Written by Nick -
This time of year it may be too cold to cook outside, your barbeque is packed away for the winter and you’re grilling meats sealed in the freezer (or if you’re like me you just brave the cold). So where is a bachelor to turn, without the barbeque? How about a sandwich?
Well I’m a bit embarrassed to say, that even with my love for sandwiches I let National Sandwich Day, November 3rd, slip by without any sort of celebrations. So, to appease the Sandwich Gods and celebrate National Sandwich Day with the fanfare it deserves, I turned to Meals.com to find the most glorious of sandwiches, a sandwich so huge and stuffed with goodness it must be shared – the Stuffed Italian Sandwich.
I had the Buitoni Refrigerated Pesto and the Parmesan Cheese on hand, but everything else required a trip to the store. The recipe suggests stopping at your local Italian grocer but since I have none, I stopped by Whole Foods and found all the delicious Italian meats and cheeses. When I was building (and I mean building) the sandwich I knew there was no way I could keep this sandwich a secret. So I invited some of my closest friends to share the goodness. And I’m glad I did, even with 5 full-grown men we still had leftovers!
I thought it was a bit much to seek out a sandwich recipe; usually I just put deli meat between bread. But when I saw this I knew it was going to be something special. And special it was! Friends pleased, brother pleased, and Sandwich Gods appeased.
Stuffed Italian Sandwich
Ingredients for 10 Servings:
- 8 ounces mild Italian sausage, cooked and sliced
- 1 large round hearty bread loaf, unsliced
- 2 tablespoons Italian dressing
- 8 slices provolone cheese
- 2 ounces salami, sliced
- 1 can (2.25 ounces) sliced black olives, drained
- 1 slice red onion, 1/2-inch thick
- 4 slices mortadella
- 6 tablespoons pizza sauce
- 6 pepperoncini, drained and sliced
- 3 ounces pancetta, cooked and sliced
- 4 ounces sliced turkey
- 4 ounces sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and sliced
- 2 tablespoons BUITONI Refrigerated Freshly Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 1 tablespoon BUITONI Refrigerated All Natural Pesto with Basil
Directions:
PLACE bread on baking sheet. Remove top one-fourth of loaf. With fingers, hollow out bread top and bottom without breaking through crust.
SPREAD Italian dressing evenly inside bottom of loaf. Place half of provolone cheese slices across bottom of bread. Layer the following ingredients: salami, olives, sausage, onion, mortadella, pizza sauce, pepperoncini, pancetta, turkey, sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, pesto and remaining slices of provolone.
REPLACE top onto bread. Place another baking sheet on top of bread and top with a 5 to 10 pound weighted object. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Sandwich should be compressed, but not smashed. Cut into wedges and serve.
Links:
Related recipes:
 Italian Sausage Sandwich Casserole |
 Stuffed Sourdough Sandwich |
