Bring a Restaurant Appetizer Home!

My favorite thing about good Italian restaurants like Carrabba's and Carino's is the bread they bring out with the dipping oil. I'm always afraid of sitting too close to the server while he's swirling the oil around. I've had to retire way to many shirts because of oil stains. Luckily nothing disastrous has ever happened.

I took this to a small gathering in honor of watching this. Everyone seemed to like it, and I'm pretty sure they weren't just being polite. I could barely keep Steve away from the goodies table, so it must have been really great. :)

You can simply buy a loaf of French bread or other rustic sort of loaf to go with this. If you're feeling ambitious, try making your own French bread. This recipe is a piece of cake. (Thanks Aunt Ellen!) It makes two loaves, which was perfect for how much dipping blend this makes.

Happy Party-ing!


Originally Posted HERE

Carrabba's Bread Dipping Blend
from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur

1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
½ teaspoon ground sea salt or kosher salt
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ teaspoon olive oil
⅛ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Combine all, except oil and lemon juice, in a small food processor. Grind briefly until all ingredients are about the same size. Stir in oil and lemon juice.

To serve, combine 1 tsp blend to 3-4 T extra virgin olive oil on a small dish. Dip sliced bread in mixture.

Makes about 1/4 c. blend. (Enough to go with about 1 cup of extra-virgin olive oil. Use the good stuff for this!)

Nat's Notes:
1. If you don't have a food processor, chop everything as finely as you can.
2. Feel free to add a splash of balsamic vinegar!

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