Nothing Says "Happy Holidays" Like Garlic Breath!

Or, at least that's what I think.

This is the marinated goat cheese I made this weekend, to take to the office potluck/Yankee Swap this Thursday. See the oil splotches on the sides? I kindasorta "plopped" half a log of goat cheese into the oil bath, kindasorta forgetting the laws of physics.

I have a recipe to share for this!

Marinated Goat Cheese

1 large log of plain goat cheese
2 cups olive oil
1 whole head garlic
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1/3 cup thinly sliced, reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
fresh or coarse ground pepper

The garlic is the hard part -- you have to peel all the cloves, and then VERY thinly slice them, paper thin slices. Dicing or pressing them doesn't work; I've tried. They HAVE to be THINLY sliced.

In a glass or ceramic dish, throw sliced garlic, sliced basil, sliced dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and a shake of ground pepper into olive oil. Stir that up, and then immerse goat cheese in it. You can keep the log whole, or slice it into circles. Pour the marinade over and over the cheese. Cover, and put in fridge for a few days or a week. Then let it come to room temperature.

You can serve it with or without the olive oil bath. The oil is a wonderful dip for bread, or you can pour it over cooked pasta.

People LOVE this stuff -- at least at the parties I've made it for.

I had signed up to make this, and knew people were looking forward to it. Then I came home to look for the recipe and realized I didn't have it!!! I remembered that I had had a copy on my work computer -- at my former job! I sulked and pouted for a couple of hours, and then ZMrK came up to me and said, "How much do you love me?"

I said, "More than everything!"

He handed me the recipe! I had emailed it to him when I got it, back in 2002 when we were just engaged, and he still had the printout. What a sweetie!