Grilled Muffuletta Recipe

Grilled Muffuletta Recipe

Cook Time: 20 minutes  Difficulty: Easy

Today is Mardi Gras, or "Fat Tuesday", and in honor of this celebration I share with you my version of "The Muffuletta", grilled with melty provolone cheese, salty olives and salami, ham, sweet roasted peppers, and Hot Banana Pepper Mustard.  Making your mouth water?

My hubby and I and a few friends traveled to New Orleans (aka NOLA) for the first time recently and had the most sinfully delicious sandwich, "The Muffuletta" from The Central Grocery in The French Quarter. This gargantuan sandwich is made with homemade bread and stuffed with layers of ham, salami, cheeses, and a tasty olive salad.  Seriously insane.  Talk about a flavor party in your mouth!

My version has all the flavors sans some of the the guilt.  The Banana Hot Pepper Mustard is the "piece de resistance" of this sandwich.  Go ahead and try it, it's the perfect Fat Tuesday sandwich or anytime you have a hankering for salty olives and salami, ham, sweet roasted peppers, tangy mustard, and gooey melty cheese.  Everything in moderation, right?  Here's how it's made.  This recipe serves 2.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Ingredients (per sandwich)

• 2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) Cherchies® Hot Banana Pepper Mustard

• 1/4 cup chopped pitted black olives

• 1/4 cup chopped pitted green olives

• 1/4 cup chopped salami

• 1/4 cup cubed Provolone, chopped (optional)

• 1/4 cup Pepperoncini, seeds removed, chopped

• 1/2 jar Cherchies® Pretty Peppers

• 4 slices of good fresh bread (Here I used sourdough bread)

• 4 slices Provolone Cheese

• 2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) butter

Preparation

Chop the olives, provolone chunks (optional), salami, and pepperoncini into small pieces (In the second picture the salami had not been chopped fine enough).  In a medium bowl, mix the olives, Provolone, salami, Pretty Peppers, and pepperoncini.

Turn griddle (or pan) onto medium.  Spread softened butter or olive oil onto bread.  Place buttered bread onto griddle.  Grill until desired consistency.  

Turn oven onto broil.  Now, let's build this glorious sandwich.  Spread Cherchies® Hot Banana Pepper Mustard on the grilled slices of bread that are facing up.  Add ham then the olive mixture (oops, sorry about the ham picture).

Now for the melty "glue".  Place the slices of Provolone cheese over the olive mixture and broil the sandwiches open faced until cheese has melted (only a few minutes).

When the cheese has melted, carefully put the halves together, and cut sandwich in half.  Is your mouth watering yet?  Mine is:)  The perfect sandwich anytime, not just for Mardi Gras.  Enjoy!

Sausage Bites with Cranberry Mustard Recipe

Sausage Bites with Cranberry Mustard Recipe

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes  

Difficulty: Easy

Need a quick appetizer?  I've got just the thing, sausage bites with our award-winning cranberry mustard!  

Perhaps you like mustard with a sweet kick, then our signature Cherchies® Champagne Mustard is just for you!  It's sweet and spicy.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. of your favorite kielbasa or Italian sausage
• Cherchies® Cranberry Mustard or Cherchies® Champagne Mustard or Cherchies® Hot Banana Pepper Mustard

Grill or bake your favorite sausage, slice it into bite size pieces, pop open a jar of Cherchies® Cranberry Mustard, and voila, an instant appetizer!

Come to think of it, call your friends, serve these sausage bites with our Cream Cheese Appetizer, and our Sweet and Savory Brie Recipe, and you have yourself an appetizer party!  

Baked Blackberry Mustard Wing Recipe

View fullsize

Baked Blackberry Mustard Wing Recipe

Cook Time: About 40 minutes                           Prep Time:  6-8 hours (for marinade)           Difficulty:  Easy

All my wing aficionados out there here is a wing recipe that will have your guests coming back for more.  

