Oil Love

Yeah, don't get excited. I'm gonna tell you how to make the most yummy oil to cook with or give away as a gift (or both like me).

1st - get some clear bottles with a good lid - maybe like this with this

Once you have your bottles you'll need to sanitize them. This can be done with your dishwasher. If you don't have a dishwasher pour boiling water down into the bottle, while it is sitting in a sink of hot water (this way the bottle won't break from the shock). Then dry well (a hair drier will work well for this).

Now you'll need different herbs and spices for a variety of oils - here are a couple of options. (Feel free to substitute or add extras)

Herb Oil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Thyme - 3-4 stalks
Rosemary - 1 nice stalk (6-10 inches long)
Garlic - 5-6 cloves sliced
Whole Pepper Corns (black or various colors is fine) - 2 Tbs
Salt - 1 Tbs for a large-ish bottle (16 oz or more) less for a smaller bottle.

OR

Hot Oil
Any kind of Vegetable Oil (the flavor of the oil won't matter too much)
Dried Chiles - 10-15 whole chiles - or - 1/2 cup crushed
Pepper Corns - 1/4 cup
Garlic - 8-10 cloves sliced
Salt - 1 Tbs for a large-ish bottle (16 oz or more) less for a smaller bottle
Sun Dried Tomatoes - 3-4 pieces (dry packed)
Thyme - 2-3 stalks

For either of these you'll need enough oil to fill the bottle you've chosen.

Okay now for the part that makes your house smell good...

For either of the oils, pour the oil into a pan that will hold everything. Heat the oil until it starts to shimmer. Put the herbs and garlic in first and let those fry? for 2 minutes or so, until the garlic gets a small amount of color (maybe kind of yellowish?). Then pull out the herbs and garlic and add everything else. Tongs work much better than fingers for this step. This step is where the oils differ, for the Herb Oil let the pepper corns go for maybe 2 minutes. But let the Hot Oil go for about 8-10 minutes. This way it will have a good heat.

Now strain these into your bottle and cork the hole (with whatever you have chosen). Once the bottle has cooled (wouldn't want to burn your fingers), wash the outside so there is no oily residue.

You can use these for a number of things. The Herb Oil is really nice to put on a pizza crust before you bake it, or use with some balsamic for your salad dressing. And the Hot Oil does really nice things for soup. Just sear your meat in the oil and go from there.

Note - If you give these away, make sure you label them. Wouldn't want anyone to get a hot mouth from their salad or anything like that. *evil laugh here*