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For her main dish, finalist Stephanie Izard made a lamb course with mushrooms, pistachios and a blackberry and olive tapenade; I remember being utterly fascinated by the combination of colors and flavors.

The latter often graces my kitchen counter at apéro hour — with so much flavor and crunch, they are better than chips and the best vessel for all sorts of dips, whether tapenade or seasonal tartinades.

The choices were spaghetti and meatballs, chicken almondine, grilled salmon tapenade, meatloaf, or a combo plate of one pancake, one egg and choice of bacon or sausage.

One recent subscription box highlighted buffalo milk cheeses from around the world and included a special gift of Italian tapenade.

Coming from a good vintage in the southern Rhône, this Gigondas shows off red rose petals on the nose with smoked meats, green olive tapenade and hints of white pepper.