This Olive Cheese Balls recipe has been patiently waiting to be posted since I watched the “Very Brady Renovation” episodes on HGTV . Brady Bunch fans, did you get to watch those? Oh my heart. My sisters and I loved that show! The 70’s wouldn’t have been complete without it.
As I watched the crew, and the actors who played the Brady kids, re-create Mike and Carol’s home right before my eyes, I’ve got to say I shed a few tears. And don’t even get me started talking about how the actors themselves reacted to seeing the studio sets come alive in the actual house that the show used for the exterior shots. That was an actual home in California that was up for sale. It was cool to see the transformation into what we all remembered from one of our favorite shows.
So how did a recipe come from this experience? Ree Drummond, aka “The Pioneer Woman”, was given the opportunity to shoot one of her show’s episodes from the Brady kitchen when the reno was completed. She was giddy. I was giddy watching it. Who doesn’t remember the orange counters and Alice and Carol standing behind them to make dinner for the Brady family?
Anyway, she made several recipes but this one stood out to me and I knew I would make it one day for the blog. There is just something about green olives stuffed with pimento. I loved them as a kid and still do today. Here’s a little blast from the past: there was a time when our family lived with my grandparents back in the 60’s. They had a little party room set up in their basement and they would occasionally have little cocktail parties or whatever. Grandpa built a little “bar” where he could serve drinks, etc., and Grandma would make little appetizers and stuff–you know, like cheese cubes on a toothpick–sometimes with an olive added. Anyway, there would always be a jar of green olives and a jar of marschino cherries on the shelf in the bar. I would sneak the green olives. But never the drinks! I didn’t even consider it.
We were down at the beach last week and I ended up making 2 batches of these Olive Cheese Balls, with a request for more later in the week, but I was out of 2 of the ingredients. At that point, we settled for cucumber cream cheese sandwiches. Those are so good and something else I remember from way back. You might like these little tea sandwiches to serve with your olives.
Here’s a little tip: definitely use fresh parsley. I used the slightly dried chopped parsley that comes in a little plastic container. I didn’t want to buy a full bunch for the beach because I knew we would never use it up and it would be wasted. These were still yummy, but I personally felt the texture was a little compromised by not using fresh.
Olive Cheese Balls
- August 20, 2020
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Ingredients
- 12 large pimento-stuffed green olives
- 8 ounces cold cream cheese
- 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely minced
Directions
- Step 1
- Lay the olives on paper towels and pat dry.
- Step 2
- Slice a small piece of cream cheese, about 1/4 inch thick, and place an olive in the middle. Wrap the cream cheese around the olive, rolling it between your hands so it is completely covered and gives you a smooth ball. Repeat with the rest of the olives.
- Step 3
- Mix the walnuts and parsley in a bowl or shallow dish. Roll each ball in this mixture to completely cover.
- Step 4
- Refrigerate the coated olives, uncovered, until chilled for at least an hour.
- Step 5
- Slice in half before serving.
Note: These can be made a day ahead. Also, follow those instructions on coating with the parsley and walnuts. They will be a lot prettier, if you do. As I was typing the instructions I realized I had just done mine without checking the recipe. LOL.
