Old Friends Is Best

Yesterday an old college pal visited from the west coast. We had overlapped at Wesleyan for only 2 years, and we calculated that we hadn't seen one another in 20+ years (as far as we could recall, we last ran into one another at a John Prine concert in Cambridge in the late '80s), but somehow the connection (for lack of a better word) was still there. We sat at my kitchen table and just laughed and chatted and laughed and caught up and laughed for nearly 5 hours! By the time I dropped him off at the T station to greet his family at the airport, we felt certain that if we lived nearby, we'd still be good friends.

What is it about these friendships we make when we're young(ish) that they can withstand so many years, miles, and life experiences? It's a good thing, whatever it is.

So, I know the question you're all aching to ask is, "What did you serve for lunch?" Well, I decided to make an Italian muffuletta, but when I got to the market, I kind of chickened out on all the Italian cold cuts I was supposed to get (What the heck is mortadella? or capicola, for that matter?), so I got just the known quantities of smoked turkey and genoa salami. But they neglected to remove the skin/peel/paper/wrapper from the salami, so I got to have the dreaded experience of exhorting my lunch guest to open his sandwich and peel the [whatever] off each slice of salami. Sigh. But, let this not deter you, it's yummy:

¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
⅓ cup olive oil
10 large pitted green olives, chopped
⅓ cup pitted, chopped kalamata olives
¼ cup chopped roasted red bell peppers
1 (1-pound) round bread loaf (about 7" in diameter)
¾ lb. assorted deli meats (your choice of 2 or 3), thinly sliced
¼ lb. sliced provolone
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1½ oz. arugula leaves

In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar, garlic, and oregano. Gradually whisk in the oil. Stir in the olives and roasted peppers. Season with salt and pepper.

Using a serrated knife, slice off the top inch of the bread loaf. Hollow out the bottom and top halves of the loaf. Spread some of the olive and roasted pepper mix over the bread bottom. Layer the meats and cheeses in the bread bottom. Top with the onion, then the arugula. Spread the remaining olive and roasted pepper mix on the cut side of the bread top, then replace the bread top. You can serve the sandwich immediately or you can wrap the entire sandwich tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a day before serving. Cut the sandwich into wedges and serve.

Comments

[Di]

you should write a food memoir!

[Janeen]

Mortadella is what bologna wants to be when it grows up. Capicola is a (delicious) spicy ham. I can live without mortadella, but it's too bad you miss out on the capicola. You should try it some time.

[Karen]

The big white circles on the mortadella were the deal-breaker. As for the capicola, I just can't over the idea that HAM has to be that horrible, slimy pink boiled stuff. I saw that the capicola description had the word "ham" in it and just got all skeevy. I'll have to just try to ignore that word next time!

[Peter C.]

That might have been the best sandwich I have ever had!