This week, I desperately wanted to capture the taste of the basil that's still thriving in our raised bed herb and vegetable garden. I always love it when people pass along homemade infused olive oil, and it seems so thoughtful and impressive to know how to make it, bottle it, and then get to happily share it. I just had to learn. Using this recipe made the process pretty simple, and now I have basil oil to use on salads and for dipping in bread, not to mention a last swoosh to top off other upcoming Italian dishes. (I'm willing to bet the straightforward recipe would also produce a knockout result with other herbs like thyme, rosemary, tarragon.) I did use two stacked mesh strainers instead of cheesecloth, and it worked out just fine.
