The Impatient Chef Makes a Shopping Error

The Impatient Chef Makes a Shopping Error

I sometimes go to the local Cash & Carry store, which caters mostly to restaurants.  I started going there when I owned a small fleet of doomed espresso stands the Portland area back in the 1990's, and now I occasionally stop by when the need strikes.  This time, I was after olives.  Not just a jar, but an industrial sized jar.  I have always liked olives, but about 10 years ago, I discovered the joys of the martini.  I enjoyed them a little too much, so they had to go.  I drank, by the way, the Winston Churchill martini: fill a glass with gin, show it the bottle of vermouth, and drink the gin - preferably with 3 olives.  Gin, oh gin, how I love thee.

Sigh.

I have retained an even deeper appreciation for olives since I found the martini, which has become a passion since I had to leave it behind.  On a recent trip to Cash & Carry, I found a large jar of pimento-stuffed olives (the way I like them), and brought it home.  They were delicious.  I wanted another jar, so I stopped by again, and picked up 2 jars.  Without noticing one glaring omission.

Always read the Label

 They aren't stuffed.  I could have taken them back, but I hatched a plan:  Stuff them myself.  I had picked up some lunch meats a few days before.  I had a bottle of roasted peppers in the cupboard. Perhaps...

A plan was hatched:  Stuff them myself.

The Meats

The plan was to roll the meats up, and cut the cheese (stop snickering) into small chunks.  These were large olives.  I couldn't imagine trying this with smaller ones.

The first thing I noticed was that it would take a lot less than I had initially guessed.  The second thing I noticed was that I would have to roll the meats tighter than I had imagined.  After about 15 minutes with greasy hands and kitchen shears, I had two small bowls of stuffed olives.

All The Marbles

My verdict:  You gotta try this.   The meats must stand out from the olive, so spicier meats seem to be best.  You also must not care what they look like.  At least, at first.

Good luck, and have at it.

The Impatient Chef