What Before My Wondering Eyes

Aglio e olio (garlic and olive oil pasta) in our house at its most basic is garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil and parsley. This is the pasta dish we go back to time and time again.

So, we went back to it last night. We'll probably go back to it next week at some point and probably once a week, thereafter, indefinitely.

While not Italian, I have been known to succeed at making this dish. The key is to let the garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes sit together in a cold pan. I like to let things sit together for at least 15-20 minutes while other things are prepped or cleaned up. From there you build up the heat in your pan gently. I find this is a great trick for red sauce as well. The garlic, given a little time, infuses the olive oil and you're left with intensity and depth of flavor that you just can't get by throwing your ingredients into a hot pan.

While I'd love nothing better than to post how to make this dish, if you've never attempted it, you would probably fail miserably like I did my first, second, and third time out. You have to see it being made, not once, but multiple times. And, you have to have eaten it, made perfectly even more. But please don't let that discourage you from trying.

Life is food and food is life. There is no distinction between the two. Engage in the conversation, create traditions in your kitchen and bring the day to a close at the kitchen table.