When my boys were younger, we would take turns sharing meals with their friends' families. When it was my turn to cook, I would make one of my personal favorites which we called White Pasta. To make it, I would sauté a mixture of fresh garlic, onions, mushrooms, and lots of Italian herbs in olive oil and add it to angel hair pasta. Everyone loved it and it quickly became a frequently requested dish. It got to the point where my friends were coming by the house to pick up several pounds of pasta on a regular basis. 

As much as I loved cooking for our friends, it was hard for me to keep up with the demand for it. I needed to figure out a better way to share my White Pasta but it wasn't quite as easy as handing out the recipe because I actually didn't have one to give!

I learned to cook at a very young age by watching my mom in the kitchen everyday after school. One of my earliest memories is when I was 7 years old sitting on the counter watching her cook a huge batch of meat sauce. She was a phenomenal cook who never used recipes and, instead, cooked by heart, sampling everything along the way. I was lucky enough to soak up her techniques and methods so, consequently, I rarely use a recipe to cook. Still, I wanted to share my White Pasta dish with others so they could make it at home themselves rather than wait for me to make it. 

So, the next time I was asked to make White Pasta by my dear friend, Ruth Ann, I put the ingredients in a bottle and wrote out instructions on how to cook the pasta. Now she could easily through the ingredients together and create a delicious, hot Italian meal at her convenience. When she came to pick it up, I handed her the container of goodness and told her it was "Italian in a bottle." 

It wasn't long before my family and I discovered "Italian in a bottle" could be used to make many other tasty dishes. Soon after that, Olive Oil de Fino became the official name of this tasty accident.

What started out as families gathering for dinner, turned into a quality product that I'm passionate about making and sharing with others. Those early days of "Italian in a bottle" are still a fond memory in all my family and friends' hearts and bellies.

Today, Olive Oil de Fino is used in many homes across North Texas, including Dallas and Sherman Firehouses, and has been shipped as far as the British Virgin Islands. Whether you're an executive chef or aspiring cook, my hope is that you find as much pleasure from cooking with Olive Oil de Fino as I get from sharing it with you.