Card night & marinated olives

Quite regularly we have neighbours or family and friends come over for a card night. Mr Shady Pine and I are quite addicted to a game we were recently introduced to called Phase 10. The first game we ever played with a group of neighbours ran for 8 hours straight! We weren't quitting until there was a winner people!

Anyway all that card shuffling requires sustenance. On these games nights, the host will usually provide a meal with everyone else bringing all sorts of snacks to keep us going. On our last card night, our lovely neighbour Giselle brought over a delicious mixed berry trifle. The sharpness of the berries was perfect against the backdrop of sweet vanilla custard and cream. Needless to say that was a very popular dessert.

And that's what I love about these evenings; the fun and laughter, music, banter and trying the different dishes that we all bring together.

These nights often start with a drink or two, together with some nibblies. I recently made some marinated olives to serve with drinks and they were devoured fairly quickly. I love the flavours as they come together and intensify the flavour of the olives with a hint of heat from the chilli. Perfect with a drink!

These are best made ahead ot time and allowed to infuse for a couple of hours. Often I will make a big bowl of these and keep them covered in the fridge as snack through the week.

Garlic, lemon & chilli marinated olives


Ingredients:
1 cup of mixed olives; I used a mix of green olives and kalamata
Peel of half a lemon
1 small garlic clove, sliced thinly
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs parsley, finely chopped

1. Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan over very low heat.
2. Allow to heat up very gently for about 5 minutes to allow the flavours to come together without cooking.