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!

Recipe Roundup-Top 20 Game Day Recipes

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Top 20 Game Day Recipes

Munchdown! It's almost time for the Super Bowl folks and that means parties, which means food! 

To help with your football party planning, I've listed 20 of our favorite quick and easy Cherchies® recipes to make your party is extra "super". 

Now go, have yourself a game day party...even if you don't like football (What???...just kidding... I won't hold it against you, if you won't hold it against me that I like football...or The Eagles...sorry guys, maybe next year;)

Appetizers

• Marinated Cheese Recipe- A make ahead must! The Garlic 'n Herbs Seasoning and our Pretty Peppers "score" big in this recipe.

• Muffuletta Cream Cheese Roll-Up Recipe- The flavors of the classic New Orleans "Muffuletta" in a bite-sized appetizer.

• Cheesy Havarti-Dill Pull Apart Bread- Soft, crunchy artisan bread, melty Havarti cheese, drippy butter and Lemon dill spice...oh my!

• Lemon Dill Dip Recipe- What would a party be without dips? This dip is so refreshing and our Cherchies® lemon dill spice makes this dip irresistibly good.

• Sweet and Sour Spread Recipe- Sweet pineapple combined with the zing of horseradish and gourmet mustard makes this a delicious appetizer that won't be on the table for long.

• Artichoke and Cheese Squares- Score points for flavor.

• Mexican Martino Cheesecake Recipe- This recipe is a touchdown (sorry, couldn't help myself), and feeds a large crowd. A savory cheesecake with peppers and Vidalia Onion Peach Salsa. Yumm!

• Oh Sooo Simple Salsa Recipe- Last minute get-together? No problem! Our Salsa Seasoning with Lime will turn any can of tomatoes into a delicious salsa! For an added bonus, add Velveeta Cheese to your newly made salsa, and microwave until melted... instant queso!

• Candied Pepper Jam Bacon- Bacon and football just seem perfect together for some reason, but then again bacon goes with everything;)

Main Meal/Heartier Appetizers

• Ham and Mustard Biscuit Recipe- It doesn't get much easier than biscuit sliders with ham, cheese, and mustard. Or have a slider spread with different fillings (meatballs,pulled pork...).

• Bake Chicken Tenders with Cranberry Mustard Dipping Sauce- A sweet and tangy compliment to the chicken.

• Double Decker Tacos- Have a taco bar!

• Yes, soup for you! (Seinfeld flashback)- With over 20 soups, we have just the one to warm you and your family. Plus, most of our soups can be made in a crockpot (except for the quick cooking soups!)

• Melt in Your Mouth Pulled Pork- 5 Ingredients, including our Select Grilling Rub and Seasoning Blend.

• Grilled Herb Chicken Legs- Fire up the grill, and add olive oil and your favorite Cherchies® seasoning blend

• Honey and Lime Grilled Shrimp- Lime, Cilantro, and honey will make your taste buds sing!

• Festive Deviled Eggs- Always a crowd favorite, any occasion.

Desserts

• Blackberry or Lemon Raspberry Monkey Bread Muffins- These little cuties are so quick and easy and will be a hit at your next party. Make them both!

• Lemon Raspberry Fruit Pizza Recipe- Serious fruit flavor! Perfect for a crowd.

• Apple Butter Crisp- warm apples with a delightful crunchy topping.

Have a super party folks!

Muffuletta Cream Cheese Roll-Up Recipe

Prep Time:  5 minutes  Difficulty: Easy

This easy, tasty appetizer is an ode to my recent trip to New Orleans—and my take on my new favorite sandwich: the muffuletta. It’s perfect for Mardi Gras, game day, or anytime you’re craving salty olives and salami (easy to omit for a vegetarian option), sweet roasted peppers, provolone, pepperoncini, and creamy cream cheese. Mouth watering yet?

My husband and I (plus a few friends) visited New Orleans—aka NOLA—for the first time and tried the most sinfully delicious muffuletta from Central Grocery in the French Quarter. This iconic, oversized sandwich is stacked with layers of ham, salami, cheese, and a bold olive salad. Seriously insane… in the best way (everything in moderation, right?).

