I took a walk down memory lane recently and remade a favorite Ham & Pickle sandwich. I grew up with this forgotten sibling to the ubiquitous tuna and egg salads and have some great memories of it. My Aunt would start making make this dish for me as soon as she got word I was coming back to CT for a visit and im not talking a little bowl.. Im talking quarts!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound of cooked ham (you can use a baked, boiled, a ham steak or thick slices of ham from the deli)

• 1 stalk (or 1/2 cup finely diced celery)

• 1/2 half of white or red onion rough chop

• 4-5 pickles (about a 1/2 cup dill pickles diced or use relish)

• 2 tablespoons pickle brine

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard (more to taste)

• Fresh black pepper to taste

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a food processor, blitz the ham into a small chop (3-4 times pulses).

2. Add onions, pulse.

3. Add the remaining ingredients to the processor with the ham and onion and pulse several seconds to your desired texture.

4. Taste for seasonings and adjust if needed. I like balance salad that tastes like ham but with the mayo and mustard to balance sweet and sharp

5. Remove from the food processor into a sealable bowl (I’m a huge LockNLock fan for this). Mix with a spatula

6. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, then stir again , taste for salt, pepper etc. before serving.

Serving options; Spread on your preferred bread and make a sandwich or scoop some in bowl with a side of crackers, pita chips, celery sticks or core a tomato and fill.

I came across several old references in Italian cookbooks of a grilled or sautéed chicken breast that was simply prepared with a fresh mint sauce. Now I’ve seen other variations, where people do lemon, dill or rosemary but this one caught my eye several times so I finally took it apart played with it. Below is my version that I am thrilled with. It’s the simplicity of simple ingriedeints that makes this shine, thigh the star being the brightness of the mint sauce.

I noticed many references say this may be a traditional Sicilian dish, but I also have seen variations in other parts of the country. Here in the US, I’ve seen it on menus but very rarely.

Ingredients

• 3-4 large boned and skinned chicken breasts (totaling 1 to 1½ pounds), cut crosswise into ½-inch-wide strips
• ¼ medium red onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• Generous pinch of sugar
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar ( you could use white or even Apple cider vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• zest and juice of 1 medium lemon
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ tightly packed cup fresh mint leaves,
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper finely chopped
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

Step 1:

1. Slide the chicken breast crosswise into 1/2′ wide strip or medallions and place in a sealable container or silicone storage bag (a plastic one will also work)
2. To the chicken add 1 tbsp of the oil, lemon zest, oregano, and pepper. Seal and toss well.
3. Let marinate in the refrigerator 1 to 6 hours.

Step 2:

1. About 30 minutes before cooking, make the sauce;
2. Stir together the minced onion, garlic, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl.
3. Let stand 20 minutes
4. Then whisk in the remaining oil.

Step 3:

1. About 15 minutes before serving, heat a heavy skillet, or a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat or you grill on medium.
2. Sauté or grill the chicken, sprinkling it with salt.
3. Turn the pieces as they pick up color and immediately reduce the heat to medium-low.
4. Continue cooking about 4 minutes, until the chicken is barely firm when pressed.
5. Be sure there is, no sign of raw meat. An instant read thermometer should read 160 -1 65 degrees.
6. Transfer it to a serving warm plate or a plate layered with lettuce or arugula

Serving

1. Stir the 3 tablespoons of the fresh mint into the prepared sauce,  spoon over the chicken
2. Sprinkle remaining mint over the chicken for garnish
3. Suitable as simple summer lunch or as dinner along with  Broccolini with Peanut Sauce

Notes – I make double the sauce as everyone asks to add more!

Adapted from the Italian Country Table, by Lynn Rossetto Kasper, 1999

Ricotta cheese is one of those items that most conect it to the lushes filling between lasagna noodles. But for many cultures it also has a rich history as add-in or star to everything from pancakes , pasta to dips and even sweet endings. This dish resembles the marriage of a custardy like cheesecake sandwiched between layers of a simple crumble. 

Ricotta Cheese Crumble

Ricotta filling:

• 2 cups ricotta cheese (drained)
• 7 Tbsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 lemons, zested ( you can also substitute with oranges)

Crumb cover and base:

• 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 7 Tbsp sugar
• 6 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 lemon, zested

Preparations

1. Preheat the oven to 350F°/180C°.
2. Line with parchment paper and butter a 9” springform pan
   
3. To make the ricotta filling, place in a medium bowl the filling items and gently blend together with a fork.
   
4. To make the crumb , place the remaining ingredients in a bowl and using your fingers, rub the egg and the oil into the flour, zest and sugar to make a crumb-like mixture
5. Using about ⅔ of the crumbs, make the cake bottom and edges, lightly shape up the sides to make a ridge. You don’t need to compress it tight
6. Pour the filling into the this crumble shell, then top with a sprinkle the crumble mixture
   
7. Bake for 30-40  minutes until lightly golden.
   
8. Let it cool at room temperature, and served dusted with icing sugar

Note: You can use any combination of citrus with this crumble. You can also add chopped pistachios to the top layer of the crumb for some extra crunch.

