundreds of millions of dollars over many years into expanding the groves and improving the conditions for olive growers throughout Europe. Today, olive oil in outstanding quality is still as rare as it ever was. But really quite good extra virgin quality is cheap and easily available.
There is no 'one' taste to olive oil, just as there is no one 'Italian' cooking style. Thank goodness. I hope by now (at least the emails have died down) that everybody understands that I genuinely consider American Italian cooking a valid and wonderfully good tasting cuisine.
One of the greatest contributions of the many hundreds of thousands of Italians who came to Germany in the post war period to work was their outstandingly good cuisine. German cooking has its high points, but generally speaking, compared to Italian cooking it is a bit like one of the recipes here compared to Olive Garden. You won't die from Olive Garden, but the recipes here are real food.
A quick and wonderful snack which the Italians brought with them is this one. Don't be surprised, in Italy butter is used either alone or with olive oil in enormous quantities. It was only here in America, where butter was too expensive for poor Italian immigrants that the Italian American cuisine moved away from it somewhat.
Slice salt-free bread (Italian taxes on salt were horrendous, thus salt reduced and salt free breads are common, especially in the South of Italy) thick enough not to tear but not thicker.
Slather with a really good butter (Italians in Italy love Irish butter).
Skin several garlic cloves.
Cut into fine slices.
Layer onto the buttered bread.
Heat under the infra-red grill just until that heavenly smell arises of perfectly melted butter and ever so slightly just barely turning brown garlic (fried garlic is bitter, so never done).
Heavenly.
