Green Olive and Artichoke Tapenade

While this was tasty it was also pretty salty. I think that it will be more successful as a pesto like pasta sauce than as a dip or spread on its own. Since there is plenty leftover I am going to give this option a shot sometime this week. I will report on how it works.

Today is Wednesday, April 28, and I used this tonight as a pasta sauce. While it was much better in this capacity I cannot thoroughly recommend this recipe. Of everything I served at my first dinner this one did not come out the way I imagined it should. So I am going to continue to tinker with tapenades until I come up with a recipe that I find worthy of recommending. In the meantime - enjoy the rest of the menu.

Okay, I was raised in a very frugal household. Nothing went to waste. Indeed, at Easter my daughters decorated a batch of cupcakes. They were bunny cupcakes with marshmallow teeth and noses, M&M eyes and twizzler whiskers and abundant amounts of frosting. A week later 12 or so still remained. So I whirled them up, toppings and all, in the food processor. That became the "sugar" component of the biscotti. I then added the savory part- flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, eggs, etc., but no additional sugar. I baked them as for biscotti. At the end of the crisping part, after I had baked and sliced them and bake them again, I topped each piece with some Easter chocolate that I chopped up from chocolate eggs and mini Easter Hersheys Candy bars. Once it melted I spread it over the biscotti. Boy were they wonderful.

Needless to say, have really been trying to find out where this particular tepenade recipe belongs and think I did today. I toasted up a slice of my homemade bread - more to come on that subject later, and slathered it with the tapenade. I put the bread on a pile of mesclun and topped the whole thing off with a fried egg. It made a fabulous breakfast. I think I will finish it off (the tapenade) tomorrow. In the meantime I will continue to pursue the ultimate tapenade recipe but this one does suit the bill for breakfast with toast and a poached egg.

1/4 cup of pecans, toasted

1 14 oz can of artichoke hearts, drained

1/3 cup of pitted green olives

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 tbls capers, drained

1 tbls chopped fresh parsley

1 tbls lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp chopped fresh basil

fresh ground pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until combined but still a little chunky.