Tapenade for my Honey

Hi everyone!  Today’s post is going to be a quick one….I have been up to some good stuff here lately.  I don’t want to say too much, but you will see what I’m talking about on Wednesday.  So anyhoo, I have been really busy, but I still wanted to squeeze in today’s blog post.

So Mr. Rooster, (Chris), loves olives.  I do not.  In fact, I really dislike them.  He is always asking me to make him some sort of olive dish.  I haven’t because I am the cook, and the cook picks what we are eating.  But then I realized that I make the kids eat things they don’t want to…..I guess I can cook something I don’t want to eat. 

Today, I bit the bullet and surprised Chris with an olive tapenade when he got home from work.  Yes, I know you can buy tapenade…but when you make it, you control what goes into it.  You can go heavy on the ingredients that you like, and a little but lighter on the ones you don’t.  For instance.....I used sundried tomatoes and capers, which I love.  I hoped they would make the olives taste better;)

 I will show you how I made my tapenade.  It was super fast….and super easy.

For my tapenade, I used mixed olives, peppadew peppers, garlic, olive oil, capers, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes and champagne vinegar.

Buying all of these ingredients can be expensive, especially since you are only using about a quarter cup of each.  If you store has a “bar”, buy from there.  I did that with my peppers and olives.  That way you don’t have half a jar hanging out in your fridge for years.

I started by roasting my garlic.  I felt that would give the tapenade a really great taste.  Roasted garlic is sweet and delicious….I figured it would work in this.

I cut the top off my head of garlic and drizzled it with olive oil. I aslo sprinkled it with salt and pepper.  I wrapped it in foil and baked it for about 45 minutes.

So remember how I said this was easy?  All I did was drop everything into the food processor, including the aforementioned roasted garlic.  I blended it into “tapenade” consistency.  Super easy.

There is no need to buy a jar of this stuff.  By the time you read all the labels and pick one out…you could have made it yourself.

I know you are wondering if I liked this.  I did.  I have to admit….it wasn’t my favorite, but I was pleasantly surprised.  The capers, sundried tomatoes and artichokes really made this salty and delicious.

Chris loved it.  He said it was the best tapenade he had ever had.  So there you have it....if you like olives....you have to try this.

I served my tapenade with goat cheese and sliced and toasted baguette.  This would be great for a party.  I promise…it will totally impress your friends and family.  They don’t have to know how easy it was to make;)

While I won’t claim that tapenade is “the best thing I’ve ever had”, I did enjoy it.  I will for sure make it again….

FYI-Tapenade freezes like a champ.  It is also great on roasted chicken, sandwiches, crackers, pasta, etc.  If you like olives, I am sure you can think of a million ways to eat it.

Roasted Garlic Tapenade

¾ cup mixed olives, pitted

4 cloves garlic, roasted

¼ cup capers, drained

¼ cup artichoke hearts, drained

¼ cup sundried tomatoes, drained

¼ cup peppadew peppers

1 tablespoon champagne vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all ingredients in food processor.  Process until desired consistency is reached.

Roasted Garlic

1 head garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Cut the top off the head of garlic.  Place garlic on foil.  Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper over garlic.  Wrap foil tightly around garlic.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.