Fried Feta Cheese Stuffed Olive Recipe

According to Daddy (my father-in-law), any snack tastes better fried. For this particular recipe he came up with, I tend to agree. We recently served feta stuffed olives at a dinner party. At the end of the evening, there was still a bowl full of the black olives leftover. Daddy challenged me and said they would have been all gone had I deep-fried them. The following day, I coated the cheese stuffed olives in a fritter batter and gave them a bath in boiling oil.

An entire bowl of fried olives never really made it to the dining table; they were devoured as soon as they were ready. What makes fried olives so tasty is that ther're perfectly crisp on the outside, but still remain soft on the inside. The key to success with these fried appetizers is to make sure you allow the excess batter to drip back into the batter bowl, then place the olives one at a time in the hot oil. I’m big enough to admit it; Daddy was right!

Olive Cornbread Recipe

I recently saw on my Facebook page that one of PhamFatale's readers made my jalapeno cornbread, which reminded me that I hadn't made any in a long time. I created a new version using oil-cured black olives and an exquisite extra virgin olive oil from Cloud 9 Orchard.

May Chevallier is a true expert on olive oil and is the owner of a 140-acre ranch in southern Monterey County, where she planted 10, 000 olive trees. She's passionate about her Cloud 9 Orchard EVOO, which has won many prestigious awards. I recently met with May and she educated me about how to discern the quality of olive oil. I learned that too often olive oil is artificially enhanced with chlorophyll for color and synthetic olive flavor. Cloud 9 Orchard is free from any of these adulterations. You can order May's extra virgin olive oil directly from her. You won't be disappointed.

Tapenade Stuffed Mozzarella Cheese Appetizers

Bite-sized food is one of the best ways to create a romantic atmosphere for your Valentine dinner. That way you can feed each other while talking and kissing in between! To that end, I created cheese appetizers using small mozzarella balls that I emptied and stuffed with homemade tapenade. The preparation is quite simple if you prep everything in advance.

I made the tapenade using kalamata olives. I love the way the blackish deep-purple color contrasts so well with the white mozzarella; they're also the best choice because of their rich and fruity flavor. I served the mozzarella appetizers on herb-Parmesan crackers, so they're easy to pick up and eat in one single bite.