Cheesy Olive Tapenade Bread Appetizers for Game Day

I love to have a small, easy appetizer available when guests drop in unexpectedly or when sitting down for a glass of wine, or to watch the football game.  This appetizer can be made into a meal with just a few additional items like pepperoni slices, etc.

Cheesy Olive Tapenade Bread

1 crusty loaf of rustic bread, I like ciabatta but a crusty baguette works well too.  Just try not to use the kind of bread that is very soft in the center.

assorted olives, pitted and chopped (try Castelvetrano, or get the mix from the olive bar at the grocery store)

room temperature butter

shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Shred the cheese (don’t buy the pre-shredded stuff in the package – there are things added to the cheese to prevent clumping and as a result, it doesn’t melt nicely).

Chop the assorted olives.  Don’t worry if you got the assortment from the Olive Bar, the pine nuts, peppers, capers, and garlic work wonderfully with this recipe.

Slice the bread and spread it lightly with butter.  Toast the bread in the oven for about 5 minutes.  You want the butter melted but the bread not starting to brown yet.  Pull the bread out of the oven and spread some of the chopped olives over the top.  Top with the shredded cheese and return to the oven.  Continue to toast until the top of the cheese is nicely brown and bubbly.  Remove and allow to sit for a few minutes before serving so the cheese can cool off a bit.  Enjoy!