I hope you love olives as much as I do.
Honestly, like pickles, I could drink the brine. Sometimes I even do — with a cocktail.
A few weeks ago I teamed up with Delallo Foods for a summer happy hour idea: a DIY dirty martini bar. The concept wasn’t entirely mine — my cousin Lacy, who adores dirty martinis, gets most of the credit — but together we built a bar of perfectly messy, stuffed olives and crafted some delicious dirty martinis.
We set up bowls overflowing with stuffed olives that were so tempting it was a real challenge not to eat them all before the drinks were poured.
If you don’t love olives, I get it — Eddie claims he doesn’t like them either. That said, he “doesn’t like pickles” and still polished off an entire plate of fried pickles, so tastes can be confusing.
At the Delallo store they have an incredible olive bar. I always go a little wild and fill a container to the brim. For our bar we stuffed olives several ways: cold goat cheese, tangy roasted red peppers, gorgonzola, marcona almonds, and jalapeños rolled in crushed red pepper for those who want it extra spicy. You could also try candied jalapeños or other fun fillings if you like.
Other cheeses like feta or a marinated parmesan would be lovely too — there are so many delicious combinations to try.
Because I believe in snacks alongside drinks, I prepared a selection of bites for the happy hour. I even grilled a few things and had a minor fire-adjacent moment, which you can catch in the video. After a little preview, mix up a cocktail and enjoy.
DIY EXTRA Dirty Martini Bar
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Ingredients
Stuff you need:
- Several martini glasses, chilled or briefly frozen
- Cocktail shaker
- Large pitted green olives without pimentos
- A jar of olive brine
- Goat cheese
- Gorgonzola
- Roasted red peppers
- Sliced or candied jalapeños, remove seeds if you prefer less heat
- Crushed red pepper flakes, optional for spicy olives
- Marcona almonds
- Vodka or gin, your choice (I prefer gin)
- Dry vermouth
Instructions
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Begin by chilling your martini glasses in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to get them frosty. While they chill, stuff the olives: goat cheese, gorgonzola, roasted red pepper, almonds, or jalapeños all work well. Use the back of a spoon or a small fork to help fill them — it gets a bit messy but worth it.
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Arrange the stuffed olives in bowls for guests to choose from. For serving ease, skewer three olives per pick — a classic dirty martini garnish is three olives. If you want spicy olives, roll them in crushed red pepper flakes before skewering.
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To make the perfect dirty martini, try about 2 ounces of gin (or vodka), nearly 1 ounce of olive brine, and a splash of dry vermouth (under 1/2 ounce). Shake the gin, brine, and vermouth with ice, then strain into your chilled martini glass. Drop in a skewer of three stuffed olives and enjoy.
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I appreciate you so much!
Seeing those olives makes my mouth water every time.