Caprese Sandwich with Margherita Pepperoni

My grandfather was often referred to as a piece of bread in Italian,  pezzo di pane.

If someone is a piece of bread, it means they are like the salt of the earth, someone you treasure for all the right reasons. I’m not sure how it came to be, but there is probably a tie in with the Italian Catholic faith and what bread means. Or, maybe because bread is so comforting, that it found its way in describing a person that people feel good around.

I recently visited a good friend in the Niagara Falls area that I would not hesitate to call  a piece of bread. Paula was there at the worst time of my life and it was difficult to leave the friendship behind and move to Nashville. She has since relocated back to her home town and we finally visited her. It’s the kind of friendship that just picks right back up, where there is an understanding of souls, and anything and everything can be talked about amongst a level of respect that families don’t often offer. Families tread into deep waters saying too much, expecting too much. Good friends know when to quit, know how to accept differences, because they don’t define each other through each other.

Paula introduced me to the food of Niagara Falls years ago in California because she would come back from a visit loaded down with bread from Di Camillo’s Bakery and Margherita pepperoni from the Latina Marketplace, an Italian grocery store in her neighborhood. If I was lucky, she’d share a little.

On our way home, we stopped at De Camillo’s and Latina’s to bring food back.  I’m not sure what their secret is (Paula says it’s the water), but the bread is different, better than some of our very good bakeries here. Italian bread is not french bread. It has a different flavor.

Pepperoni Or Hard Salami Sandwich? Why Not?

A really good pepperoni curls when you bake it or fry it because it comes in its natural casing. As it curls, it releases some of the fat, but stays in the little circle, making a better pizza. All I can say is that I have never been wild about pepperoni until now. People don’t put pepperoni on sandwiches very often, because it’s a pizza thing, but this has now become a favorite snack or lunch. You only need a little bit because the flavor is so good, making the meat fat content fairly low.

We came home to more tomatoes in our garden, and decided quickly to make caprese sandwiches adding in some fried pepperoni.

As simple as this is, a recipe isn’t really needed.

While I like an Italian sub as much as anyone, it’s usually too much for me, and not something I eat very often. Italian food does not have to be heavy. It’s often that way, due to the American cultural influences. My hope is for you to enjoy tasting food in a more pleasant way and for your next party, I found a site showing some unique and fun ways to enjoy pepperoni.

On another day because all the pepperoni was gone, we made sandwiches using a good black peppered Italian salami. It doesn’t give the same flavor as pepperoni, but it’s a good substitute.