Test Kitchen: Garlic Flavored Olive Oil

One word - DELICIOUS!!

After spending Saturday catching up on all of my Food Network shows I was curious about this ingredient that Claire, 5 Ingredient Fix, used when making what appeared to be a delicious white pizza. I immediately turned to Ina's Back to Basics cookbook knowing that she would not let me down.

She came through for me and I made a delicious adaptation of her recipe (had to utilize what was in the pantry). The olive oil is so flavorful and I will surely be infusing this into my dishes for the next couple of days.

Garlic Flavored Olive Oil
1/2 cup of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, chopped or sliced
Pinch of dried rosemary, salt, and pepper

Combine ingredients in saucepan and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. Be sure to watch your garlic so that it does not burn.

You could use this delicious olive oil as a little dipper with french bread, salad dressing, tossed with veggies, or when making pizza to give the dough a little extra zing of flavor.

I, of course, was inspired to make Claire's white pizza which was equally delicious. I substituted the ricotta with goat cheese and added caramelized red peppers and purple onion. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/claire-robinson/easy-white-pizza-recipe/index.html

The Ice Storm

After several days of feeling quite anxious about the impending doom of the ice storm, it is here and melting away. Luckily for me, the snow and ice in Fayetteville is turning out to be just the little vacay that I needed!

My fellow Floridians might be wondering what does one do to prepare? I still have no clue but here are the essentials that I grabbed at the near empty Super Walmart:

1. Two bottles of cabernet - I figured this could serve a dual purposed of keeping me warm and full of alochol should I lose power and freeze to death.
2. Chocolate covered doughnuts - My new dedication to Jillian Michaels does not allow processed foods so I figured this could be an excuse to "live on the edge" and enjoy the high calorie, high chemical treat.
3. Beans - If I lost power I figured that these would keep me alive and full of fiber for as long as needed.
4. Turkey Chili - When it's cold out, this needs no explanation.
5. Candles
6. My faithful Uggs
7. A charged cell phone and my handy car phone charger
8. Books - this is my excuse to READ and not even feel guilty that I should be doing something else.
9. MTV, VH1 and Bravo - I am not sure where these networks find these people but they were pure entertainment.
10. Abbey & Atticus are completely spoiled now that I have been home for so many days but they are excellent cuddle buddies.
11. Camera - documentation, of course!
12. A well-educated brain that provided me with the reasoning that I should not test out the icey roads and stay put.
13. Denial - I actually brought "work" home for which I have successfully ignored for 3 days.
14. Cookbooks - I have probably 50 cookbooks, no lie, I really have that many. The break actually allowed me to have a "test" kitchen to try out all of the items I have been flagging. My cooking skills are soaring! :)
15. Audrey Hepburn & Pride & Prejudice: When you have the excuse to lock yourself away for days, these movies must be the soundtrack!

Cabin fever is officially settling in but hopefully this hermit crab can emerge tomorrow and maybe even catch my afternoon yoga class.