An Italian Influence on New Orleans.

When it comes to the cuisines of New Orleans, most are familiar with those of French Creole or Cajun descent.  However, between 1880s and 1920s, a wave of Italian immigrants made their way down to Louisiana, primarily New Orleans.  At first, they were the major traders and providers of fruit, opening stalls in the French Market and the Poydras Market.  The majority of these Italian immigrants came from Sicily, and with fishing being a primary industry, they eventually began to run the docks and wharves.

So, it was not a surprise that shops and stalls began to open that provided a look-see into Sicilian cuisine.  Within the Central Market area was a little community named “Little Palermo” which offered many foods, condiments, spices, and other ingredients associated with Sicily’s food culture.  In 1906, Salvatore Lupo opened his shop, Central Grocery with breads, meats cheeses and an olive-vegetable spread.  But he decided to go one better than offering items separately; he decided to create a sandwich that would one up any other meat and cheese simple sandwich.  Taking a round loaf of “muffuletto” bread, oh, wait, I better explain what this bread is. 

Alright, remember in the March 12, 2025 edition of the San Juan Record, the article on Irish Soda Bread, and I mentioned other types of round crusty breads?  Muffuletto is, again, a round loaf, but the exterior and interior are both soft, it is covered in sesame seeds, and of Sicilian origin.  Though it is round, it does not rise to the point of being dome-like, so thinner, and makes it easier to compress down when making a “loaded” sandwich.  The word muffuletto loosely translates, in Sicilian, as “soft and spongy bread”, while “muffe” means “mold or mushroom” as the bread loaf resembles a mushroom cap.

Now to the sandwich that Lupo created; cutting the bread in half lengthwise, the cut sides had an olive-vegetable spread generously spread to the ends.  Then layers of various meats and provolone cheese were built up atop one side of the bread, and topped with the other side.  The sandwich was then compressed, allowing the liquid of the spread to seep, not just into the bread, but the meats and cheese as well.  Basically a 6-inch-thick sandwich became a 3-inch thinner sandwich, after compression, and having the cheese melt during the process helped keeping it all together.  The sandwich was wrapped tightly in parchment paper to hold it together, as well, until ready to be eaten.

A traditional muffaletta sandwich features a combination of Genoa salami, mortadella, and a sliced ham, plus provolone cheese.  However, other meats can be substituted or added to give a greater taste explosion. 

Genoa salami - dry-cured sausage made from coarsely ground pork and seasoned with garlic, salt, and black pepper.

Mortadella - cured pork sausage containing chopped pistachios

Capicola - Italian dry-cured ham aged for several months.

Soppressata - Italian dry-cured salami, seasoned with spices of chili peppers, garlic, and cracked black pepper.

Prosciutto - dry-cured ham made from the hind legs of the pig; the flavor is sweet and salty.

Other meats that can also be used - sopressa, pepperoni, coppa, or speck.

After making this sandwich, my hubby shared it with one of his friends, and they were both blown away by the flavors and textures.  The recipe I will be sharing lists all the meats I used for this creation.

If muffuletto bread cannot be found in any bakery or market, there is many a recipe out there for making at home.  Careful though, I have seen many recipes do the “bake at high temperature, then reduce to a lower, but still high temperature” instruction, then “bake till golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped”.  Those instructions are fine if the intention is a high-dome bread that is crusty on the outside.  Otherwise, when shopping, try to find a round loaf that is soft on the outside and not as high-dome, as say, a French Boule.

 

Here is a recipe for making a Muffaletta, also written as Muffuletta, Sandwich which happens to be one of the most beloved and iconic sandwiches, along with the Po’boy, of New Orleans.  Why?  It was invented in the “Big Easy” of course!

 

 Muffaletta Sandwich

Ingredients:

Olive-Vegetable Spread

3/4 cup pitted mixed oil-packed olives, do not drain

1/2 cup giardiniera (Italian-style pickled vegetable salad), do not drain

1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers

2 Tbsp.  dried, crushed parsley leaves

1 tsp. minced garlic  

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

 

 

1 large muffaletta-style roll (round Italian bread or ciabatta, soft exterior, 9-inch diameter)

 

 

 

 

 

Divide meats and cheese into thirds.

