Mixed Olive Tapenade |Cooking With Amanda

I love olives. A trip to the grocery store olive bar is like a treat for myself and my 8-year-old. We are both totally addicted and just can't stop eating them! So when it was time to have a big family dinner for this not so little guy's 8^th birthday, olives were the top of the menu.

I was specifically told not to make Indian food. "I want Italian! Spaghetti!" I rolled my eyes knowing that none of the adults were into spaghetti. His request was for spaghetti, spinach artichoke dip, bruschetta and olives!

So I went with it. The adults got this awesome baked eggplant parmesan and it was all good. The best part about it was that I didn't need to use a single brain cell to menu plan. Whadya know, having a demanding child works out sometimes!

For the olives, I made this delicious mixed olive tapenade. He probably would have just settled for a bowl of olives but where's the fun in that? It's a party!

I promise this recipe is almost just as easy as dumping a bunch of whole olives into a bowl. You can still have all the fun of picking out your olives at the olive bar.

I don't know about you, but I love trying every variety. I also happened to come across these cute little sweety drop peppers this time. I decided to add some in for color, but they also had a nice sweet taste to them.

Then I picked a bunch of herbs that I already had on my window sill. You can really use any mix of your favorite herbs. For the tapenade, all you have to do is toss all the ingredients into a food processor! Easy peasy.

What's even better is what you can do with your tapenade. You don't have to just serve it in a bowl alongside crackers. You can get as creative as you want.

Make a goat cheese olive tapenade bruschetta or make your own hors d'oeuvre plate by layering crackers with a slice of cucumber topped with tapenade. Sprinkle it over a main course to add some flavor.

My favorite use is to mix it into pasta with some mozzarella pieces and chopped vegetables for a nice past salad lunch.

It's good any way you want to try it, and perfect for the upcoming holiday entertainment season.

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Mixed Olive Tapenade Recipe

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Ingredients

1/4 cup sweety drop peppers, or peppadews
1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted
1/2 cup green olives, pitted
1 clove garlic, minced
6-7 fresh basil leaves
1/8 cup fresh parsley leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 teaspoon capers
1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Directions

Place all the ingredients in a small food processor.
Pulse until the ingredients are finely chopped but not pureed, scraping down in between a few pulses.
Scoop it all out into a bowl and enjoy.