Roman Garlic Bread

One of our favorite places to dine when we lived in Western MA was the Tavern Restaurant in Westfield. Although all the food there is excellent, this appetizer was probably our favorite thing on the menu.

Roman Garlic Bread
A large loaf of fresh Vienna Bread with a topping of Garlic, Olive Oil, Prosciutto Ham and Provolone Cheese.

I also started making a version of it at home, with mozzarella cheese to suit Chris' tastes.

Here's how it goes:

Take 1 loaf Italian bread, cut lengthwise into top&bottom halves
If it's already spread with the garlic bread stuff, that will save you a step. If not, mix some crushed garlic in olive oil and apply generously to the cut side of the bread.

Then, layer on:
1/2 pound sliced provolone or 8oz. package of shredded mozzarella
about 1/4 lb prosciutto (I recently made it with capicola, and that was good too.)

Bake 400 for 15 minutes until cheese is melted and the meat gets slightly crisped.

What's In Maggie's Fridge?

So I was eating some ham, and it reminded me that I wanted to post about stuff I like, for instance, the aforementioned ham.

Hormel Natural Choice deli meats. I have to avoid certain additives because of health conditions, so this is the only sandwich meat I still buy. No Nitrates, Nitrites, or MSG, and all the ingredients are recognizable. Unfortunately, this is expensive, so I only get it on sale, when it’s $3 for an 8 ounce package, and always use coupons. But it is delicious. Nutritionally, it’s good too: the Honey Deli Ham is only 70 calories per 4-slice/2 ounce serving, only 15 of those calories come from fat, and the sodium content (520 mg/22% of RDV) is pretty good for ham.

I love cucumbers fresh from the farm stand or farmers' market. Crunchy cucumber slices served with or without dressing are one of my favorite summer vegetables. Because they aren't waxed, I don't need to peel them, and on hot lazy summer days, less work is better. Also, Paco the guinea pig likes his cukes with the skins on for extra fiber.

Naturally Delicious salad dressings, made by Cain’s, appeal to me partly because they have no high fructose corn syrup, but mostly because the flavors are so delicious. Naturally Delicious Asian Sesame Vinaigrette Salad Dressing even won “Dressing of the Year” from The Association for Dressings and Sauces (yes, that’s a thing) in 2008. However I wish there was a “lite” version of the chipotle ranch flavor, my favorite, because that has too many calories—150 in two tablespoons. (It also warrants an “avoid” rating on foodfact.net for its sugar, sodium, and saturated fat content.)

Lindt truffles, particularly the 60% extra dark ones. Maybe the fridge isn't the best place for chocolate (the cocoa and cocoa butter can separate), but since it's been in the 80s and 90s here and I don't have air conditioning, it beats the messy alternative. I love my Lindt truffles. :)