Last night dinner seemed like one more thing we had to do at the end of a rather busy day. We had all snacked after school to have energy to proceed with gymnastics and lacrosse, but now the thought of dinner was daunting. Logan, announced he was going to shower, but sandwiches would be ok. River and Isa agreed and Chad was still at work but I knew he would be happy just to have something to eat by the time he made it home. This could be no ordinary sandwich though. River yielded a loaf of ciabatta, "Let's use this! I love this bread!" I agreed and from there I knew where this loaf of bread would take us. The picnic sandwich. This is a great sandwich for tailgating, picnics, hikes, you name it. Any kind of long loaf of crusty bread will do, just make sure it will hold up to the sauce that comes from the tomatoes. We used what cheese and cured meats we had in the refrigerator and devoured the whole thing. I even had to stash away Chad's portion or I think River would have eaten it as well. We were all sated, dinner was a success and we did it together.
Picnic Sandwich
Ingredients
2 very ripe tomatoes, diced
1 shallot minced
Fresh basil leaves (chiffonade)
Red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 ciabatta, baguette, or crusty loaf
1 clove garlic, halved
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sliced cured meats: proscuitto, cappacola, spanish chorizo, sopressata, speck
Sliced cheese: provolone, mozzarella
Directions
Mix the tomatoes, shallot and basil chiffonade in a bowl. Season with vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. This is to your taste but a little goes a long way so taste as you go. Set aside to marinate for 5 minutes.
Cut the ciabatta in half lengthwise and rub the insides with the garlic halves
Top on half with the tomato mixture. Spoon any remaining juice over the other half of the bread and the rest over the tomato mixture. Layer on you meats and lastly cheese. Place the top of the bread back on and press down. Wrap in parchment and then plastic wrap until serving. The longer it sits, the more the flavors will soak into the bread.
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