These bite-sized morsels capture all those classic muffuletta flavors in appetizer form. Instead of a traditional olive salad, I grabbed green and black olives and provolone from my local grocery store’s olive bar (you can absolutely make your own), added salami, then finished it off with our sweet Pretty Peppers and spicy Hot Banana Pepper Mustard. Oh my—total flavor party.

If you try these, comment below and tell me what you think! And for more easy, delicious appetizer recipes, visit our blog at blog.cherchies.com. Thanks for stopping by :) We hope you’ll come back!

Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese. softened

• 1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) Cherchies® Hot Banana Pepper Mustard

• 1/4 cup pitted green olives, chopped

• 1/4 cup pitted black olives, chopped

• 1/4 cup cubed Provolone, chopped

• 1/4 cup salami, chopped

• 1/2 jar Cherchies® Pretty Peppers, drained

• 1/4 cup pepperoncini (seeds removed), chopped

• 3 8" tortillas

Preparation

Mix the cream cheese and the Hot Banana Pepper Mustard together in a medium bowl.  Chop the olives, provolone, salami, and pepperoncini into small pieces (In the first picture the salami had not been chopped fine enough).  Mix in the olives, Provolone, salami, Pretty Peppers, and pepperoncini.

Generously spread cream cheese mixture over tortillas.  Roll up tortillas and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (you could slice immediately, but the roll-ups are easier to slice if chilled).  

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Once roll-ups are chilled, slice into 1/2" slices.  Enjoy!

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Champagne Blackberry Grilled Ham and Cheese Recipe

Champagne Blackberry Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Cooking Time: 8 minutes  

Difficulty: Easy

AAhh, grilled cheese sandwiches are the perfect comfort food. How can you go wrong with bread, butter, and cheese? Life doesn't get much better than gooey, melty, cheesy sandwiches, especially on a cold, snowy weekend. How about gooey, melty, cheesy sandwiches with salty ham, tangy Champagne Mustard, sweet Blackberry Preserves, and brie cheese? Yes, please! 

Our family spent most of the weekend digging out and snow-blowing almost 30" of snow, courtesy of The Jonas Blizzard. It was "all hands on deck," except for Mom, as I volunteered for lunch duty. It's a shame we only had enough shovels for our teenagers. :) Lunch duty is essential. 

To reward my hard-working blizzard bunnies, I made their meal of choice: grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, but with a twist. It's always a gamble to introduce a new dish to my family, but my family is used to it. Still, our family has a "one bite rule" (they have to try it, but they don't have to like it), so I seized the moment and added Cherchies® Champagne Mustard and Cherchies® Blackberry Preserves to their grilled ham and cheese sandwiches...and waited...

"Mom, these are so good!" Music to my ears! (Whew!) 

Are you a grilled cheese sandwich fan looking for a new recipe to tantalize your tastebuds? Then try this recipe, featuring a salty-sweet combination of ham, brie cheese, Cherchies® Blackberry Preserves, and Cherchies® Champagne Mustard. You will not be disappointed.

What are your favorite Cherchies® grilled cheese combinations? Comment below. And if you send us your recipe, we'll post it on our blog:) That would be fun, as would an entire blog post on grilled cheese recipes. Yum!

Thanks for stopping by. :) Come back again for more family-tested recipes, entertaining ideas, and cooking tips using our favorite Cherchies® gourmet products.

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Ingredients (per sandwich)

• Bread (we used multi-grain bread)

• 1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) Cherchies® Champagne Mustard

• 1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) Cherchies® Blackberry Preserves

• 2 slices of ham (we used ham off the bone)

• Brie cheese

• 2 Tablespoons (Tbsp) softened butter (1 Tablespoon per side)

Preparation

Butter the outside of each slice of bread.  Add Cherchies® Champagne Mustard to one slice of bread and Cherchies® Blackberry Preserves to the other.  Add brie cheese and ham.  Grill open-faced for a couple of minutes to crisp up each slice of bread.  Then combine halves to allow the cheese to melt.

Enjoy this melty, cheesy comforting sandwich!  Your taste buds will sing!

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