1/3 lb. thinly sliced soppressata  

1/3 lb. thinly sliced mortadella  

1/3 lb. thinly sliced capicola  

1/3 lb. thinly sliced prosciutto

¾ lb. thinly sliced provolone cheese  

 

 

 

Preparation:

Combine olives, giardiniera, peppers, parsley and garlic into food processor or blender; chop until no pieces larger than 1/4-inch remain. Transfer to bowl; add olive oil and vinegar; stir to combine.  Place in refrigerator for two hours to allow absorption of oil and vinegar into vegetables.

Split bread in half lengthwise; spread each cut surface generously with vegetable spread.  Begin layering one-third of meats and cheese, ending with cheese. Carefully place top half of bread on top; press down gently to compress.  Wrap tightly in plastic, place in refrigerator, place heavy weight on top to keep compressing the sandwich for one hour.  Cut into triangular wedges to serve.

 

 

Olive Vegetable Spread on Open Sides of Bread.

 

 

Begin Layering - Cheese, Meats.

 

Continue Layering, Ending with Cheese

 

Place Top Half of Bread on top.

 

 

Compress Down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wrap and Place Weight on top to continue compressing.

 

Sandwich After Compression.

 

Muffaletta Cut in Half.

 

 Serves 4-6.

Mary-letta Sandwich.

 

Italian not your style, and prefer something more “American”?  Instead of the meats listed, use a combination of thinly sliced roast beef, oven roasted turkey or chicken, and Black Forest or honey ham.  For the cheese, use thinly sliced baby Swiss cheese.  The olive-vegetable spread will still work well, or spread a light layer of horseradish sauce and pickle relish on both cut sides of the bread.  Remember to still do the compression and resting stages, so all the flavors can mesh together.

My husband, Roy, named this sandwich the "Mary-letta Sandwich".

Mary Cokenour

 

How to Make a Real Pizzeria Style Calzone.

What is a Calzone?

The Calzone originated in Naples, Italy; an oven-baked filled pizza, folded over itself. A typical calzone is made from salted bread dough, baked in an oven after being stuffed with salami or ham, mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan and/or Pecorino-Romano cheese, as well as an egg. In the United States, the calzone is baked using pizza dough; often vegetables are found included in the filling.

Cheddar Cheese does NOT belong in Italian recipes; reserve that for grilled cheese sandwiches please!!!

Now when the definition says "stuffed", it means stuffed!  NOT hollow with a slice of cheese and meat; that's called a "rip-off".  It's NOT a turnover; that is a pastry using some type of sweet, pastry dough with sweet fillings.  Coming from old school, not yuppie-ville, Brooklyn, New York, we connaisseurs of pizzeria, and Italian, dishes are highly insulted when novice "pizza shop" owners try to fool their patrons. 

First off, you need to have the basics down on pizza dough and sauce making.   While pizza dough needs to be made from scratch, homemade sauce does not; in fact, most places use canned goods which is fine so long as it's done correctly!  Now I have written about all this on separate blog posts, but now I'll be consolidating.

Step #1 - Dough

Pizza Dough:
http://www.comfortcookadventures.com/2011/01/i-admit-to-itim-pizza-snob.html

Basic Dough

Ingredients:

1 cup of warm water
3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons of sugar (to feed the yeast)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of yeast

Preparation:

Put warm water (80 to 110°F) into a bowl. Add salt and sugar and mix with a spoon. Add
yeast, mix and let it sit for about 10 minutes.  If the water is too warm, it will
kill the yeast; too cold, and it will not awaken.

Start mixing, with a fork, by gradually adding flour and olive oil.  Once it is too
thick to mix by fork, remove to a floured, wooden board; start kneading by hand. 
Knead the dough until you have a smooth ball. If the dough cracks it is too dry. Add
water bit by bit until if forms a smooth ball. If your dough feels more like batter,
it is too wet and you need to add flour bit by bit. If you need to add water or flour,
do it by small amounts; it is easier to fix too little than too much.