Having just returned from New Orleans (yes, I carried back with me a well wrapped version of the local Muffuletta sandwich) and saw that my new pals at Stoltzfus Meats sent me some new treats to sample. This included some of the Cottage Bacon ( which I had never tried before but is now my new favorite child), Smoked Cheddar Cheese and a package of its branded Canadian Bacon. So you know what that meant; I was making up my own version of the Muffuletta that was amped up in flavor and smoke.

A bit of history on the Muffuletta Sandwich

According to many online sources – the muffuletta bread has origins in Sicily with the sandwich version showing up as early as 1906 in  New Orleans, Louisiana. Common belief is that the sandwich was created by delicatessen owner Salvatore Lupo, a Sicilian immigrant. But others had paid claim to that as well..

The traditional-style muffuletta sandwich consists a sesame seeded “muffuletta bowl shaped soft loaf” split horizontally, filled with layers of marinated diced olive salad, and cured meats commonly eaten in Italian households at the time including salami, ham, Swiss or mozzarella and provolone cheeses, and mortadella.

The diced olive salad consists of olives combined with quick or jarred pickled celery, cauliflower and carrot. Most of these can be usually found in a jar of giardiniera, seasoned with oregano and garlic, covered in olive oil, and allowed to combine for at least 24 hours. In fact for my version I used my own recipe for  “Sherrys Garden Giardiniera” base with several kinds of cured, jarred minced olives to enhance the taste. My giardiniera also includes serrano peppers, radishes and okra. You can find my version on the FoodtokTV site here or on here on Bitetheroad.

The recipe below gives you a full version, but you can use the recipe above for “Sherrys Garden Giardiniera” and amp it up with olives like I did. Note: You can often find jarred Olive Salad in the pickle section of the grocery stores and on Amazon.

Think about following me on Tiktok under my new food & recipe focused account @KitchenBearSF

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup pitted mixed oil-packed olives
• 1/2 cup giardiniera (Italian-style pickled vegetable salad or make you own Sherrys Garden Giardiniera)
• 1 large roasted red peppers ( yes you can use jarred ones)
• 1 tablespoon capers (optional)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 large muffuletta-style roll (Since I couldn’t find them locally, I used a sourdough roll)
• 1/3 pound thinly sliced sweet soppressata
• 1/3 pound thinly sliced mortadella
• 1/3 pound thinly sliced capicola
• 1/3 pound thinly sliced provolone cheese
• 1/3 pound of Smoked Cheddar Cheese
• 1/3 pound of cooked Cottage Bacon

Directions

1. Combine olives, giardiniera, capers in a food processor and pulse to a small mince. For a chunkier version, dice by hand with a sharp knife.
2. Transfer to a bowl. Add olive oil and vinegar and stir to combine. For best results, let you olive salad rest overnight before continuing
3. Split the muffuletta roll in half and spread each cut surface generously with olive salad, with the liquids!
4. Add alternating layers of meats and cheeses, in the middle add the layer of roasted red pepper.
5. Close sandwiches and press down gently press to compress.
6. Wrap tightly in paper or plastic and let rest for 1 hour  – 2 hours before serving.

You can make this a day before and leave wrapped then slice. This is a perfect party or picnic food as it is best room temperature so can be removed from the refrigerator to come to room temp before eating.

Ricotta Dip Topping is the perfect topping for a Date Nut Bread, cake or grilled peaches  

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
• 8 ounces (full or part-skim ) ricotta strained at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon of a sweet peach or orange jam
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1/2 cup dried apricot halves finely diced
• 1/4 cup shelled roasted pistachios, chopped
• Base of for the topping: Crackers, Pyhllo sheets, Pound cake, grilled fruit etc

Preparations

1. In a medium mixing bowl, blend together the cream cheese, ricotta, honey, jam and salt until smooth.
2. Taste and add additional salt or honey as desired.
3. Gently stir in the apricots.
4. Transfer to a serving dish of using as a dip and  sprinkle with pistachios and drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon honey.
5. or Smooth on to your prepared Phyllo bases or my favorote way spread on Date-Nut Breads
6. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

As a topping the options are endless. This is great on grilled peaches and other fruits as much as a topping for toast, pound cakes or as an addition to a Cheese and fruit course