Stromboli

This sandwich is one of the most amazing things I make, according to some people.  I've made it every year, except one, for our annual beach trip.  The one year I didn't bring it, thinking people were getting tired of the same thing every year, people were freaking out.  They couldn't believe I would even consider not bringing Stromboli to the beach!  I got the message loud and clear.  My oldest son told me this year, when I asked him what he'd like me to take to the beach this year, that as long as I brought Stromboli and Trail Balls (previous post) he'd be happy!

After letting it cool completely, I have to cut the sandwich in half to make it fit in Tupperware to take to the beach.  I keep it in the cooler until we're about ready to eat, then I take it out and let it sit in the sun for about 15 minutes to take the chill off.  I cut it into thin strips, about an inch wide, and serve it to my family and friends.  There are people who've gotten upset in the past if they've been away from the group when I'm serving the Stromboli and haven't gotten a piece.  Yes, it's that good!

One thing that makes this sandwich a little easier to prepare is that it uses Bridgford frozen dough, so I don't have to make my own!  The package contains 3 - 1 pound loaves and this recipe calls for 2 loaves.  Because this sandwich is so popular among our friends, I've started using the third loaf to make another half-size sandwich.  I begin by putting the frozen bread dough in a bowl as I go to bed to let it defrost and rise over night.

When I go to the kitchen the next morning, it has risen nicely and it's ready to use.  I won't talk about what my youngest son thinks the dough looks like at this point!  

I punch the dough down to get the air out of it.

I used to take the dough from the bowl and put it on a lightly floured surface to begin working with it, but as I rolled it, because it has a lot of elasticity, it didn't want to retain it's shape.  If I used less flour, then it stuck to the surface and it was hard to work with when I had to pull the top side over the filling and to try to move it to the baking sheet.  Along the way, I got smart and decided to roll it out on the Reynold's Non-stick Aluminum Foil.  By the way, I love this product.  In this case, the dough stays put as I roll it out, yet it doesn't stick when I have to move it in any way.  Later, I'll explain another benefit to using the foil.

I still use a little flour, but only on the top so the rolling pin doesn't stick to the dough.

I roll the dough out into a large rectangle, measuring it to my baking sheet to make sure it will fit.

Then the layering begins.  I begin with the deli ham (left) followed by the pepperoni (right).

Then I add the diced onion and bell pepper (left) and drizzle on some pizza sauce (right).

The next layer is some sliced mozzarella cheese (left), followed by some bologna (right).

Then I add a layer of sliced dry salami (left), followed by a layer of sliced Swiss cheese (right).

Then, I add a some basil, oregano, and garlic powder on top of the cheese (left).  Instead of drizzling more pizza sauce on top of this, I spread it on the "top" portion of the bread to make sure it's evenly distributed in each bite (right).

This is where working on the non-stick foil is helpful.  The next step is to pull the "top" side of the bread over the filling, being careful to not cause any holes to form in the dough.

Then I pinch the dough together with the "bottom" portion of the dough to seal it shut.

I fold up the sides of the foil to create sides in case I didn't do a superior job of sealing the bread on the last step and some juices escape.  As you can see, it doesn't quite fit on my baking pan, even at an angle, so I don't want any juices dripping on the bottom of the oven and making a mess!  Also, having it on the foil makes it easier to transfer it to the baking sheet and it can be repositioned easily this way. 

 

While the Stromboli is in the oven, I prepare my cooling area.  I'm always making this sandwich in the morning of the day we leave for our beach trip and I can't pack up the Stromboli until it is completely cool, so I raise my cooling rack on some inverted cups allowing for more air circulation around the sandwich so it cools more quickly.  This sandwich is pretty dense, so it takes some time to cool completely.

The house smells so good as this is cooking!  When it comes out of the oven it is a beautiful golden brown.  I put it on the cooling rack for a minute while still on the baking sheet.

Then I brush a little bit of butter on top and take it off the baking sheet.  After about 5 minutes, I unfold one side of the foil and because of it's non-stick surface, it's easy to just slide the Stromboli off the foil onto the cooling rack to cool completely.

I cool this sandwich down to pack for our trip, but it can also be served warm with a little extra pizza sauce that has been heated for dipping.  I've done this before for a party and it's excellent served that way also.  Either way, this sandwich is a real treat and worth the time it takes to put it together.  Everyone who's ever tasted it can agree on that!  Enjoy!

Stromboli

2 loaves (1-lb. each) frozen bread dough, thawed*

flour for rolling out dough

¼ pound sliced ham

¼ pound sliced pepperoni

¼ cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped green bell pepper

14 oz jar pizza sauce, divided

¼ pound sliced mozzarella cheese

¼ pound sliced bologna

¼ pound sliced dry salami

¼ pound sliced Swiss cheese

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Place the bread dough in a large bowl to thaw.  It will take several hours for this to occur.  After it is thawed, let it rise in a warm place until doubled.  Punch down dough and place on a lightly floured work surface.  Roll loaves together into one 15-in. x 12-in. rectangle.  This will be the hardest step of the whole process as the dough has elasticity you will be dealing with.  As you prepare to add all of the meats and cheeses, keep in mind that you will be placing them along the long side of this rectangle on half of the dough and the other half will be folded over on top of these filling items before baking.  Make sure you leave ¼-in. edge for pinching the two sides together.  Now begin layering, starting with the ham and pepperoni.  Sprinkle with onion and green pepper.   Drizzle with ¼ cup of pizza sauce.  Layer mozzarella, bologna, salami and Swiss cheese over sauce layer.  Sprinkle with basil, oregano, garlic powder and pepper.  Spread the remaining ¼ cup of pizza sauce on the lid or top side of the bread.  Fold this side of the bread over the filling and seal edges well.  Place on a greased 15-in. x 10-in. baking pan.  Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.  Heat the remaining pizza sauce for dipping and serve with sliced Stromboli.  Enjoy!

*I use Bridgeford brand frozen bread dough

The Perfect Picnic Sandwich

I don't know if I've shared this before, but I try out a new recipe at least once per week!  That's why I started the rating scale in my house, to determine how much my guys like a new recipe.  The scale is from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best, but my guys say there is always room for improvement, so the best I ever get is a 9.  So, in our house, 9 is the new 10!  Now that I've started a blog, not only do I pay attention to how my guys rate a new dish to determine whether or not I'll ever make it again, but I also have to decide if a recipe is "blog worthy!"  I only want to share with you all what I consider to be the best recipes I use.  This sandwich got 8's and 9's on the Melnarik rating scale.

With the weather forecast of over 100 degree heat several days this week, I decided to make a couple of sandwiches and chose this new recipe for one evening.  I found this recipe on Pinterest where the original recipe came from applevalleygirl.blogspot.com.  This sandwich appealed to me because of the vegetable mixture that went into it.  It never hurts to try different ways to get veggies into my guys!  This is intended to be a sandwich that is built earlier in the day and eaten at a later time, say at a picnic.   I made it and served it right away.

The original recipe called for 1 cup of either red, yellow, or orange bell pepper.  I thought the blended colors would be nice, so I used 1/3 cup of each.  From the picture above, you can see that it only took one side of each bell pepper diced to equal 1 cup.

It's hard to see in the photo above, but there are seeded and diced tomatoes on the bottom with the peppers, red onion, garlic and fresh basil on top.

All of those ingredients got mixed together.  It was so aromatic it was making my mouth water!  It's happening again as I think about it!  If I was to make this for a picnic, I would put this mixture on paper towels to draw out some of the moisture before putting it in the bread to help avoid the bread getting soggy.

I took my round loaf and hollowed it out leaving a 1-inch thick shell.  In the future, I'll make that only about 3/4 of a inch thick, because there was a little too much bread in the bites we took at the edge of each wedge.

Next I brushed on a little olive oil.  The pink in the photo is because I started to add the veggies before taking the picture and removed them to do so for you.  The oil helps prevent the bread from getting soggy from the veggies if the sandwich is being served later in the day.

The first layer is the vegetable mixture (left), followed by one of the deli meats (right).  I chose to use turkey here.

 This is followed by another deli meat of your choice (left).  I used ham, but next time I think I'll use a dry salami.  That is followed by cheese (right).  With the cheese, I felt I was trying to put a square peg in a round hole!  I used sharp cheddar.

Another layer of cheese is next (left), in this case, I used mozarella.  Then I repeated the meat and cheese layers.  The final layer is the other half of the vegetable mixture (right).

The lid gets put back on and at this point, it's either ready to serve, or you wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap and either refrigerate it or put it in a cooler for your picnic. 

The original recipe called for compressing it by putting soda cans on top of it in your cooler.  I can see why that was suggested because this was a mighty tall sandwich to get my mouth around!  You can use any round loaf of your choice for this recipe.  I don't remember what kind of bread I used, but the next time I would make a point of using a Sheepherders bread, because it is a softer bread which I think would work best for a sandwich.  I don't know how it would hold up to be eaten later at a picnic!  I'll have to give it a try.  Enjoy!

The Perfect Picnic Sandwich

1 round loaf of bread

5 seeded, chopped Roma tomatoes

1/3 cup each red, yellow and orange bell peppers (or 1 cup of one color)

1/4 cup red onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

2 tsp. balsamic or red wine vinegar

Olive oil

2 types of deli meats of your choice

2 types of sliced cheese of your choice

In a medium bowl, mix together the tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic, basil and vinegar.  Cut off top of loaf and scoop out inside of loaf leaving 3/4-inch shell.  Discard removed bread or save for another use.  Brush inside of bread shell with olive oil.  Spoon in 1/2 of the vegetable mixture into the bottom, spreading evenly.  Add one layer of each of the meats followed by one layer of each of the cheeses. Repeat the layers of meats and cheeses.  Top with the remaining 1/2 of the vegetable mixture.  Replace the lid.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap.  Compress while refrigerating or while in cooler using heavy objects on top.