Coat the dough with olive oil, place it in a large bowl and cover it with a clean,
cotton towel. Let the dough rise for about an hour at room temperature, then punch it
down, so it deflates. Let it sit for about another hour. If you want to use it the
next day, put it in a refrigerator wrapped in plastic wrap.

Put the dough on a lightly floured surface; a pizza peel (wooden board with a handle)
is easier for transferring the pizza from surface to surface. Put a bit of flour on
your hands; using the balls of your finger tips and hands, make it into the shape of a
circle by stretching it out from the center outwards. If you’re having a problem
stretching the dough by hand, se a rolling pin until the dough is about 1/4" thick.

The average size of the pizza will be about 16” which can be transferred to a pizza
pan or stone. You get better results when you use a pizza baking stone. The pizza
stone should be preheated to 450F for an hour prior to baking, and should be placed in
the middle of the oven.

Spread out evenly about 1-1 ½ cups sauce; then add favorite toppings such as cheeses,
meats and/or cut up vegetables.

The oven should be preheated to 450F.  Bake for 20-25 minutes; the crust should be
browned, but not dark.  Remove from oven, use a pizza cutter for easy slicing up and
serve.  Makes 8-10 slices, depending on how its cut up.

Step #2 - Sauce

Homemade Sauce Using Canned Tomatoes:
http://www.comfortcookadventures.com/2011/01/influencing-your-cooking-style.html

Homemade Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

1 large onion, diced
3 Tbsp. garlic
3-28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1-28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1-12oz. can tomato paste
2 Tbsp. dried basil, crushed
1 Tbsp. each dried oregano, thyme and marjoram, crushed
1 tsp. ground black pepper
4 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Add all listed ingredients into a 6-qt crock pot (previously sprayed with non-stick
spray); mix thoroughly.   Set on low heat; let the sauce cook for 8 hours.

Yields about 14 cups.

Notes:
This recipe can be made on the stovetop, but should be stirred every 1-2 hours to keep
sauce from sticking and burning on bottom of pot. 

The long cooking time allows for the sauce to become richer and thicker.  If a thinner
sauce is desired, cut the tomato paste by half, leave out the diced tomatoes, and cut
cooking time in half.

Besides serving as a pasta sauce, this can be used as a dipping sauce for fried foods,
or as a pizza sauce.

If making a meat sauce, brown 2 lbs of lean ground beef mixed with 2 Tbsp garlic
powder.  Only use 2-28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes, instead of 3.  Only cook the sauce
for 6 hours, instead of 8.

One ingredients that is popular in calzones is meatballs; here is my basic meatball recipe, but if using them for a calzone, make them about 1 to 1 and 1/2 inch in diameter.  Or just make the large size and cut them into halves or quartered.

Meatballs:
http://www.comfortcookadventures.com/2011/03/full-moons-and-meatballs.html

Meatballs

Lean ground beef (90% or more) is best for meatballs, since they are finished off
cooking in sauce.  Actually, meatloaf mix which is a mixture of beef, pork and veal is the absolute best for making meatballs, but is often difficult to find at the supermarket.  If a lesser lean meat is used, the fat would seep into the sauce, making it oily and unappetizing.  The meatballs are first baked in an oven to remove any excess grease.  These meatballs are the typical New York Italian style, about the size of a tennis ball, and while great with a pasta dish, they can also be used for
meatball sandwiches (subs, heroes, grinders, or whatever they are called in an area).

Ingredients:

4 lbs. lean ground beef (90% or more)
2 lbs. ground pork
1 ½ cups Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/8 cup Italian seasoning mix
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 cup diced onion
¾ cup milk
2 eggs, beaten

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray jelly roll pans with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together thoroughly; making sure all dry
ingredients are mixed well with wet ingredients.  Form the meat mixture into balls,
about 2 ¾” (size of a tennis ball); place on jelly roll pans.










