Ingredients

For a dry martini:

• 2 ounces gin
• 1/4-ounce vermouth
• Cracked ice
• 1 or 2 Gin-Marinated Olives, to taste, recipe follows

Directions

Gin-Marinated Olives:

1 cup colossal size, pimiento-stuffed green olives

1/4 cup gin

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

5 (1/4-inch wide) strips lemon peel, each about 3-inches long

Combine all ingredients in a non-reactive dish and cover tightly. Allow olives to marinate at least 2 to 3 hours or up to 4 days in the refrigerator. (If you are only marinating them for a few hours, leave the olives in the marinade at room temperature.)

Yield: 1 cup olives

Note: These olives are great in martinis and also double as a quick party hors d'oeuvre. If you plan on using them exclusively as an hors d'oeuvre, drizzle a little extra-virgin olive