Balsamic Garlic Rosemary bread dipping oil

We recently tried a new bread dipping oil, Balsamic and Roasted Garlic Dipping Oil, from CDKitchen.com (#50862):

25 cloves garlic (unpeeled)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus
1 cup olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place unpeeled garlic cloves in baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Cover dish tightly with foil and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. 

Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves. Transfer garlic cloves to blender. Add vinegar and rosemary and puree herb mixture until smooth. With machine running, gradually add remaining 1 cup olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Dipping oil can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand 15 minutes at room temperature and whisk before using.)

This oil is very tasty - a strong, but not overwhelming garlic flavor and just enough rosemary to make the taste and scent quite interesting.  It is fun to make and the roasting garlic makes the house smell terrific.  My friend Renee and her family tried the oil with bread, like mine did, but she said her son also liked dipping cucumbers.  But, I have to warn you, no matter how good this tastes, it is not an attractive dish,  The balsamic "takes over" and colors the oil a very dark brown.  Using the blender makes a very thick mix -- of this very dark liquid.  Use your imagination.  But no matter how unappetizing this recipe may look, it tastes delicious.    

chocolate chip cookies

A change of pace from salad dressings and bread dipping oil:  dessert.

A couple weeks ago I made chocolate chip cookies from a recipe taken from www.crepesofwrath.net (recipe below).  Almost identical to the traditional toll house recipe found on the back of every bag of chocolate chips, the only difference is a substitution of one-quarter cup of olive oil for the two sticks of butter, a little more salt and a splash of milk.  The cookies were well received by my daughter Emma and her friend, Andrew.

So, I did a little experiment at the office on Monday.  I made two batches of chocolate chip cookies:  one made according to the toll house recipe (Group A) and the other made with olive oil (Group B).  I asked my colleagues to tell me which of the two versions they preferred and which one they thought was made with olive oil.

15 people in my department responded and overwhelmingly they preferred Group A (14 of 15).  Only one person misidentified which one had butter vs. olive oil

The comments were most interesting.  Consistently Group A was described as crisper and Group B "more chewy".   A couple people commented that they liked the look of Group A more than Group B. Group A were plain and flat, while Group B was "puffier" and smooth.  I was surprised at this reaction, but several folks said that Group A looked more like what they thought of as a home-made chocolate chip cookie.  One person said Group A smelled sweeter.  Someone else said that although she preferred Group A and she thought B had an oily residue (yuck), she thought Group B might lend itself better to mass production.  Good to know in case this law thing does not work out and I need to find a new career.

There was some discussion on the relative calories in the two versions.  I really wish I understood the science of food more (actually, I wish I knew anything).  Clearly the oil has fewer calories than the butter (one-quarter cup olive oil has about 480 calories versus 800 for two sticks of butter), and it has no cholesterol vs 31 grams cholesterol per tablespoon butter and the olive oil has more monounsaturated fats, etc.  But, remember, a cookie is still a cookie.  These are not diet foods.  But they taste damn good.

Many, many thanks to all who participated.


Olive Oil Chocolate Cookies

2 1/4  c. flour
1 1/2  t. salt
1        t. baking soda
1/4     c. extra virgin olive oil
1        t. vanilla extract
3/4     c. granulated sugar
3/4     c. packed brown sugar (altho I always uses less brown and more regular sugar -- I like the
                        lighter color -- just so it totals 1 1/2 cups)
2        eggs
1        T.  milk (or more)
1        c. chocolate chips (I always use more)

Preheat oven to 375

Combine flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
Combine sugars, vanilla and olive oil.  Beat eggs in one at a time.  Gradually add flour mixture, then add one tablespoon of milk to make the dough a bit firmer, maybe add another tablespoon if you need it or feel the dough is too sticky.
Roll dough into balls and place on greased or lined cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden and set.  These overbake quickly, so pay attention.
Allow to cool for a couple minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer to another surface to cool completely.