pickles, pepperoni and olives

today is my nephew charlie's 5th birthday.
unfortunately, i missed his birthday party.
ach. mother nature and her wintry charm.

i've been thinking a lot about charlie
on this momentous day and decided today's
recipe should include three of his favorite foods,
aside from candy, of course.

pickles, pepperoni and olives.

one recipe instantly comes to mind which includes all three, sort of.
the muffuletta sammy.
here it is, with a few twists and alterations, to honor my favorite 5 year old.

coincidentally, the super bowl will be played today.
the muffuletta sammy is a quintessential football party eat.

Muffuletta
Feeds 4 pot bellied creatures or 40 who only care for a sliver

Ingredients:

The Olive Salad Part:
1 1/2 cups Pitted Green OLIVES, chopped
1/2 cup Pitted Kalamata OLIVES, chopped
1 cup Cauliflower Florets, blanched
1 cup Half Sour PICKLES, small diced
1/2 cup Home Roasted Red Peppers, small diced
1 small Sweet Onion, like a Vidalia, small diced
1/4 cup Celery, thinly sliced
1 T Capers
3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
A Healthy Handful Each of Fresh Parsley, Oregano, Basil, chopped
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 cup White Balsamic Vinegar
Sea Salt and Fresh Pepper to taste
1+ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Combine all of the ingredients except olive oil. Place in large glass bowl and cover with the olive oil. Let marinate for a few days at least, a week at best. This stuff lasts forever if you keep it covered.

Note: Home roasted peppers are really easy to do and make you feel like a culinary know it all.
Place whole peppers on burner over an open flame (do i need to qualify that you must use a gas fired stove to roast at home? electric won't cut it). Roast, rotating frequently using long handled tongs, until charred but not burned to a crisp. Place in a bowl, cover with saran (this will allow the skins to steam away from the meat of the pepper) and refrigerate until cool. Remove all of the charred skin, stem and seeds using a little running water, but only if necessary. Refrigerate until ready to use.

The Sammy Itself Part:
Muffuletta purists agree that the bread has to be just right. Classically, it should be a 10 inch round Italian loaf topped with sesame seeds, not too chewy, not too crusty, but i like crusty and chewy so go figure. I say any great crusty loaf would work. Dare I say further, it needn't even be round?!!! I do dare say such. I've made muffs with a really good ciabatta and while there wasn't a lot of bread meat inside to soak up the olive salad juices, it was quite tasty.

Then there are the meats. The sandwich needs at least a pound of great, thinly sliced Italian meats: Rosemary Ham, Salami, Mortadella, Capicola, PEPPERONI and cheeses: Provolone and Mozzarella are standards. I say find your favorite combo and run with it.

To Compose the Sammy:
Cut the bread in half horizontally. Douse both the bottom and top layers of bread with some of the olive salad juice. Layer, alternately, the meats and cheeses. Top with a heaping heap of olive salad. Press bread top onto sammy. Cut into desired number of slices.

Eat.
Afterwards, eat some candy, tic tacs preferably, another of Charlie's favorites.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLIE.
I LOVE YOU.
auntie lola