Kickin’ Cheese Steak Muffaletta

Pairs well with:

Zinfandel

Bright and full-bodied, this Zinfandel wine is a curious contradiction in tastes.

Ingredients

Mixed Olive Salad:
1/4c. pitted green olives, rough chop
1/4c. pitted black Italian olives, rough chop
1/2 medium red onion,diced fine
1c. Mixed veg. giardinera, drained and roughly chopped
2Tbsp.Colavita Olive Oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
8oz. marscapone cheese at room temp
Caramelized Onions:
2 Tbsp. Colavita Olive Oil
2 Lg.sweet onions, sliced thin across the grain
1 Lg. clove garlic minced
3 Tbsp. Dark brown sugar
1/2c. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
Cheese Steak Burgers:
1&1/2lb. ground chuck
1/2 lb. fresh italian sausage, mild
2Tbsp. colavita olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper, coarse grind
**** Vegetable oil for brushing grill
6 ea. Italian style round sandwich rolls
18 ea. thin slices of plum tomatoes
9 ea slices provolone cheese,1&1/2 slices per burger
6 ea. leaves of red leaf lettuce

 

Instructions

Prepare a medium hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover or pre-heat a gas grill to medium high heat. To make the Olive Salad: Mix together the olives onions and giardinera with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper then mix together. Mix the seasoned olive mixture into the softened marscapone cheese and refrigerate until serving. Bring to room temp before application. To make the caramelized onions: Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until oil starts to lightly smoke then add the onions and cook stirring until the onions start to soften then add the garlic toss together,reduce heat to medium, then let the mixture cook for about one minute. Add the brown sugar then stir it in to combine and let cook together with the onions until the sugar begins to caramelize, about 3-4 minutes. Turn heat up to high and add the balsamic vinegar to the onion and sugar mixture let the mixture come to a boil then reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until reduced to a syrupy consistency, approximately 4-5 minutes. Season the mixture with salt and pepper stir to combine then taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Take the mixture off the heat and transfer to a container and let cool to room temperature then cover until ready to serve or refrigerate for longer storage. To make the kickin' patties: combine the ground chuck, sausage, olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix the ingredients til just combined avoiding compaction of the meat. Divide the meat mixture into 6 equal portions and form the portions into patties that will be slightly larger than the Italian roll. Cut the rolls in half making the top portion of the roll larger than the bottom and scoop out some of the bread from the top portion of the roll to make a bowl like structure and place the rolls on the side until ready to toast. Brush the grill rack with oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover and grill the patties until browned on the bottoms, approximately 3-4 minutes. Turn the patties over and continue cooking until done, approx. 5 minutes longer for medium or longer if preffered add the cheese, 1 & 1/2 slices approximately 1 minute before removing the burgers to fully melt the cheese. During the last few minutes of cooking place the rolls, cut side down on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly. To assemble the burgers: Fill each of the roll tops with one sixth of the olive mixture then place three slices of tomato on top of the olive mixture and cover with one piece of lettuce torn in half if necessary to fit. Then on the bottm portion of the rolls evenly distribute the caramelized onions then top the onions with a patty continue with the remaining then top each with top portion of the roll and cut in half to serve.