The Winning Recipe: Muffaletta Muffin Salad

So here it is. The Bay's English Muffin Contest Winning Recipe

Muffaletta Muffin Salad

My new favorite salad!

This one really is easy and it is great to take to party's. Everyone seems to love it. But what's not to like. Crusty bread soaked in tangy vinagrette, that only gets better the longer it sits! Yum!!

Now I'm trying to figure out the best way to spend the $500 Williams and Sanoma Gift Card.

So here is the recipe. Try making this with a little Harry Conick Jr. or Louis Armstrong playing. Even if the salad doesn't come out better you'll have more fun making it!

Muffaletta Muffin Salad

4 Bays Honey Wheat English Muffins, split and lightly toasted
1 8-ounce jar large pimento-stuffed green olives, drained
1 8-ounce jar giardiniera salad, drained
2 whole roasted red peppers, from a 12-ounce jar, not marinated in oil
4 ounces thinly sliced Genoa salami
4 ounces thinly sliced mortadella
6 ounces thinly sliced provolone cheese
1/2 cup prepared "zesty" Italian dressing
1/4 cup hand-torn fresh basil, packed
Salt, pepper

Cut each muffin half into six wedges and place into a large salad bowl. Coarsely chop olives and giardiniera salad and add to bowl. Slice the red pepper into strips and add to the bowl. Cut the salami, mortadella and provolone cheese into thin strips and add to the bowl. Pour Italian dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Just before serving, add the basil and toss to coat, seasoning to taste.

I was recently "tagged" by one of my first blogger friends. Jenny from The Picky Palate tagged me. Some of you may recognize her. She was just on the Ultimate Recipe Showdown Comfort Food show. She made Pepita Crusted Southwest Chicken Mac. She didn't win but if you asked me she was robbed!! So here we go...........5 things about myself

1) I grew up in Sarasota Florida, the 3 child of 4. I have 2 older brothers so to say I grew up a bit of a tom boy goes without saying. Everything they wanted to do I wanted to do, even trying out for little league. (and this was before girls did such things) I think that is where my competitive spirit comes from.

2) I have been playing musical instruments for as long as I can remember. Music is one of my greatest passions. I was a music major in college and had grand dreams of concert stages and ampitheaters. In college I played with some of the greatest jazz ledgends in history. Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, and Maynord Ferguson. Sadly, I developed arthrits in my hands that put an end to my dreams of great solo preformances. Music still is one of my greatest sources of joy and even now my dishes always come out better when I make them to music.

3) My husband and I have been together almost since the day we met. We love to fly fish and camp. One of our favorite things to do is spend the weekend on a lake or river, just the two of us, fishing and reading. Our friends always ask how we can spend so much time alone and our response is always the same: "We like each other"!

4) I am a big movie buff and have been known to lock the doors and spend entire weekends renting movies and watching 4 and 5 a day. The only time we go out is to get more movies. Then we have to draw straws to see who has to go.

5) We were not lucky enough to have kids of our own so we are known as the Aunt and Uncle who will spoil you rotten. We donate alot of time and money to kids. One of our favorite organizations is Take Stock in Children. They help at risk kids get college educations. They require the kids to sign contracts in which they agree to get good grades, stay out of trouble and get involved in community activities. If the kids fulfill all the requirements they recieve 4 year scholarships. Pretty cool! I just found the Mama Mary's Pizza Contest, so if I win that one I'll donate the 2500 to Take Stock in Children and send another kid to college.