cheese and olives {december 27, 2022}

One of my favorite times at dinners with family and friends is the pre-meal social time, as in  drinks and appetizers. As the main meal is comes together, having some nibbles and sips takes the pressure off the host/hostess and brings about conversation with the others around you.

My brother and sister-in-law hosted Christmas dinner with afternoon apps beginning at 3:00. So many great conversations that were all over the place. Football talk centered around Baker Mayfield, the former Cleveland Browns quarterback who got screwed by the Browns owners, now playing for the Los Angeles Rams, and he had fantastic game. My nephew works for GM and his current project is the Cadillac EV, the Celestiq. His wife and I agreed that we didn’t like the pronunciation, sel-EST-ik. For a price starting at $300K, we think it should be pronounced sel-es-TIQUE. We told him that an automobile at that price shouldn’t have an ending syllable that sounds like “ick.” My niece’s grandma was a cheerleader for the basketball team that the movie “Hoosiers” was based upon. My brother and I went to high school with Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson. 

Back to the appetizers. My sister-in-law made a charcuterie board and a couple other apps but she asked me to bring a couple more. One was a simple go-to that goes back a long way, kielbasa in honey mustard. The new recipe was one my daughter made at Thanksgiving, whipped goat cheese with marinated olives. Wow! If you like olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and goat cheese, this was amazing. Quick, delicious, herby, garlicky, tangy. I assembled this on Christmas Eve and it was lick-the-plate-clean finished on Christmas Day!

Photo: Half-Baked Harvest

Honey Whipped Goat Cheese with Marinated Olives

Recipe from Half-Baked Harvest

Marinated Olives

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

1 T. fig preserves (optional)

2 cloves garlic

1 shallot, chopped

1 T. lemon zest

1/4 c. basil chopped

2 T. chopped thyme

chili flakes

1/2 c. oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced

Honey Whipped Goat Cheese

1 log (10 oz) goat cheese at room temperature

4 oz cream cheese at room temperature

2-3 T honey

sea salt

Instructions

In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fig preserves, garlic, shallots, lemon zest, basil, thyme, and chili flakes. Add the olives, then add the sun-dried tomatoes with oil and toss to combine. Let sit 30 minutes or up to 5 days in the fridge.

Combine the goat cheese, cream cheese, honey, and pinch of salt in a food processor and pulse until smooth and creamy. The goat cheese mix can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, but bring to room temp before serving.

Spoon the goat cheese into a serving bowl, then top with olives and marinating oil. Serve with fresh herbs, bread or crackers.

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Two olives are sitting at a bar, one falls off and the other one says "Ahhh, are you ok?" And the one that fell is like "Yeah, olive."