Sun-dried Tomato Olive Paste Terrine

      This recipe was stolen in part from Andrea's Sundried Tomato Pesto Torte that she brought to Sean and Sandy's house for their mother- mother-in-law's 70th birthday party, where a great time was had by all. Her torte was placed on the table with crackers and a knife and unfortunately for the other guests, it was placed right in front of me. This was a major mistake that I thoroughly enjoyed while I munched away the afternoon. I was trying to think of what I could bring to Greta's for Thanksgiving Day and happened to think of Olive Paste which they like, then I thought of Andrea's torte and wondered if the two appetizers might work together. Today I made ½ of the recipe, just in case it doesn't work. Tomorrow we will see if its thumbs up or down. Keep tuned. I hope you're still tuned in so that I can report that the recipe was very successful and received a THUMBS UP !

Yield: 6-8 servings

Tuesday January 13, 2004

• 4 (6) slices provolone cheese
• 4 (8) ounces cream cheese, softened and divided
• ¼ (½) teaspoon dried thyme, divided
• ¼ (½) cup Olive Paste (Amafalada, olive marmalade named after a town [Amalfi] in Italy)
• ½ (¾) cup chopped, oil packed, sundried tomatoes, drained & divided

NOTE : #'s in (  ) are for a whole recipe and #'s out of (  ) are for ½ recipe.

NOTE : Whole recipe should be fit into a junior loaf pan 7 ½" x 4 ¾" x 2 "

NOTE : If not using Olive Paste as the filling, add 1 (2) cloves of minced garlic to the cream cheese.

NOTE : The garlic was deleted in this recipe since there is garlic in the Olive Paste.

1.  Line a 5 ¾" x 3" x 2 ¼" (7 ½" x 4 ¾" x 2") pan with enough plastic wrap to overlap

     all sides of pan.

2.  Center 2 (3) slices of provolone in pan so that it runs up sides of pan.

3.  Mix ½ the cream cheese and ½ the thyme. In another bowl, repeat with remaining cheese and thyme. Spread ½ the cream cheese mixture over the provolone.

4.  Top with the Amafalada. Place 2 (3) slices of provolone, as before, on top of the Amafalada. Cover the provolone with the remaining cheese mixture, cover with ½ the tomatoes.

5.  Cover the 6 layer terrine with the overlapping plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or  overnight. Cover remaining tomatoes and refrigerate until ready for the 7th layer to be added.

6.  To serve, remove plastic wrap from top of terrine, and turn out onto a small (medium) platter.  Remove plastic from top and sides and discard. Cover top of terrine with remaining tomatoes.  Place a sharp knife on platter so guests may serve themselves and surround the terrine with crackers or cocktail bread.