Olive and Nut Sandwich Spread

Thank goodness for sandwiches. Without them, I'd probably have had to learn to cook a lot sooner. But because of sandwiches in their supreme simplicity, I've been able to keep my belly filled with minimum effort or thought. My go-to sandwich filler consists of a few slices of deli turkey, a slice or two of cheddar cheese, a dab of mayonnaise, and a bit of mustard. Or peanut butter and jelly. When in doubt, always go with peanut butter. Put simply, I love sandwiches, so imagine my delight when I came across this page in Wartime Suggestions:

 

Why, yes, I could use some variety in my sandwich spreads! Now, which to try first. My temptation was to go with the familiar--the peanut butter option--and call it a day. But the whole point of this blog is to learn new cooking skills, and that wouldn't be very educational, would it?

So I went with one of the more...unorthodox...combinations. Introducing: Olive and Nut Spread. 

These are the instructions as listed in the booklet: Chop stuffed olives and nuts fine; moisten with cream cheese and mayonnaise.

Hm. Okay. How many olives? What kind of nuts? How much cream cheese? How do you make this?! Remember my discomfort with the "improvising" part of cooking? Yeah, clearly I'm not quite ready for this kind of test. So I took a deep breath, Googled it, and found this recipe with a few more specifics. Whew.

I gathered the ingredients below and got started:

6 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup sliced olives

2 tablespoons of olive juice from the jar

Dash of pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Serve on sandwiches or with crackers.

Simple enough! First, I used my food processor to chop the pecans and stuffed olives.

Gulp. It admittedly looked a little questionable at this point, but I pressed onward. Next I mixed in the mayonnaise, cream cheese, olive juice, and pepper. Once finished, I took a small taste, and you know, it wasn't too bad. I could definitely taste the saltiness of the olives and the crunchiness of the nuts. The ratio of cream cheese and mayonnaise to olives and nuts is a little high, making this recipe resemble more of a dip than a sandwich spread. I couldn't imagine slathering it between two pieces of bread, so I scooped a dollop onto a plate with some Triscuits and attempted to feed it to Taylor as an afternoon snack. 

Not wanting to crush my fledgling chef spirit, Taylor took a bite and said, "Mmmm, let's have more later!" It's since been a few days, and I don't think he has eaten any more of it. 

I even attempted to share my creation with our friends Alex and Kyle this past weekend, and let's just say there was a lot leftover when it was time to go home. I think this is the kind of recipe where you either really love it or you just politely endure it for the sake of your friend's feelings/blog. Even Wartime Suggestions alludes to this phenomenon--take a closer look at the recipe listing:

It's expensive, but you may want to try it once in a while. Will keep nicely for several days.

In other words, "This is a strange combination, we know, but heck, why not mix it up a little? It'll take multiple sittings to get through the batch, but that's what your Frigidaire refrigerator is for. So splurge on those olives, you crazy kids!"

Overall, this recipe isn't a homerun at my house, and I likely won't make it again. But let's just say I am invited to an olive-admirers' convention and they specifically request the Olive and Nut Sandwich Spread. In that unlikely hypothetical scenario, I would reduce the mayonnaise in this recipe and let the cream cheese do the heavy lifting. It might launch this dish into cheese ball territory, but it would certainly help cut some of the tangy aftertaste. Wow, look at me! Maybe I'm learning a little something about cooking after all.