Cook Schmook

Who says an awesome dinner requires cooking?  One our favorite meals is an antipasto platter of yummy items simply collected from the olive bar and deli counter at the store.   On the occasion that we "make" this, we take a totally casual approach by assembling everything on a huge, inviting plate and parking it on the couch in front of a funny TV show to enjoy the effort-free feast.  A baguette slice offers the foundation for impromptu, open faced sandwiches built with random selections from the smorgasbord of goodness.



I am going to take a second to ramble about some components of this particular platter, as I believe each deserves a tribute. 

Bufalo mozzarella - this is the creamy and far more flavorful cousin of fresh mozzarella...requires no salt, no pepper, just your face. 

Sopprossata - our usual go-to is Genoa salami, but this was a glorious, salty substitute.

Peppadews - I seriously love these.  They are tangy and sweet with a wee bit of spice all at the same time.  We love to keep these around, as they are the perfect, zesty addition to a boring sandwich.

Roasted red pepper stuffed olives - Ryan happens to not care for olives of any kind, which sort of pains this olive-obsessed girl.  So I just get them anyway and ask him to overlook them.

Cipollini - these little balsamic marinated onions have kind of changed my life.  I simply adore their vinegary bite and could just eat them all day with a fork.

Cherry Pepper Poppers - we go halfsies on these oil-marinated hot peppers stuffed with proscuitto-wrapped provolone; this results in a manageable amount of heat vs. getting burned out (not to mention looking ridiculous) stuffing a whole one in my mouth.

The moral of this story is that no-fuss assembling can be as exciting and delicious as an all day cooking fest.  Awesome ingredients equals awesome meal.