It is that time of year when friends and family enter and leave their home on what seems to be a day to day, apparently eating it away from home and away from home. Even though he has come to expect the company monsoon to move from one place to another in his home, he is prepared for anything because he has a secret weapon: olive oil bread sauce.

Now, there’s a good chance some of you probably thought we were going to mention a casserole of some kind, but olive oil bread sauce is so easy to make, why would you spend time with various concentrated “creamy” soups? from”?

Think of your favorite Italian restaurants. There are always the amazing pasta dishes and perfectly sweet but not too sweet desserts, but when you first sit down, they bring you really fresh Italian bread and some olive oil bread sauce. For the most part, you don’t even think twice; you just go deep because it’s amazing.

The same should apply to your own home, especially when you have last minute guests coming to visit. It could be a family member you haven’t seen in a while or a former college roommate who moves to the area and decides to look for you. You want to be a good host, even if it wasn’t planned, but part of being a good host means not being propped up in the kitchen talking over your shoulder while making sandwiches.

All you need are a few simple ingredients to make your guests feel like they’ve walked into an Italian bistro:

• Good quality olive oil
• Salt (larger crystals and corse have a great depth of flavor and texture to add)
• Pepper (fresh is the best in this app)
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Minced garlic (again, fresh is very helpful, and you could even use a garlic press if you’re “pressed” for time)

Add your oil to a plate that has a central area that allows the ingredients to come together. Next, add the garlic and take a few minutes to give these two items a little stir. Follow with your ground pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt. Stir one more time and voila. It really is that simple.

The hardest thing about an olive oil bread sauce appetizer may be how to deal with the bread part of the equation. You can always try to have a cheap loaf of Italian bread on hand from the store just in case. Perhaps the best thing to do, given a last minute guest’s time, is to have a “tube” package of bread in your refrigerator. In the same way that you can open a cardboard cookie tube or crescent rolls, you can also find ready-to-bake bread in minutes. This way you can make your sauce and let it rest while you bake your bread and entertain yourself. The dip will be outstanding!