Antipasto Bruschetta!!

Homegaters!

When I'm developing a recipe, I usually start asking around for reactions: "Hey, what do you think about this?" "Do you think this sounds good?" "Would that interest you?" So when I asked, "How does an Antipasto Bruschetta grab you?" I got mixed reactions. I was a bit surprised and a little hesitant at first, but then I decided to go for it and make it for the Gameday Gang anyway.

When making the antipasto bruschetta, I figured the worst that could happen is that people will try it to be nice and then it'll just sit there (trust me, it's happened with some recipes from Gamedays past). I'll wind up throwing it in a salad for lunch during the week, or it'll wind up in the garbage disposal (aka: the dog). Well my fears were allayed because the gang really got into it. Turned out that we ran out of bread and wound up using crackers to finish it up.

What's cool about this recipe is that you can put it together with almost any type of cold cut, cheese and pickled vegetable combination you like. The possibilities are pretty much endless. I made an Italian viniagrette for it, but you can certainly use bottled Italian dressing if you want to go that route. On Gameday Eve, make the brushcetta and let it sit in the fridge so the flavors could develop. On Gameday, just slice your Italian (or French) bread, toast it up a little and serve it alongside the bruschetta.  And make sure to have some crackers around in case you run out of bread...

Antipasto Bruschetta                                            

(serves 6-8)

1/4 lb hard salami, sliced thick
1/4 lb ham, sliced thick
1/4 lb pepperoni, sliced thick
1/4 lb soppressata, sliced thick
1/4 lb provolone, sliced thick
1/4 lb mozzarella, sliced thick
8 oz jar of marinated mushrooms, drained
16 oz jar of giardiniera, drained
1/2 cup mixed, pitted olives
1-2 loaves Italian bread sliced

Viniagrette:

1 tsp dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 shallot, finely minced
3 tbs grated Romano cheese
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 - 3/4 cup of olive oil

Method:

1. Chop the salami, ham, pepperoni, soppressata, provolone & mozzarella into very small pieces and place in a bowl.

2. Place the giardiniera, mushrooms and olives in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it is minced (not too fine).

3. For the viniagrette: place all the ingredients into a blender (except the oil). Turn on low, remove the little cap from the top and begin drizzling the oil in until it's blended.

4.  Toss the viniagrette with the bruschetta mixture until well incorporated and let sit in the fridge overnight (if possible).

5. Slice Italian bread and toast in the oven (at 400-degrees) until slightly golden. Spoon bruschetta on top of the bread and serve.

So there you have it! This is a fun and tasty munchy to prepare. It will keep in the fridge for a few days (if you have any leftovers) which will come in handy if the gang decides to stop by during the week to catch the World Series or any hockey or basketball games. And as I said, if you have any leftovers, you can always throw it into a salad for lunch or dinner.

Hope you try it. Let me know if you do!

Enjoy your games and good luck to your teams!!

See you next weekend!!