The blackberry preserves in this recipe adds a nice sweetness to the sauce, and our gourmet Cherchies®Champagne Mustard (or Cherchies®Cranberry Mustard) adds that unexpected kick to the wings.

For a spicier wing, try our Cherchies® Hot Banana Pepper Mustard.

This wing recipe is the epitome of "finger-licking good", so make sure you grab plenty of napkins!

Ingredients

• Cherchies® Garlic and Herb No- Salt Seasoning (enough to coat both sides of wings)
• 1 teaspoon (tsp) ground pepper
• 1/2 cup red wine (Merlot- don't forget to pour some extra for yourself:)
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon (Tbsp)  Cherchies® Champagne Mustard or Cherchies® Cranberry Mustard
• 1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) (more for desired heat level) Sriracha hot sauce
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) thyme
• 1/4 cup Cherchies® Seedless Blackberry Preserves

Preparation

For the marinade, in a recloseable plastic bag, add the following: red wine, soy sauce, Champagne Mustard, Sriracha hot sauce, and balsamic vinegar.  Mix together.  Add the chicken to the bag and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (overnight...even better). 

After wings have marinated, remove the wings from the plastic bag and generously season both sides of the chicken wings with olive oil, Cherchies® Garlic 'n Herb No-Salt Seasoning and pepper and place the wings in a shallow pan.  Brush chicken with the marinade, reserving remaining marinade for a sauce pan.   

Bake wings at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until done (sizzling and "fork tender").  Meanwhile, prepare the glaze.  Add marinade to a saucepan.  Remove 1/2 cup of the marinade and add to a small bowl with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and mix together.  Add cornstarch mixture back to saucepan.  Add Blackberry Preserves and Thyme to the saucepan.

Bring marinade up to a boil (this is important since the marinade was used with raw chicken), and continue to boil, stirring occasionally, until glaze has reduced in half and thickened (about 15-20 minutes). Baste the wings half way through cooking with the glaze.

When wings are done, feel free to garnish with scallions (chopped green part of green onions), but this is optional.  Pair this recipe with our Strawberry Spinach Salad, and you have yourself a meal!

Oh my goodness, my mouth is already salivating!  Enjoy my wing-loving friends!

Garlic Stuffed Flank Steak Recipe

View fullsize

Garlic Stuffed Flank Steak Recipe

This dish has it all, it's quick, it's easy, and it's elegant.  I love that this dish can be made ahead, but it's the presentation that makes this entree special.  Your guests will think you spent hours preparing this meal.  Shhh, don't tell them!

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon (Tbsb.) olive oil
• 1 1/2- 2 lbs. flank steak pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
• wooden skewers (soaked 30 minutes before grilling)
• 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) Cherchies®Garlic Seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon (tsp.) pepper
• 1 cup baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 large red pepper, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon (Tbsp.) Cherchies®Pepper Pizzazz Seasoning or Cherchies®Lem 'n Pepper Seasoning

Preparation

If cooking immediately, soak skewers 30 minutes before cooking meat.  

Prepare the cream cheese mixture and the meat.  Mix together the cream cheese, garlic seasoning, and pepper and set aside.  Pound the flank steak between two sheets of plastic until the meat is about 1/2 inch thick.  Generously season both sides of the flank steak with Pepper Pizzazz or Lem 'n Pepper Seasonings.

Spread the seasoned flank steak with the cream cheese mixture.

Add the chopped pepper and spinach. Carefully roll the meat with plastic wrap (Use the same plastic that you used to pound the meat).  If going to cook immediately, take the soaked skewers and pierce the steak roll with the skewers about 1 inch apart.  (If making ahead, wrap rolled meat in plastic and refrigerate, making sure to take meat out 30 minutes before cooking).

Turn griddle or pan on medium and drizzle with olive oil.  Slice the steak roll between the skewers and add the steak skewers to the griddle or pan.  Cook on each side for a few minutes or until done to your preferance (Pink, no pink...).  Your family or friends will think you are a culinary genius!  Enjoy!