Rachael's Daytime Talk Show
Muffaletta Club Casserole -- 01/25/12

Muffaletta Club Casserole

Ingredients

  • 8 large eggs
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 cups giardiniera, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup pitted green Sicilian olives, finely chopped
  • 5 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 2 1-pound loaves sandwich bread such as Pepperidge Farm, very thinly sliced (40 slices)
  • 1 pound thinly sliced Genoa salami
  • 1 pound thinly sliced capicola
  • 1 pound thinly sliced ham
  • 1/2 pound thinly sliced provolone

Yields: 6-8

Preparation

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream and milk. Set the egg-cream mixture aside while you prepare the sandwiches.

Grease the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter. Using a serrated knife, cut the crusts off the bread slices. In a medium bowl, mix together the chopped giardiniera and olives. Lay 8 slices of bread in the baking dish, spread each slice with 1 teaspoon of the Giardinera mixture, top with 1 slice of salami, 1 slice capicola, 1 slice of ham, 1/2 slice of provolone and another slice of the bread with 1 teaspoon of Giardinera mixture. Repeat layering with remaining meat and bread. In the end, there will be 5 layers of bread and 4 layers of sandwich fixings.

When all the sandwiches are positioned in the casserole dish, pour the egg-cream mixture evenly over the top. Place a piece of the parchment on top of the casserole and place a second casserole dish on top of the paper to weight the casserole. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 hours. The bread should absorb most the egg mixture.

Preheat oven to 350°F and remove the casserole from the refrigerator. Slice the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into 8 pieces and place one piece on top of each sandwich stack. Bake the casserole, uncovered, until puffed and golden, usually about 40 minutes.

Let the casserole rest for about 15 minutes. Serve warm.