Muffaletta Sandwich

OK, it's WAY passed the time when I actually wrote up something. Good thing we're a team with this blog and Jess covered for me for the last few months! My only excuse/reason is that since I'm an online teacher I literally (and I mean the actual definition of "literal" here) spend every working day sitting at the computer, so I've been avoiding it over the summer.

This muffaletta sandwich was another item I saw Martha Stewart make on her "Cooking School" show and wanted to try. Luckily for me, we were having a potluck lunch at the end of the school year so my co-workers were a captive audience!

Here is the inspiration recipe, though if you compare you'll see I made my own modifications due to 1) not being able to get the special Italian meats and 2) not wanting to bother making my own olive salad.

Ingredients:
1 large sourdough loaf
75 grams Cervelat Salami
75 grams Hot Genoa Salami
75 grams Hot Capocollo
150 grams Hot Mortadella
150 grams provolone cheese
2 cups arugula
1 500-mL jar roasted red peppers (used half)
1 500-mL jar spicy olive bruschetta (used 3/4)

Hollow out the bread so you have space for everything else. I ended up using these insides with artichoke dip later, but it would also be good to dry out and make bread crumbs with.

First put down some of the olive mix (so it can soak into the bread) and then just layer the meats, cheese, arugula, peppers, and more of the olive mix.

Last thing on the top should be the olives again.

It's maybe a little difficult to see in my pictures, but you get quite a mound of "stuff" above the bottom half of the bread.

Put the top on, wrap in plastic, and squish with a heavy pot overnight in the fridge.

The next day it's nice and flat and is easily transported in it's plastic wrap.

Cut into wedges to serve.

Since this was part of potluck lunch, it was a bit difficult to cut into small wedges (I think I tried cutting it into 12) as the layers did start to slide apart a bit, but if it's your main dish, you can quite easily cut into 8 wedges to serve.

My overall comments would be that these particular meats and the spicy olive mix made this quite SPICY! Lots of ladies fanning their faces. So judge your audience :-) Easy enough to buy the mild versions of the meats and/or not use spicy olives. I also found that this particular olive mix maybe had a bit too much oil in it, so I would probably drain some out next time. It just ended up soaking the bread too much for me.

But I think the people at work liked it! (Does this count as a photo bomb?)

~Lisa

Blanket Ladder

A blanket ladder is great way to display all your quilts and keep them within easy reach for a chilly evening or a movie night. 

This is super easy to build and adds warmth and rustic charm to your guest bedroom or your bonus room. 

First thing first...a safety selfie!

Find two long pieces of wood, these will do perfectly!

Cut some rungs for your ladder. I used a piece of 1x2 and cut 6 rungs each at 14 inches long.

Measure out where the rungs will be. Space them evenly along the length of your ladder.              

Mark lines across the side pieces where the rungs will attach. We are going to notch out this section so the rungs will be set into the side pieces. 

Now, set the blade on the table saw nice and low so that you only go through half the width of the wood. Cut a few paths between your pencil lines. This will create the inset notches for the rungs to fit into. 

Using a hammer, lightly tap the chisel to bust out the remaining bits in the notch. It's good to have an assistant to help hold the wood steady, or use a vice or clamps to keep it secure. 

Those are the hands of our Crafty Dad, he deserves a shout all for all his help and support of us as Two Crafty Girls!

Now that you have cleared out your notches with the chisel, you can do a final touch-up with the table saw. Hold the two side pieces together and carefully move them through the blade and side to side across the blade to make your notches all smooth. 

Now fit the rungs into the notches.

 Secure with wood glue, and screws. 

I gave it a quick sand and a light coat of stain before bringing it into the house and filling it up with my handmade quilts. 

How nice is that?!? I love it!