The Best Thing I Ever Ate . . .

. . . Totally Unexpected!  That's the name of the show I was just watching on Food Network.  I've seen it a few times and some of the dishes they mention are mind-blowing!  Oh . . . and there are some items that are "mind-blowing" as well, but not in a good way:  Deep Fried Candy Bar? . . . Proscuitto Ice Cream??? . . . give me a break! lol

I like olives and artichokes . . . so when I heard that this dish "Eggs Rose" had those two things, I wanted to find out more about it.  Cat Cora—one of the Iron Chefs—was commenting about the best breakfast she had ever had at "D'Angelo Bread", in Santa Barbara, California.  "The Eggs Rose is one of my favorite breakfast items I've ever had. Poached eggs on top of fresh baked Kalamata olive bread with an artichoke spread, delicious!"

Of course, I wanted the recipe!  And, sure enough, I couldn't find it anywhere! :(

So, I started looking on the Internet for the different components of the dish by separate and came up with these recipes:

Artichoke and Sun-Dried Tomatoes Spread















1 jar (6 ounces) marinated artichoke hearts
6 sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 Tablespoon toasted pine nuts
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Pinch of salt


Drain the artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Place all ingredients in a food processor and process to consistency that you like. This recipe is from "The Pampered Chef".

Artichoke and Goat Cheese Spread







1 can artichoke hearts, well drained
1 pound mild soft goat cheese, such as Montrachet
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 roasted red bell pepper or pimiento
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes


In a food processor, add the artichoke hearts, goat cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, roasted bell pepper, parsley, chives, basil, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper and process until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Place in a nonreactive bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 2 days in advance.  This recipe is from Emeril Lagasse.

Kalamata Olive, Sun-dried Tomato, and Feta Bread

400 g water
14 g instant yeast
625 g bread flour (I used King Arthur—you might need a little more flour depending on how wet your olives and tomatoes are)
42 g dried milk powder
18 g sugar
7 g salt
1 egg, beaten
180 g pitted Kalamata olives, cut in half or thirds (I used a drained 6.5 oz. jar of TJs)
8 oz. julienned sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained (can use reconstituted dry pack if you prefer; I used an 8.5 oz. of TJs julienned sun-dried tomatoes)
25 g chopped fresh parsley (fresh basil would also be delicious)
8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
Egg wash


Combine water, yeast, flour, dry milk, sugar, egg, and salt in mixer bowl. Mix with paddle just to combine. Add in tomatoes, olives and parsley at the end being careful not to break them up too much.

Let dough rest 15 minutes in covered mixer bowl. Turn out onto lightly floured counter and knead a few turn to form a ball. Place in oiled covered container and let rest another 15 minutes. Do a stretch and fold. Return dough to bowl. Wait another 15 minutes and do a 2nd stretch and fold.

Return to covered bowl and let rise until double (about an 1 1/2 hours—I can't remember exactly how long this took).

Divide dough into two equally sized balls and roll each out into a cylinder about 12" long and 1/4" thick. Sprinkle each rectangle with half the feta, and then cut the rectangle in half length-wise.

Roll up each strip of dough tightly to form a long cylinder, and then roll each cylinder back and forth until each is 24" long. Braid two cylinders together and then coil them to form a round loaf.
Place each loaf on parchment, spray lightly with pan-spray, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let proof until almost double, about one hour.

Place oven stone on rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375º F. Just before baking, brush loaves with egg wash. Bake directly on stone for about 35 minutes until center reaches 190º F. Makes two round loaves (can also be baked in loaf pans).  This recipe is from "The Fresh Loaf".

The Best Thing I Ever Ate . . .