Jenny and Tristan in the trees on the canopy tour.
When a trip is a year in the making how can it be anything other than epic? Indeed fears were faced, goals were achieved, and a pinata was smashed.
Last Friday Homer, Jenny and I headed off in the direction of Minden Hills for a weekend with friends that I met back in high school. Children and pets were left at home (in the care of other obviously – we are not that crazy), a suitable amount of food, alcohol and floatation devices were purchased – the stage was set.
Enjoying a birthday drink.
Bringing 9 people to a cottage is a daunting proposition – meals, showering, sleeping arrangements – but with a little organization from the outset it all went very well.
The ladies enjoying a drink on the patio with Tristan.
Our car was responsible for Sunday lunch – a meal that needed to be hearty enough to carry us through an afternoon of beers and floating down the Gull River, but light enough not to weigh us down (literally and figuratively).
I suggested making a shooter style sandwich, and Jenny offered to make an orzo salad to go with it. Instead of a traditional shooter style sandwich I did a riff on the muffuletta style shooter sandwich I saw on Serious Eats. It worked well, and so in the interest of picnic’ers and cottagers everywhere here are the basics:
The finished product!
Ingredients
1 Large Loaf of Hearty Bread
2 Packages of Your Fav Sliced Cheese (for Ease)* I used provolone and havarti
3 Package of Your Fav Sliced Meat (I used prosciutto, salami and ham)
1 Bottle of Sauce/Spread (I used President’s Choice Chermoula)
Cut the top off the bread and scoop out most of the centre – essentially making a well. I cut the bread the way you would for a dip.
Spread a layer of your sauce, then begin the layering process. I tended to do 2 layers of meat to 1 layer of cheese until everything was used up. I added a layer of sauce every few layers to keep it moist. I finished with a layer of sauce. The link above details the Serious Eats Method – I omitted the olive spread because I wasn’t sure how our group felt about olives.
The final step is to press the sandwich. I wrapped it in plastic wrap and then tied it up in a plastic bag (Serious Eats has other options) – I then pressed it underneath a layer of board games for about 4 hours at room temp.
When you are ready slice and serve!
Hungry Hungry Hilly 