Antipasto for the Holidays
By Chef Sacco
Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of year. With my birthday being just three days before Christmas, my mom and dad would always make sure we celebrated my birthday as a separate event from Christmas (no one would “combine” my gifts as a birthday/Christmas gift). Our holidays were filled with family, food, celebration, food, and lots of Italian neighborhoods competing with one another on who could cover more square footage of their home with holiday lights that were synced to blink to the beat of the Christmas Jingles blaring out of three-foot high speakers sitting on the lawn.
One of my favorite traditions, to this day, is being in charge of the antipasto. My dad would come home after shopping at the Italian deli with white paper bags filled with sliced meats, aged parmesan and provolone cheese, prosciutto sliced paper thin, roasted peppers (the real kind) and always a few loaves of Italian bread sticking out of the top (one usually missing the nub where my dad had been tearing pieces off to eat on the ride home).
Ever since I could remember, I was in charge of wrapping the prosciutto around sesame seed covered bread sticks –the big fat ones we would get from the bakery on Arthur Avenue. To this day, I always volunteer to bring the antipasto to Christmas. It is my favorite past time because it brings everyone together, around the table, to take a moment to relax, break bread, and eat….all day long.
Antipasto can be whatever you make of it. I love an array of salamis sliced paper thin, roasted peppers, and aged provolone cheese that stinks up the car on the way home from the store. Grab a few slices of bread pile on some salami, sopressata, provolone, roasted peppers and of course top it off with some aged balsamic vinegar and you are in heaven.
Here is the version I made for the Grainful team!
You'll neeD:
Aged Balsamic Vinegar
Bread Sticks
Italian Braided Bread with Sesame Seeds
Baguette
Aged Provolone Cheese
Bocconcini Mozzarella Balls
Parmigiana Reggiano
Sweety Drop Peppers (little tear drop red peppers)
Kalamata olives
Red Cerignola Olives
PATE DE CAMPAGNE (PORK PATE)
Salame Secchi Fiore
Finnocchiona
Hot Soppresata
Capicola
Genoa Salami
Prosciutto di Parma
The best part is creating a masterpiece with all these delicious ingredients. Enjoy! -Chef Sacco
