Okay, you want to do something ‘special’ to go with your signature drinks prior to dinner….or just an evening together with good friends. Try this and surprise them and yourself. Remember your mantra “Damn, I can do this”.
- 20 oil cured black olives
- 2 medium garlic cloves, baked and removed from the base
- 2 tbsp. capers, really well drained
- 2 tsp. Dijon grainy mustard
- 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp. chopped basil
- 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley, fresh only
- More Italian parsley
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup really good olive oil
Place the olives on a cutting board and smash them down to remove the pits. Place the olives and everything except the olive oil in a blender and puree.
Be sure to scrape down the sides of the blender. Slowly add the olive oil and blend until completely absorbed.
Refrigerate and place in a pretty bowl on a platter of toasted/buttered toasted baguette or focaccio crisps. Snips bits of parsley and scatter over the bread so it can be added (or not) to the tapenade.
Yummy!
Dust Dry Martini
I kid you not, this is SOOOOOooooo dry! Great for the purist-type martini consumers.
- 4 parts vodka (Grey Goose is best for this type of drink)
- 4 parts gin
- 1 part white vermouth (sweet)
- dash of scotch
In chilled martini glasses, pour in the scotch and swirl around to coat the inside of the glass. Pour the ingredients into a shaker with cracked ice and shake really well. Strain into chilled glasses and garnish, of course, with the proverbial olive.
If you still have any tartar on your teeth after this one, let me know. (just kidding).
Try and it you might even enjoy it.
Egg Salad Sandwich-Tuscan Style
This is a new slant on the egg salad sandwich. I know if you try it you will really like it. Don says this is the best egg salad sandwich I have made.
- 2 bacon slices, cut in half, cooked crisp
- 2 large hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- 1 large rib of celery, strings removed
- 3 chopped green olives stuffed with pimento
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 tsp. large grain Dijon mustard
- 4 iceberg lettuce leaves
- 4 slices of sesame seed bread toasted OR 2 portuguese buns warmed
Combine chopped eggs, celery, and olives in a bowl. Mix the mayonnaise and mustard together and combine with the egg mixture.
Lightly toast the bread. On each slice of bread place a lettuce leaf and put the egg mixture on one side, add the bacon slices and top with the other slice of bread.
This is really good if served with baby tomatoes with a few potato chips