Rosemary Infused Olive Oil

I catered a small vegan dinner party last night, as an item I had donated to a Silent Auction held by our local library here in St. Michaels, Maryland.  For the bread course, I made Jim Lahey's Olive Bread using Kalamata olives.  Kalamata olives make me think of sunny Greece and so does the herb Rosemary, which continues to flower in my garden despite the cold weather right now.  This Rosemary Infused Olive Oil is so delicious when sprinkled with sea salt; the perfect thing to dip good bread into.  I found some tiny white porcelain ramekins at Pier 1 for a dollar each and that's how I served it.  Quick and easy to make, you can use other herbs such as basil, but rosemary is my favorite.  If you don't have a perennial rosemary plant in your garden, you're missing out.  One good old hardy variety is Arp but now there are others.  Mine has lived through 2 or 3 blizzards already but I do have it in an extremely sunny spot, sheltered by a garage wall.  Rosemary is great for that dry spot where the sun beats in the afternoon!
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Rosemary Infused Olive Oil

INGREDIENTS
1 Cup extra virgin organic olive oil  (Trader Joe's has a good, affordable one that is cold pressed).
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves (or basil, etc.)

DIRECTIONS
Pick several younger sprigs of rosemary.
Wash rosemary sprigs and set to dry for a few minutes.
Take the prettiest sprig and set it aside.
Pull the leaves from the other sprigs, and chop them finely.
Warm the olive oil and herbs in a very small saucepan over low heat.
Remove from heat and let steep, covered, for one hour.
Strain through a very fine sieve, into a slender little bottle.
Shorten the pretty sprig to make sure it will stand under the oil in your bottle (be fully immersed).
Refrigerate and use within one week.
The pretty garnish sprig is beautiful and shows what the oil is flavored with.

Notes:  Be sure to discard this oil after a week because it will not be safe to use after that.