Recipe: Appetizer Recipes and Ideas from 389 Ways To Use California Ripe Olives, 1970's

HORS D'OEUVRES AND APPETIZERS
From the recipe booklet: 389 Ways To Use California Ripe Olives by The California Olive Industry, 1976


33. Slice 5 or 6 olives from a 6 ounce can of pitted ripe olives; press into the top and sides of an 8 ounce block of cream cheese. Surround the olive cheese block with the remaining pitted ripe olives and crackers.

34. For a super centerpiece, start with a cabbage. Stud with pitted ripe olives, cheese cubes, radish roses, and cauliflowerets using wooden picks as limbs. Parsley tactfully fills the gaps.

35. Broil a sirloin steak to rare doneness; slice into bite-size pieces. Marinate the beef in a vinegar, salad oil, and brown sugar mixture. Using bamboo skewers, thread the meat alternately with pitted ripe olives and shrimp. Heat the kabobs over a small hibachi and serve.

36. Chop pitted ripe olives and blend into cream cheese. Roll the mixture into bite-size balls and roll in snipped dried beef. Serve with French bread or crackers.

37. Serve up a hearty dip! Stir together 1/4 cup chopped ripe olives, 1/2 cup chopped bologna, 2 tablespoons pickle relish, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt. Add enough dairy sour cream to make of dipping consistency. Chill and serve with crackers.

38. For an elegant beginning to any meal, toss together pitted ripe olives, mandarin oranges, and almonds. Heap the mixture into lettuce-lined icers and sprinkle with sliced green onion. Dollop with dairy sour cream.

39. Highlight a guacamole dip with wedges of pitted ripe olives.

40. CALIFORNIA CAVIAR

1 1/2 cups pitted California ripe Olives, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped anchovies
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salad oil
Small lettuce leaves
1/3 cup dairy sour cream
1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onion
Crackers

In mixing bowl, combine olives, anchovies, lemon juice, and salad oil. Cover and chill 2 to 3 hours.

To serve; line dip dish with lettuce; pile olive mixture atop. Top with sour cream and onion. Serve with crackers. Makes 1 1/3 cups.

41. Marinate pitted ripe olives and a garlic clove in French dressing.

42. Marinate cooked shrimp and pitted ripe olives in a celery seed-oil and vinegar dressing. Drain and serve on a bed of romaine garnished with tomato wedges and capers.

43. Stir pitted ripe olives into a fruit cup for flair.

44. Hollow out the center of several cherry tomatoes. Fill with a cheese-ripe olive blend.

45. Stuff the center of pitted ripe olives with pieces of natural cheddar cheese. Thread the stuffed olives on wooden picks with boiled cocktail sausage.

46. Accent cheese ball with chopped ripe olives.

47. For a fun, first-course fondue, stuff pitted ripe olives with a slow melting cheese. Dip the stuffed olive into a pancake batter then into the hot oil cooking till golden. Wait a minute before eating.

48. Use pitted ripe olives as interesting dippers for cheese fondue.

49. Try a sour cream-clam-olive combo for your next party dip.

50. For an interesting first course, serve a turkey-tomato-olive cocktail. Top with a yogurt dressing.

51. Glamorize a shrimp cocktail. Add pitted ripe olives and cucumber before topping with zesty chili sauce. It's a smashing first course.

52. Moisten pitted ripe olives with a little salad oil, then roll in a mixture of snipped parsley and grated parmesan cheese. Serve with wooden picks.

53. Marinate pitted ripe olives in a little sherry before adding them to the hors d'oeuvres tray.

54. RIPE OLIVE FONDUE

1 (12 ounce) package process Swiss cheese, shredded
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (6 ounce) can pitted California ripe olives, drained, divided use
Crusty French bread chunks

Allow cheese to come to room temperature. Combine milk, wine, and nutmeg; heat to simmering. Add cheese, one-third at a time; stirring till cheese has melted before adding more. Slice 1/2 cup of the olives; add to fondue. Keep warm till ready to serve.

Thread remaining ripe olives and bread chunks on skewers or fondue forks; swirl in fondue to coat. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

55. Perk up your dining with Spicy Ripe Olives. Combine 1 halved garlic clove, 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1 bay leaf, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, and 1 tablespoon salad oil. Drain liquid from a can of pitted ripe olives; mix with the spicy mixture. Return liquid to can. Cover tightly and chill 2 to 3 days.

56. Tack on a touch of tarragon by combining 1 cup canned olive liquid, 1/2 cup dry white wine, and Y4 teaspoon crushed dried tarragon. Toss in 1 1/2 cups pitted ripe olives, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

57. Make a rumaki everyone will love. Substitute pitted ripe olives for the chicken livers.

58. Highlight a summer-fresh cucumber shrimp dip with ripe olive wedges.

59. For a tasty spread, add chopped ripe olives to a cheese-deviled ham mixture.

60. POLYNESIAN OLIVE APPETIZERS

1/2 cup pitted California ripe olives, chopped
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
1 tablespoon snipped parsley
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
36 large shrimp, cooked and deveined
36 California pitted ripe olives
36 pineapple chunks

In mixing bowl, blend together chopped olives, cream cheese, blue cheese, green onion, parsley, and mustard. Partially split shrimp lengthwise through back taking care not to split entirely. Stuff backs of shrimp with cheese mixture. Chill. To serve, skewer shrimp, ripe olives, and pineapple on bamboo skewers. Makes 3 dozen.

61. Fold chopped ripe olives and a splash of dry white wine into a can of liver spread for an instant liver pate.

62. Sprinkle sliced ripe olives over hollandaise sauce and use as a dip for artichokes.

63. Top a celery stick stirrer with a pitted ripe olive and add to a glass of tomato juice.

64. Accent the tops of nibble-sized open-faced sandwiches with sliced ripe olives.

65. QUICK PARTY APPETIZER

1 (4 ounce) package sliced dried beef, snipped
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded natural cheddar cheese
1 (6 ounce) can pitted California ripe olives, drained and sliced
1 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 (4 ounce) package round white melba toast

In mixing bowl, combine dried beef, cheddar cheese, ripe olives, and mayonnaise; spread atop melba toast rounds. Place toast on baking sheet. Broil rounds 4-inches from broiler for 5 to 7 minutes. Makes about 40 appetizers.

66. Remember the dieter at your next party and mix ripe olives into the cottage cheese dip.

67. Impress your guests with Classic Antipasto. Arrange canned tuna, capers, thinly sliced salami, boiled ham or prosciutto, rolled anchovies, pickled peppers, and lots of pitted ripe olives on a large serving plate.

68. Mold a cheese pastry around pitted ripe olives and bake till golden. It's a sizzling success.