Olive Cheese Melts Recipes

OLIVE CHEESE BALLS

Steps:

• Drain olives and place them on a paper towel to dry.
• In a small bowl, combine butter and sharp cheddar with a wooden spoon. Add flour, paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper. Mix as well as you can with the wooden spoon, and then finish by combining with your hands. It will turn into a moist, dense dough that can easily be formed into a ball.
• With a small scoop, portion out 18 balls of tightly packed dough. My small scoop holds a little more than 2 teaspoons of dough when tightly packed. Roll each portion into a ball and place it in the palm of one hand. With the thumb of your other hand, press the dough ball to flatten it. Place an olive in the center of the flattened dough and mold the dough up around the olive. Give it a gently roll between your palms to finish. Place two inches apart on ungreased baking sheet - this 10" x 15" rimmed pan works perfectly. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
• Heat oven to 400° F. Bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool on pan for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. These are best when eaten while still warm. Serve with homemade buttermilk ranch if you like to dip!

ENGLISH MUFFIN OLIVE CHEESE MELTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine olives, green onions, Cheddar cheese, curry powder, mayonnaise, and salt.
• Mix well.
• Spread mixture on English muffins.
• Cut the English muffins into fourths.
• Note: If you want to freeze these, now is the time!
• Arrange the muffin pieces on a cookie sheet.
• Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 10 minutes.

BAKED CHEESE OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• In a small mixing bowl, combine cheese and butter or margarine. Stir flour and cayenne pepper into the cheese and butter mixture. Blend well. Wrap a tablespoon of dough around each green olive. Arrange the wrapped olives on a cookie sheet.
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

KALAMATA OLIVE, TOMATO, AND CHEESE MELT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain.
• Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, jalapeno, and green bell pepper until onions are soft and translucent. Stir in tomatoes, wine, and kalamata olives. Simmer 15 minutes. Toss pasta with sauce until evenly coated. Pour into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with feta cheese and Cheddar cheese.
• Bake 5 minutes in the preheated oven. Set oven to broiler setting. Broil for 5 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and bubbly.