• To begin, gather the ingredients so you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.

Prepare the Ingredients

• Wash and pat dry the .5 oz fresh basil, 6 each grape tomatoes, and if desired, 6 each kalamata olives.
• Using a knife and cutting board, slice the 2 oz white cheddar cheese into small bite-size cubes about 1" in size.
• You'll also need some small skewer appetizer picks, so have those at the ready, too. (I used 4" extra long Diamond toothpicks that I purchased at Walmart.)

Form the Salami Roses

• To make the roses, you'll need 6 oz hard salami (4 large pieces for each rose). Place the salami on top of each other, staggering them so that about a half inch is showing for the bottom layers.
• Once you have them in line, fold them in half.
• Starting at one end, begin tightly rolling to form the rose.

Assemble the Appetizers

• Once the rose is formed, attach it to the appetizer pick, pushing it all the way to the top, leaving enough space for the other items below it.
• Next, place two basil leaves on the pick to create leaves on the stem.
• After the basil, I like to add the square of cheese. Room temperature cheese works best, as it is less likely to crumble when you place it on the pick.
• Finish with the grape tomato or kalamata olive.
• Place on a platter or tray and repeat with the remaining roses. To serve individually, place one for each guest on a tapa or appetizer plate.
• This recipe is easily adaptable to serve as few or as many people as you desire. For ease of calculating, I'm basing ingredients on serving 6 people.