Sunday, August 1, 2021

Homemade Muffuletta

This homemade muffuletta is my take on a popular New Orleans favorite, made with fresh olive salad, mortadella, mozzarella, salami, ham and provolone.

Food Lust People Love: This homemade muffuletta is my take on a popular New Orleans favorite, made with fresh olive salad, mortadella, mozzarella, salami, ham and provolone.

When I was a child, a road trip to New Orleans to visit my relatives was a huge treat. My Aunt Karen was the loveliest of ladies, an excellent cook (she of pecan pie fame) and also a great tour guide. She made sure we enjoyed all the best that New Orleans had to offer each time we visited. 

Of course, that meant a day in the French Quarter, first enjoying the powdered sugar covered beignets for breakfast at the CafĂ© Du Monde and occasionally picking up muffuletta from Central Grocery for lunch. That little Italian grocery store/deli is chock full of color and flavor. If you ever get to New Orleans, don’t miss paying it a visit. (If we didn't get muffuletta, fried shrimp po'boys were another fave, but that's a post for another day.)

Since traveling is still out of the question for most of us these days, you could make my homemade muffuletta and pretend you've been to New Orleans. (Make a New Orleans Bloody Mary to enjoy while you assemble the sandwich.) I did wrap these up and take them on a picnic, which is why my bread is cut in half already, to make it easier to transport. When you buy your muffuletta at Central Grocery, it is going to be big and round! 

Of course, an Italian grocery store is going to use an Italian loaf to make this sandwich. I like to switch things up and a pretty decorative loaf like this Khobz Mzaweq.  I also make my own olive salad but you can use store bought. If so, make sure it’s made in New Orleans or it just won’t taste right. 

Homemade Muffuletta

Despite the fact that I love baking bread, I don’t think it’s the best part of a sandwich. I reserve that space for the fillings. In the case of this homemade muffuletta, buy your meats and cheeses in the deli section where you can ask the person behind the counter to slice everything lovely and thin. Then pile them high!

Ingredients
10 in or 25cm round bread loaf
1 cup or 240ml olive salad (store-bought or homemade)
8 oz or 226g Mortadella, thinly sliced 
6 oz or 226g ham, thinly sliced
4 oz or 170g Genoa salami, thinly sliced 
4 oz or 170g sliced mozzarella, thinly sliced 
4 oz or 170g Provolone, thinly sliced 

Method
Cut your loaf in half through the equator. (As mentioned above, I also cut mine in half the other way so it would be easier to wrap and transport.) Spread the olive salad evenly on the inside of the bread.


Top with half of the mortadella. 


Follow that with the mozzarella and salami


 Add the provolone and the ham. 


Finally, add the rest of the mortadella. This sandwich is not for the faint hearted! 


Close the sandwich and wrap snugly in cling film. Refrigerate until ready to cut and serve. 

Food Lust People Love: This homemade muffuletta is my take on a popular New Orleans favorite, made with fresh olive salad, mortadella, mozzarella, salami, ham and provolone.

Cut into wedges to serve with a nice Italian chianti or a cold beer. The olive on the pick isn't necessary to hold the sandwich together but it looks cute. 

Food Lust People Love: This homemade muffuletta is my take on a popular New Orleans favorite, made with fresh olive salad, mortadella, mozzarella, salami, ham and provolone.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and this week we are sharing sandwiches. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm


We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin this Homemade Muffuletta!

Food Lust People Love: This homemade muffuletta is my take on a popular New Orleans favorite, made with fresh olive salad, mortadella, mozzarella, salami, ham and provolone.
 .

Monday, July 26, 2021

Verry Cherry Plum Mini Muffins #MuffinMonday

These Verry Cherry Plum Mini Muffins are made with hybrid fruit, part cherry-part plum and they are a delicious mixture of both!

Food Lust People Love: These Verry Cherry Plum Mini Muffins are made with hybrid fruit, part cherry-part plum and they are a delicious mixture of both! If you don't have cherry plums, by all means, substitute another soft fruit.

A couple of weeks ago, I was at my local grocery store and I came across a display of Verry Cherry Plums and was intrigued. The price was $1.99 a pound and, even better, another sign said if you bought more than one pound, you got a discount of $2.   What? 

I stood there for a few minutes contemplating and calculating when another shopper approached the display. I could see her brain working on the math problem as well so I said, “Are we reading this right and if we buy more than one pound, that first pound is essentially free?” We agreed that we were and went off happily in our separate directions with each a bag of Verry Cherry Plums in our carts.

It’s always exciting to have a new ingredient to try and I am pleased to tell you that that cherry plums are lovely. Crunchier than a plum so more like a cherry in texture but definitely with a plummy flavor mixed in with cherry. And most of the bag were super sweet. Almost too sweet, if that’s even possible in fruit. 

According to the website, the season is now and it’s short so if you see them in your local store, snap them up. A little more research reveals that there are other name brands for these little hybrid fruit and also some naturally occurring cherry plums that are not manipulated hybrids. (These aren't genetically modified, by the way.) How I’ve never come across them before, I do not know! Am I the last to discover them or have you tried cherry plums before?

