INSPIRED BY SANDWICHES

Ciao amici! 

Hope you all are well, and cooking more than I have been lately! Life has been very busy due to immigration - we got called for the green card interview and had to run around and collect paperwork, find evidence of our marriage, and pay lots of lawyer fees. People don't know what the process is like unless you've walked through it - and we had it easier than some!  Kate and I were really stressed and worried about the process ... the interview didn't go well at all. They ask you tons of questions about your life and relationship - and  I was so panicked that I actually said that I always give my wife amazing gifts,  (kind of hilarious because it's the thing I'm LEAST good at.)  At the end, they told us that we would have to wait a month to know the results. Thank God after only a week, I received my green card and now we can finally start living a normal life.  (Even though it will never be normal because we are not normal ourselves.)

There are so many things that have been in transition and job has been one of them. Tomorrow I will start working a new job at Volvo, and I'm so excited about it! I love challenges and I love new experiences, and I hope all will go well. It's convenient because it's right next door to our house, so I can walk there and not bother Kate with always having to pick me up/drop me off.  Even though she doesn't mind usually. What's going to be really nice about this is that I will work a more regular schedule - never past 6 or 7pm, leaving me energy and time to cook! 

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Regarding this new blog post, it has been kind of funny to me to be inspired by sandwiches. As a chef I've never considered them to be something to invent or to find new ways to make them. There are many reasons and one of them is certainly that in Italy we don't really make too many complicated sandwiches because it is enough to have a warm "rosetta" (Italian bread) with a slice of prosciutto to make an amazing sandwich. When I came to America I've realized that in here there are so many different kinds of sandwiches, and there is so much stuff in them! I was kind of shocked because as an Italian I don't put too many ingredients all together (especially in sandwiches) and also fascinated because it gave me so many different ideas to create new ones!

This two sandwiches I'm going to share are definitely ones that American will love -  at least my wife did! I've used "Focaccia" which is a classic Italian bread that is used a lot in Italy to make sandwiches, and I think it will definitely make it more tasty. It's actually a kind of pizza, which not many American's know. I will explain how to make focaccia in a different post, it's a long procedure and it would be better for you to have pictures of it!

focaccia Sandwiches​

sausage 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• 1 Piece of focaccia
• 1 Sausage
• Two spoons of ricotta
• Pecorino cheese
• Fresh parsley
• Olive oil
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• A slice of mozzarella
• Toaster oven or Oven
• Frying Pan
• Knife
• Three spoons of boiled water
• Chopping board

WHAT TO DO:

• Make a cut on the sausage with a knife, open it and take off the skin. Break the sausage in tiny pieces.
• Place the frying pan in the stove and once is warm enough, put the the sausage and set the stove high temperature.
• When the sausage is cooked, great some pecorino cheese on top and add spoons of boiled water.
• When everything dry out, turn off the stove and add the spoons of ricotta cheese and mix everything together.
• Slice the piece of focaccia and put it in the toaster oven for a couple of minutes just to have it a little crispier ( if you have the oven, let the oven warm up and do the same process).
• When the focaccia comes out, drizzle olive oil on both side and crunch black pepper on both sides to taste.
• Place the mozzarella and the sausage mixture on the focaccia and put both sides in the oven.
• Let the sandwich be there for around 5 minutes till the mozzarella is melted or you can just add the mozzarella at the end if you want a fresher taste.
• Take out the focaccia, chop the parsley very thin and put it on the sandwich.
• Drizzle of olive oil in both sides and salt to taste.

pancetta

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• 1 Piece of focaccia 
• A thin slice of pancetta (1/4 inch)
• A thin slice of onion
• A slice of tomato
• Fresh parsley
• Olive oil
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• A slice of mozzarella
• Toaster Oven or Oven
• Frying Pan
• Knife
• Chopping board

WHAT TO DO:

• Place the frying pan in the stove and once is warm enough, place the slice of pancetta and put it on high temperature till it's cooked.
• Slice the piece of focaccia and put it in the toaster oven for a couple of minutes just to have it a little crispier ( if you have the oven, let the oven warm up and do the same process).
• When the focaccia comes out, drizzle olive oil on both side and crunch black pepper on both sides to taste.
• Place the mozzarella, the onion, the tomato and the pancetta on the slice of focaccia and put both sides in the oven.
• Let the sandwich be there for around 5 minutes till the mozzarella is melted.
• Take out the focaccia, chop the parsley very thin and put it on the sandwich.
• Drizzle of olive oil in both sides and salt to taste.

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​Here you go, your sandwich is ready and you've found a very fast and tasty way to eat something good without spending too much time! Enjoy (or not). Let me know what sandwich creations you come up with!