Before we get down to business I want to share a photo of my little helper with you. Whenever I cook, this is where and how my little Brian stands--not because he's waiting for food to drop but because he just genuinely likes to be close to me if possible. Sweet, right? Let's just hope I never drop a knife or a pot of boiling water--it's something I fear. This view is what I see when I am standing in my kitchen and looking down:
Precious, right?
Muffuletta sandwiches are a New Orleans specialty, and man are they good! (Learn the history of this delicious sandwich here if you're interested.) Mine are by no means authentic, but really it's just the olive salad that I crave when I want a Muffuletta sandwich. Most of the recipes I have read online use a lot of ingredients and make enough of the olive mixture to make a gazillion sandwiches, but since I want to keep it simple and I really only need enough for a few sandwiches, here's how I make mine:
Muffuletta Olive Salad
1/2 cup green olives (stuffed with pimiento)
1/2 cup Italian Mix Giardiniera (If you don't know what this is, check it out here)
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T olive oil
Pulse all ingredients in food processor until they're small even chunks. This makes about 1 cup, or enough for about 4 sandwiches.
Spread this mix on a buttered ciabatta roll with meats and cheeses of your preference, then press on panini press or George Foreman grill and presto (pun intended), you're done! Yum!
Here's what our dinner looked like:
In our house, sandwiches are a perfectly acceptable dinner as long as they're more special than the average cold cut. In fact, we really enjoy pressed sandwiches for dinner. What about you?
