The first thing I wanted to do when returning from Italy was to get into my own kitchen. As much as I loved the breakfast buffets in Europe, I missed runny, sunny side up eggs. I love to bake the sunny side up eggs which I’ve shown you how to do here, but adding the peppered salami underneath is such a treat.

We were lucky enough to be treated to the best Italian cured meats and cheeses, very crusty bread, breakfast pastries and cakes and delicious, juicy fresh fruit every morning. It was always a treat to go into the dining room and start the day with a high fat diet and an Italian roll. Sometimes I would just eat a piece of Italian vanilla or orange one-layer breakfast cake, which was not overly sweetened and a good accompaniment to a cappuccino, but those fatty meats gave me the energy to walk six or ten miles and not care to eat lunch for several hours.

This peppered salami is Boar’s Head. You could use any kind of salami, but I love the spiciness of the black pepper.

In the weeks to come, I hope to bring you some Italian inspired dishes, and comment more about true Italian cuisine.

This breakfast idea is not truly Italian; it’s actually more American but with an Italian sentiment. Italians tend to eat a sweet cake, or pastry for breakfast with a cappuccino.  However, I am a big fan of the high fat breakfast with protein, as it keeps me from snacking or getting hungry. This is not, however, a dish limited to breakfast and is something I would probably eat closer to the lunch hour.

Instead of salami, you could dip into the Fall flavors and make a similar dish using sweet potatoes and Brussels Sprouts here.

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Peppered Salami, Baked Eggs

Peppered Salami and baked sunny side up eggs makes for a great breakfast, brunch or lunch, even dinner.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 minute minute

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Total Time 9 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 3 slices peppered salami
• 2 eggs
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 1 teaspoon parmesan cheese optional

Instructions

• Place the peppered salami in small cast iron frying pan or baking dish.
• Bake at 425 for 3 minutes.
• Add eggs over the salami.
• Bake for 5 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

The post Peppered Salami, Baked Eggs appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

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.

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Margherita Pepperoni Caprese Sandwich

It’s quality ingredients that make this sandwich special, fresh mozzarella, Margherita pepperoni, garden homegrown tomatoes and fresh basil on an Italian roll.

Servings 2

Ingredients

• Margherita pepperoni enough slices to cover the roll
• 2 Italian rolls
• six slices fresh mozzarella cheese or enough for two rolls
• olive oil
• 1 fresh tomato
• few leaves basil
• salt pepper

Instructions

• Slice pepperoni medium thickness and fry in frying pan until it’s charred around the rim and shrinks to a cup. Pat grease with paper towel.
• Toast rolls.
• On bottom roll place mozzarella cheese, drizzle some olive oil, salt and pepper, add tomato, add a little more olive oil and salt, and top with pepperoni.

The post Caprese Sandwich with Margherita Pepperoni appeared first on Spinach Tiger.