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This is a muffaletta you could easy make for a crowd or a picnic. Overnight Muffaletta Sandwich is quick to make but tastes oh so delicious! Laissez les bons temps rouler!!

Mardi Gras is next week.  Did y’all know that?  Well, Marion from Life Tastes Good did.  She hosts this week’s Easy Mardi Gras #SundaySupper.  We’ve got ya covered for all your Mardi Gras needs this year.  There’s shrimp dip, red beans and rice, gumbo of course, and mini king cakes.  You’ll want to pin all these recipes to save for future Mardi Gras parties.

When I think of New Orleans, there’s a few dishes or foods that come to mind.  First and foremost, GUMBO!  I remember Dad taking many trips to this historic city and getting to know the people and food there.  He befriended someone who taught it tips and tricks to making good gumbo.

Of course, there’s red beans and rice, dirty rice, and jambalaya over rice.  You know me and rice.  We tight!  Dad made dirty rice once.  It was good, but I couldn’t get past what he put in it to make it dirty.  Maybe I’ll make his recipe one day.

Beignets!  Café du Monde is one place you have to visit while in New Orleans.  They have great coffee and beignets!  I made an oven baked saffron version of these delicious treats.  While my beignets were not as light and fluffy as fried ones, they were delicious and had a light saffron flavor.

Hurricane drinks are something you should have at least once in New Orleans.  There’s a restaurant near us that has them.  It wasn’t really my cup of tea.  It was super sweet, but I’m sure it was nothing like one you could get in New Orleans.  And I’m sure there’s so many different flavors I’d find one I loved.

My parents used to visit New Orleans often and they loved having crawfish.  Yeah.  Not so much for me.  I just can’t get past the taste.  Someone swears they’re like mini lobsters.  Yeah, no.  I’m not seeing the comparison.  But, I’ve tried them at least once.  So, I’m good with that.

And finally, we come to the topic of this post.

MUFFALATA SANDWICHES!!

I love the flavors of this sandwich.  It has an olive spread made mainly with olives, both green and black, and giardiniera.  You can add fresh herbs and spices and some diced carrots and celery.  The olive spread can have roasted red peppers in it, shallots and garlic; there’s a range of olive salad recipes out there.

Mine has pimento stuffed green olives, Kalamata olives, giardiniera, roasted red peppers, and a little Dijon mustard.  Because it’s my muffaletta sandwich and I put whatever I want in my olive salad!  It cuts some of the briny-ness of the olive salad.

Now, there’s the salami and cheese.  Mmmmm.  I put three different minds of meat and two kinds of cheese on this sandwich.  Traditional recipes call for mortadella, Genoa salami, and ham.  I went with capicola for the ham, Genoa salami, and a peppered salami.  I used a sliced provolone and mozzarella for the cheeses.

Yup.  I was lazy and didn’t want to search all over NoVA for mortadella.  Just sayin.  This is meant to be EASY Mardi Gras.  So, use whatever salami, meat, cheese combination you want with this sandwich.  Use whatever bread you want for this sandwich.

This is typically made on a round loaf and cut into wedges.  I got a nice, wide loaf of Italian from my grocery store.  I used half of it for our sandwiches and cut them into squares for lunch.  Again, use whatever bread you want and cut it however you want.

The only thing I ask is that you allow this sandwich to “marinate” overnight.  The olive salad will mellow and flavor the cheese and meats.  The salami and cheese will get close.  REALY close!  It will truly have amazing flavor when you let this sit in the fridge overnight.

Besides, there’s so much to make for a Mardi Gras party that making this the night before is a no brainer.  You can have it for lunch while you prepare for your party!  Want something different for a picnic?  Make these and take them along with some Zapps Crawtater chips for a decidedly different picnic lunch.

Just look at those delicious layers all wrapped in tangy olive salad and Italian bread.  Looks delicious, doesn’t it?  All those layers of meat and cheese just scream make me for Mardi Gras!  I know you can’t resist.

What’s your favorite New Orleans recipe or food?

Appetizers

• Mardi Gras Muffaletta Dip by For the Love of Food
• Piquant Shrimp Balls by Food Lust People Love

Main Dishes

• Andouille and Chicken Gumbo by Delaware Girl Eats
• Cajun Pasta Carnivale by Palatable Pastime
• Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo by The Freshman Cook
• Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta by Wholistic Woman
• Gumbo Z’herbes by Monica’s Table
• Overnight Muffuletta Sandwich by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Tenderloin Grillades with Cheesy Grits by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Sides

• Red Beans and Rice by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

Desserts

• Bourbon Vanilla Cherries Jubilee by Pies and Plots
• Mardi Gras Cheese Ball by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks