Meet Oliver. Get it? Olive-r. He’s an easy savory pick up appetizer who comes out in the wintertime to celebrate the holidays with alongside a festive meal. And the best part? He won’t melt so guests can admire him (he even stands up!) and his buddies before they pick him up to enjoy. This recipe is easy, fun, and can satisfy your snowman craving even if you don’t see snow this winter. This recipe is the first of a holiday recipe series I’ll be featuring this week.
Ingredients
- Green or black olives- pitted (they must be pitted for this recipe to work! I’ve learned the hard way!). Green olives with pimento peppers inside work well since they hold the toothpick in place.
- Medium sized block of mild, semi-firm, but not flaky (like parmesan) cheese. (I used lite Swiss. Jarlsberg is another favorite. Pick it up at your favorite grocery store or a local Antonelli’s Cheese Shop)
- 1 jar of roasted red peppers
- 1 box or container of natural colored toothpicks (colored ones will bleed into the cheese)
Instructions
- Slice the cheese into 1/4 inch cubes. Also slice several pieces that are 1/2 inch in width, but half of that in height (to make thinner pieces for both the brim of the snowman’s hat and the base for the snowman).
- Stick a natural colored toothpick into one of the thinner squares to make it stand upright at a 90-degree angle. String 2 olives, vertically, onto the toothpick, one on top of the other.
- Top the toothpick with another thin square for the brim of the hat, then add a small cube as the top of the hat.
- Slice the roasted red peppers longwise if they are not already, into 1/4-inch wide strips, each about 3 inches long. Wrap one strip around the base of the top olive to create a scarf if desired.
- Stand up the snowmen on a platter*, and serve!
- Enjoy!
*To make fun and festive platters, superglue a plastic rectangular or circular plate on top of a plastic margarita glass upside-down. Party City has plastic plates and glasses of all different sizes, shapes, and colors, though I prefer clear to show off the snowmen or other homemade bites. See below:
