Soon enough; you'll be able to buy these babies from our brick and mortar market. Until then; you can (and should) make them yourself! They require very little effort; you can substitute or skip ingredients if you don't have everything on hand; they are a perfect cocktail party snack or dinner party opener; and they only get better with age!We love serving the olives in a cast-iron pan; straight out of the oven (simply heat your oven to 350°F and heat the olives for about 15 minutes). The leftover marinating liquid makes an excellent vinaigrette base or dipping sauce -- in fact; we highly recommend serving them with a hunk of toasty bread.

• 1½ cups mixed olives (we lean toward kalamata, niçoise, cerignola and oil-cured)
• 1 fresh cayenne chile, seeds removed, sliced thin
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and gently pressed with the side of a knife
• 3 large swaths of lemon peel
• 3 large swaths of orange peel
• 1 teaspoon pink or black peppercorns, or a combo
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 sprig rosemary
• Olive oil, to cover

Place the olives in a 16-ounce; wide-mouth jar. Add all of the ingredients except the rosemary and thyme to a saucepan and cover with about 1 cup of olive oil. Simmer on low heat until things start to smell delicious; about 10 minutes. Pour the liquid and the aromatics over the olives; adding extra olive oil if the olives aren't completely covered. Tuck in the thyme and rosemary. Put a lid on the jar and let the olives sit for a few days to absorb all the flavors. The longer they marinate; the better they'll taste!