Verry Cherry Plum Mini Muffins

If you don’t have cherry plums, please substitute normal plums or cherries for these muffins. Or really any soft fruit to be honest. 

Ingredients for 24 mini muffins
1 cup or 125g flour
1/4 cup or 50g sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 100g chopped Verry Cherry Plums, plus extra for decoration, if desired 
1 egg
1/4 cup or 75g Greek yogurt
1/4 cup or 60ml milk
2 tablespoons canola or other light oil 

To give you an idea of their size, here are a few cherry plums with a normal cherry. 


Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your mini muffin pan by lining them with little paper muffin cups or greasing the inside with butter or oil. I only had 12 little paper liners so I did half and half. 

In large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in the chopped cherry plums and stir to coat them with the dry ingredients.


In smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, milk and oil.


Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient and fold until just combined. 

Divide the batter between your mini muffin cups. Add some chopped cherry plums to each muffin for decoration, if desired. 

Food Lust People Love: These Verry Cherry Plum Mini Muffins are made with hybrid fruit, part cherry-part plum and they are a delicious mixture of both! If you don't have cherry plums, by all means, substitute another soft fruit.

Bake in the preheated oven about 13-16 minutes or until the muffins are browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Leave them to cool for a few minutes then remove them from the pan and cool on a wire rack. 

Food Lust People Love: These Verry Cherry Plum Mini Muffins are made with hybrid fruit, part cherry-part plum and they are a delicious mixture of both! If you don't have cherry plums, by all means, substitute another soft fruit.

Enjoy!

Food Lust People Love: These Verry Cherry Plum Mini Muffins are made with hybrid fruit, part cherry-part plum and they are a delicious mixture of both! If you don't have cherry plums, by all means, substitute another soft fruit.

As almost always with Muffin Monday, we don’t have a theme so our bakers make whatever inspires them each month. We hope some of them will inspire you to bake! 
Muffin Monday 

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Very Cherry Plum Mini Muffins!

Food Lust People Love: These Verry Cherry Plum Mini Muffins are made with hybrid fruit, part cherry-part plum and they are a delicious mixture of both! If you don't have cherry plums, by all means, substitute another soft fruit.
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Sunday, July 25, 2021

Carlota de LimĂłn – Lime Charlotte

Marie biscuits are layered with a tangy filling of lime juice, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk to make this easy no-bake Carlota de LimĂłn or Lime Charlotte.

Food Lust People Love: Maria biscuits are layered with a tangy filling of lime juice, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk to make this easy no-bake Carlota de LimĂłn or Lime Charlotte.

When it’s hotter than all get-out outside, what we all need is a dessert that can be made without turning the stove or oven on, don’t you agree? That’s why I chose no-bake desserts as this week’s Sunday FunDay theme. Personally, I think some of us should get extra points for a dessert that's served super cold as well.

Make sure you scroll down past my recipe to see the other lovely no-bake desserts my blogger friends are sharing, perfect for these hot summer days. 

Carlota de LimĂłn – Lime Charlotte

Carlota de LimĂłn is a classic Mexican dessert that is served very cold (as if it were an ice cream cake). As you make your shopping list, keep in mind that Marie biscuits are also called Maria biscuits or cookies in some places. In a pinch, you could also substitute plain graham crackers. 

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups or 360ml evaporated milk
1 can (14 oz or 397g) condensed milk
1⁄2 cup or 120ml dulce de leche (or sub more condensed milk) 
1⁄2 cup or 120ml fresh lime juice
Zest 1 lime
Maria biscuits – about 30

Optional to decorate/serve:
Whipped cream
Strawberries, halved 
1 lime, sliced thinly

Method
Use electric beaters or a whisk to combine the condensed milk, dulce de leche and evaporated milk. Add in the lime juice and zest and beat until thickened.


Line a deep round pan with foil and cover the bottom with a layer of Maria biscuits, scoring and breaking some to fill the gaps. I had a bunch of crumbs in my biscuit packet so I sprinkled them on the base as well. 


Spoon in one third of the filling, spreading it carefully to cover the biscuit base.


Top with another layer of Maria biscuits, again, scoring and breaking a couple to fill the gaps.


Top with second third of the filling, a final layer of biscuits, then the last third of the filling.


Pop the carlota de limĂłn in the freezer for an hour or two or until firm.

When you are ready to serve, remove the carlota de limĂłn from the freezer. Lift it out of the pan with the foil and carefully move the carlota to a serving plate. Decorate with whipped cream, halved strawberries and sliced limes, if desired.

Food Lust People Love: Maria biscuits are layered with a tangy filling of lime juice, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk to make this easy no-bake Carlota de LimĂłn or Lime Charlotte.

Enjoy! 

Food Lust People Love: Maria biscuits are layered with a tangy filling of lime juice, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk to make this easy no-bake Carlota de LimĂłn or Lime Charlotte.

Check out the no-bake desserts my Sunday FunDay blogger friends are sharing today! Which one will you make first? 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin this Carlota de LimĂłn – Lime Charlotte!

Food Lust People Love: Maria biscuits are layered with a tangy filling of lime juice, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk to make this easy no-bake Carlota de LimĂłn or Lime Charlotte.
 .