Bake meatballs for 20 minutes; dab on paper towels to remove any grease and immerse
into sauce.  Allow meatballs to cook in sauce until sauce is ready; 4-6 hours
depending on cooking technique being used.  Serve with pasta, or use meatballs for a
sandwich.

Makes about 20 meatballs.











Now to the calzone making part; preheat oven to 450F and place the pizza pan (nonstick is best) inside; the dough has been worked out to a 16 inch diameter.  Along one half, layer thin slices of mozzarella and provolone leaving 2 inches of dough untouched from the edge.  I use the Sargento brand as they melt slowly and evenly; creating a seal against the dough to keep juices from making the baking crust not brown, or get soggy.  Next top the thin slices with thicker slices of fresh mozzarella; spread 2 cups of ricotta cheese over the mozzarella.  Evenly spread out 1 and 1/2 cups of sauce and add 5-6 small meatballs.

Dab the dough edge all around with water, carefully fold the other half of the dough over the fillings, bring the edges to touch and roll them together to form a seal.  Brush the top with a little olive oil, with the tip of a knife, poke 4-5 air holes in the thickest part of the calzone.  This will allow steam to release during the baking process; otherwise it would build up inside the dough and cause it to fully crack open.

Carefully remove the preheated pan from the oven and place the calzone in the center; return to the oven and bake until crust is browned (about 25-30 minutes).  Again, carefully remove the calzone to a cutting board to rest for 5 minutes.  Cut in half and enjoy!

So there you have it, a New York style calzone stuffed, and I mean stuffed, with cheeses, sauce and meatballs.  If you begin seeing this little baby at your local pizza shop, I bet they're copying my recipes; and they better name that calzone after me!!!

Mary Cokenour

A Calzone By Another Name.

Now growing up in an Italian neighborhood, in Brooklyn, New York, I certainly know my Italian food items, especially when it comes from a pizzeria.  Therefore, I know what a Calzone is and what it normally consists of; anything else is simply another name.  Just because you take some dough, wrap it around a bunch of ingredients; doesn't make it an authentic calzone.  Take, for example, the Croatia dish, Burek, which consists mainly of meats and some vegetables; this is a meat pie, not a calzone.

Now in town we have two "pizzerias"; remember, I'm a pizza snob, so that is why I've put pizzeria in quotes for them.  Wagon Wheel Pizza has a menu item called a "turnover" made with pizza dough, consisting of meats, vegetables or a combination and very little cheese. Thankfully they have the sense not to call it a calzone. The other place, Thatzza Pizza has a menu item called a calzone which I have not personally tried. However, I know people who have and they have said in certainty that what Thatzza Pizza calls a calzone is, in reality, simply a meat pie.

The recipe I'm posting today is called "Italian Flag Meat Pie".  The "Italian Flag" part of the name refers to the ingredients being of the colors of the Italian Flag: green, white and red.  Roast beef is the meat ingredient and the cheeses used are Goat and Provolone.  Since I'm not using the traditional pizzeria combination of Ricotta, Mozzarella and Provolone, well there you go, it's not a calzone, it's a meat pie.  One other change, not using pizza dough, but pie crust; flakier, crispier and sweeter dough than pizza style.

Italian Flag Meat Pies

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup each of diced onions, red bell peppers and mushrooms
1 cup each of diced tomatoes and steamed asparagus
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp Italian herbal mix
1 tsp salt
1 lb. cooked meat or poultry (diced steak, ground beef, shredded chicken, diced pork, etc)
4 oz crumbled goat cheese
flour
4 ready-made pie crusts, room temperature and cut in half
8 slices provolone cheese
water
2 eggs
2 Tbsp water

Preparation:

 

 

 

 

 

Heat oil, on medium-high heat, in large skillet; sauté onions, peppers and mushrooms for 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, asparagus, garlic, herbal mix and salt; cook another 2 minutes.  Add meat and goat cheese; mix thoroughly and turn off heat.

  

 

 

Preheat oven to 450F; spray baking sheet with nonstick baking spray.

