decadent and simple: Thursday night dinner

I spent most of the afternoon standing outside listening to the lull of machinery, and watching olives turn to oil… God, my job is delicious (literally). There is nothing quite like freshly pressed olive oil. It’s seductively green flavor, the intense chartreuse color… really, I may be a little biased, but Olio Nuovo is pretty much my food porn.

At the end of the day I was craving something that utilized the fresh crisp flavors of olive oil that is mere hours old… Does it get any better than this really? Of course by the time I closed up shop, went to the store, and ran some other errands my motivation for cooking started to diminish. I contemplated a dinner of baguette and oil (trust me, it wouldn’t be the first time) but after standing in the damp November afternoon I was craving something warm and comforting. Insert savory French toast… I love this dish, because it is ridiculously simple, requires no recipe, can be made in a matter of minutes, and yet there is something elegantly gourmet about it. I sliced some bread, whipped together an egg and some half and half (normally I use milk, but I’ve been drinking a copious amount of coffee at work, so I left my latest half-gallon in the fridge out there… plus the half and half added some decadence to this dish) a smattering of herbs and spices, and a few minutes later I was frying up bite-sized savory morsels. I poached two eggs, put them on top of my nest of toast, and doused the entire dish in Korneiki olive oil and Romano cheese… life is good. I’m sorry there are no pictures… I was tired and hungry, and the food was hot, so I opted to live in the moment and to eat without documentation.  It was decadent… it was simple… it was everything that I wanted… a little bit of down-home sophistication.

I’m sure in the next few weeks and months, as I dwell in the season of all things olive oil, I will make several variations of this savory delight. Here’s to easy and elegant week-night meals, and to newly pressed, local olive oil. Yummy in my Tummy.