Mmmmm, olives!

We have a great small grocery chain here in the northeast, Wegman's. One of my most favorite food pleasures is to load up an olive/antipasto tray from their Mediterranean bar, get a stick of supersharp aged cheddar from the deli, and a hunk of good bread from the bakery, and sit down with a nice beer and nibble away while watching the ballgame (and, in some instances, posting to Roadfood using the laptop)!

I'm not so knowledgeable in olives to know them all by name, but I try to get a dozen or so of each kind. This time, there were some big purplish olives that were marinated in red wine, they were sooooo good! I also got a hot gardiniera mix with portobellas, garbanzos, jalapenos, celery, pepperoncinis, and the little purple olives, and some little green buds that I don't know what they are; it's pretty hot to be eating it at 9PM, but with the bread I think I'll be OK.

I got the Spaten Oktoberfest. It's not as good as I remember it, quite honestly. It's OK enough, but there are so many wonderful domestics now. I should have gotten the Flying Fish Sampler.

This almost feels health, especially compared to chips!



Tom

Olives are a real treat for me. I love them all and try to buy them in bulk at a local place that will allow me to dip out of a large crock. I guess my favorite would be the pitted kalamata but as I said,I love them all. I use them in a few dishes,but I prefer them as an appetizer--by themselves or ina tapenade. I like them in a perfect Manhattan.

Mosca, I'll have a beer and an olive with you any time, but I have to say that there aren't many American lagers that can stand up to a comparison with Spaten.

If you ever get a chance try feta stuffed olives. They're wonderful, but expensive. Whole Foods had them but quit when the price shot to $17.00 a lb! I think I'll make my own thank you...

I love olives myself.. locally we are blessed to have a few good artisan olive growers. I love green olives marinated in wine..those feta stuffed ones sound really great!

Jennifer a warning: those feta stuffed olives are highly addictive!

Yes, those feta stuffed ones do sound good! Around here in the North country, about all I see in the deli are small cocktail jars overpriced... Though I've never gone to search out a variety, there may be some in the area... My preference is using them as an appetizer...

Mmmmmmm.

The Wegmans olives are the bulk pack, real deal olives, not the jarred ones. I could eat those morning, noon, and night. I think I'm going to make a New Orleans sandwich this weekend.

Pete. I think the real difference is that it's hard to get imported beers that have been handled properly. The Spaten comes wrapped pretty well, but I worry about the shipping. If I get a decent local lager, chances are that it's only been trucked for a couple hours; brewery to distributor. That's what I think I can taste, the deterioration.

Tom

quote:

Originally posted by Mosca

We have a great small grocery chain here in the northeast, Wegman's. One of my most favorite food pleasures is to load up an olive/antipasto tray from their Mediterranean bar, get a stick of supersharp aged cheddar from the deli, and a hunk of good bread from the bakery, and sit down with a nice beer and nibble away while watching the ballgame (and, in some instances, posting to Roadfood using the laptop)!

I'm not so knowledgeable in olives to know them all by name, but I try to get a dozen or so of each kind. This time, there were some big purplish olives that were marinated in red wine, they were sooooo good! I also got a hot gardiniera mix with portobellas, garbanzos, jalapenos, celery, pepperoncinis, and the little purple olives, and some little green buds that I don't know what they are; it's pretty hot to be eating it at 9PM, but with the bread I think I'll be OK.

Tom

The "little green buds", I'm guessing, were capers--something I love in many ways such as sprinkled on bagels/lox/cream cheese or in Putanesca sauce for pasta.

The "little purple olives" sound like Nicoise. The big ones were probably Greek (but not Kalamata which aren't all that big).

I don't know if I have seen a better place for olives than The Olive Pit store in Corning, California. There are hundreds of varities of olives and endless free samples. When I drive between Portland and the Bay area, I always stop there and fill my car with a couple dozen varities of olives.

I've never had an olive stuffed with feta, but I've recently had some excellent bleu cheese stuffed olives. The jalapeno stuffed olives are also great and I always wonder how they'd be on a pizza. (Might have to break out the pizza pan and give that a try this weekend.)

The buds weren't capers, they were stemmed and looked like marinated green grapes (unless those are capers in the raw). I'll go back on Friday, get more, and post a pic or a link.

Tom

capers come in many sizes...small medium, large and many preparations..salted, pickled etc. What you had is actually the caper berry as opposed to the caper bud

I've never met an olive I didn't like (I am definitely going to seek out some feta-stuffed ones).

Actually, I've never met a Spaten I didn't like either.

Yes, that was it; The bud! They were absolutely delicious, Thank you for posting the pic!

I am craving another Mediterrranean tray now...



Tom

I love the little olive oil cured black olives, they tast like a feast in your mouth.

Also I do not think life would be very great without olives, they like bread and wine are somewhat necessitys to a good life.

I like a simple meal sometimes of Good fresh baked french bread, Feta cheese, kalamata olives and a simple glass of decent red wine. It is so satisfying and simple.

Feta-stuffed olives, bleu cheese-stuffed olives, garlic-stufffed olives (those are EXCELLENT..there's a whole clove of garlic in there), jalepeno-stuffed olives...oh yeah.

I get mine at a variety of places, depending on where I am. In town, it's either Cost Plus/World Market or this local store called Russo's. If I'm in Lansing, I get them at this Mediterranean deli called Woody's Oasis.

Grey Goose martinis are especially good with one each garlic- and jalapeno-stuffed olives.

I'll second Mr Chips recommendation about the Olive Pit in Corning CA. We used to time our meal stop on the 5 going either North or South, so as to be in Corning at meal time. Several Truck Stops there for good roadfood, and the Olive Pit for stocking up on outstanding roadfood snack olives. One of the Truck stops had AYCE CFS that was pretty peppery, but really good.
I like the stuffed Olives..with Garlic or Onion.

I love all kinds of stuffed olives too but word of caution, my dentist is now $1000 richer because of a supposedly pitted olive. (a nice little crown) I laid off of the olives for a week or so and am back at 'em! Our local Jewel Foods started having an olive bar this summer and on some of the hottest days when I didn't feel like cooking, olives, a little cheese and maybe some smoked fish was a frequent dinner.

One of the finest olive bars I've encountered is (go figure) at Zabar's. The olives (and cornichons and capers and other things) are either five or six dollars a pound, pick your own and feel free to sample. I really only like the green ones and favorites include almond-stuffed, garlic-stuffed, fennel-cured, and Sicilian Colossal. The price, quality, and selection are, in my experience, unsurpassed--the rare New York bargain.

Has anybody tried Deep Fried Olives? The Angelika Theater in Dallas serves them ate their snack bar.

Big italian olives stuffed with cheese, dipped in an eggwash and bread crumbs and fried. Yum!! I have this appetizer with a cup of pasta fagioli or minestrone at the family owned restaurant down the street from my office (Luciano's in Oakton, VA). They are so good and it is just enough food for lunch. Their pastas and calzones are so huge (even the 1/2 orders) that I would never be able to go back to work!!