Olive Cheese Bread, or The Most Powerful Bread Ever

Oh goodness.

I saw this recipe on PW's website a few weeks back and instantly thought "My parents would love this bread".

I didn't know how much, though.

I'm pretty sure my dad wants to marry it.  We joked about how he would sleep with the leftovers next to his pillow when they got home.  He kept raving about it, about how you could make an entire meal out of it, about how delicious it was.  Naturally I was flattered and happy that I made something he loved so much!

Of course, I made little additions and subtractions of my own based on what I had on hand.  I'm sure the original version is delicious as well!

Here's what I did:

 

I chopped up a can of black olives and a jar of green olives.  Both were the normal size - around 6 oz each.  

They were *supposed* to be in much bigger pieces than this, but...I got a food processor yesterday and decided to give it a shot with chopping these.  I didn't know that if you press the button but the lid isn't on tightly enough, and you tighten it, the blades will start whirling.  After a loud "NO NO NO!!!", I got my wits about me enough to stop the blades.  By that time, I had what you see before you.  Oh, well.

So learn from my mistakes.  It's what I'm here for.

I then grated about 3/4 lb of mozzarella cheese, which I just figured would somehow work better with the meal I had planned.

 

Now imagine that I took a picture of a stick of softened butter being mixed with a half cup of mayonnaise, okay? Okay.

And then further imagine that I took a picture of that mixture being mixed with the cheese and olives.  Okay? Okay.

I think I was too busy trying to find a bowl big enough to fit all of this without making a mess to worry about such things as, you know, taking pictures for the blog.  

Finally, after combining and not taking pictures, I thought to myself, "This needs a little kick".  The original recipe calls for green onions (plus it uses Monterey Jack cheese).  Alas, I had no green onions on hand.  I did, however, have garlic.

 

I pulled out the trusty garlic press and pressed three small cloves into the mix.  That added just the right touch of flavor.  

I will tell you from experience that this mixture is delicious cold.  I gave some to my mom to try out before putting it in the oven and her eyes almost popped out of her head.  So did mine.

When the time came, I spread the mixture on two halves of a loaf of italian bread.

 

Notice the big hole on the one side.  I was unhappy when I saw that.  So I only spread my mix on the part of the bread that actually was...bready. 

That's not even a word.

Into the 325 degree oven it went, for 25 minutes.  It could have gone longer.  And in your oven, it might not even need to be in for that long - this oven, you must understand, has not been used very much.  After Rob's dad had the kitchen remodeled, Rob used it once a year to make Christmas dinner.  Thaaaaat's about it.  So I'm still a little iffy on cooking times and such.

Regardless, the cheese should be browned and bubbly when it's ready to leave the oven.

And I swear to you, I took a picture of that.  I took a picture first of the pieces I had cut up as an appetizer, and Rob said "Why don't you take one of the whole big piece of bread?", so I took a picture of that as well.  Those pictures, however, cannot be found on my camera.  Sigh.

Let me just repeat, though, that this bread may make your father consider leaving your mother for it.

That's how powerful it is.

So use caution.

Linking to: