Feta Stuffed Olives

One of the lessons my parents taught me from an early age was not to show up at someone's house empty-handed. You always bring something: wine, flowers, a gift for the kids, or something you baked.

When I was offered a preview copy of Gourmet Gifts: 100 Delicious Recipes for Every Occasion to Make Yourself & Wrap with Style by Dinah Corley, I could not wait to see what recipes and wrapping ideas I would be able to use for my next hostess gift.

The book is filled with ideas for everything from the elaborate to the quick and inexpensive. The photographs by Alison Shaw are bright and make you want to try every single recipe and decorating idea. I thought I'd start with something simple: Black and White Olives.

Do not adjust your screen! The olives in the photograph above are not black. They are green. My grocery store did not have the black California olives needed for the recipe, so I used giant green ones.

 

Feta Stuffed Olives
Slightly adapted from  Gourmet Gifts: 100 Delicious Recipes for Every Occasion to Make Yourself & Wrap with Style by Dinah Corley

Ingredients
12 ounces extra-large pitted green olives
4 ounces feta cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 garlic cloves
6 bay leaves
3 de arbol dry chiles, slightly toasted in a skillet
1/2 to 2/3 cups olive oil

Directions {I pretty much simplified the directions that were in the book to fit my lifestyle}
1. Drain and dry the olives
2. In a bowl, mash together feta, oregano and a bit of olive oil.
3. Stuff the olives with the feta filling. Prepare to have a mess on your hands. {I tried to make little sausages from the feta and stuffed them into olives. I used a chopstick to push the feta filling down and then, if there was any space remaining, added more filling.}

4. In a large jar, add sliced garlic, del arbol peppers, bay leaves and olives. Fill with olive oil.

I used a napkin and a ribbon to decorate my jar, and brought it over to Jenna's house for The Bachelor viewing ;)

My thoughts: I think this needed a bit more spice. Perhaps, red pepper flakes would have been a good addition. I did not cure the olives in a dry cool place for 24 hours as required in the book: I just did not have the time. Maybe that would have given a bit more bite to this appetizer. Still, I thought it was a fun project.

I can't wait to try some of the other recipes from the book including Mango and Tomatillo Salsa and Two Sisters, Side by Side: Cumin Tortilla Chips and Black Bean-Fresh Corn Salsa.

When you are a guest in someone's house, what's your favorite hostess gift to bring?