 

 

Sprinkle flour on board, place half of a pie crust on top; place one slice of provolone cheese in center of one side of crust. Center a half to 3/4 cup of mixture from skillet on top of cheese.  Dab water along edges of crust, fold one side over filling and press edges together.  Roll dough up along edges to further seal; cut a small slit in center of each pie; place on baking sheet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beat eggs with 2 tablespoons water and brush all over pies; bake for 15 - 20 minutes; until pies are golden brown.

 

Makes 8 pies.

Mary Cokenour

No Fry Chicken Parmigiana, You Do Not Miss the Oil.

I have seen several postings of recipes on Facebook that feature "no fry chicken" which is essentially a (hopefully) crispy, tender and juicy "fried" chicken made in the oven.  Some recipes use a fat, such as mayonnaise or sour cream, or a condiment, such as mustard, to slather onto the chicken before pressing grated cheese or flavored bread crumbs on it as well.  Then there are the recipes that simply coat wet chicken with bread crumbs and grated cheese.  The former usually requires a good amount of fat and coating on top, but bland chicken on the bottom.  The latter usually turns out that the top is dry and the bottom coating has stuck to the aluminum pan.  Hope do you win?

If you're going to "fry" in the oven, you will need some type of oil, whether you brush on olive oil or give it a good spraying with nonstick cooking oil.  To keep it from drying out, cook the chicken halfway, remove, spray or brush the pan again, and then place the chicken back on (bottom now on top) and bake the rest of the time.  This will help the coating from sticking to the pan, and the top from becoming dry as the desert.  Now I'm going to take it one step further and show how to make a great American-Italian dish; Chicken Parmigiana.

First important ingredient is the chicken; use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but we're going to make cutlets out of them.  Semi-freeze the chicken to firm them up and the knife will slide easily through them.  Place a chicken breast on the cutting board, your palm down on top of it and slide the knife lengthwise through the center.  You now have two chicken cutlets; don't be worried that you made a mistake and one is thinner than the other.  You can save ones that you feel are too thin to make a Stuffed Chicken dish, or cut up for Fajitas; no mistakes and no waste with this method.

To bread the chicken, place them in a large plastic bag as they are pretty moist as it; or you can dip them in an egg wash first, your choice.  Add to the bag two tablespoons of Italian flavored bread crumbs plus one tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese for each cutlet.  Sorry, but you'll have to do a little math depending on how many cutlets you'll be no-frying.  Now shake, shake, press, press; move that chicken around to make sure you coat it well.


Preheat your oven to 350F and brush an aluminum baking pan with olive oil, or give a liberal spray with nonstick cooking oil.  Remove each cutlet from the bag, shaking any excess off, and place onto the  pan.  Now bake the chicken for only 15 minutes; yes, it will not fully cook, so don't eat any yet.









While the chicken is baking, get out a glass baking dish (I used a 4 quart), give a light spray or brush of oil and then spread one cup of Homemade Pasta Sauce or Vegetarian Pasta Sauce  (defrosted to room temperature, or freshly made) over the bottom.  After the 15 minutes, carefully remove the chicken cutlets from the aluminum pan and place into the baking dish.











Top each chicken cutlet with a slice of Provolone cheese; two if you really enjoy Provolone; it's your meal, so add more cheese if that is how you like it.











Now cover it all with more of your sauce; this will be your baking medium; the chicken will also absorb some of the liquid and this will help keep it moist and tender.












More cheese!  Top with shredded Mozzarella cheese; I usually spread one cup, take a step back, look at it, and add more cheese to those places that I think got cheated.






Now place the baking dish into the oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes; the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling up the sides.  The chicken is fully cooked, moist, tender, juicy, simply Perfecto!!!  The great part is that there will not be any oily residue oozing from the chicken the next day which usually happens with fried chicken. The oil you did brush or spray on was so minimal, and the cooking time so quick, that it did not have time to be absorbed by the chicken.   All you'll be tasting is chicken, cheese and pasta sauce...yum, yum, yum!!!

There you have it, no fry chicken taken to an ultimate level.  Enjoy!
Mary Cokenour