Years ago Kat introduced me to the muffaletta sandwich at the Central Grocery on Decatur Street. The city looks the same except for places that have not yet rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina (August, 2005), mostly the 9th Ward which matters not to you unless you lived there, and is not part of the French Quarter and as such not part of this blog. She and I look somewhat older now, although nowhere near the 50 years we are by the calendar. The Muffy is perhaps the world’s best sandwich, but the bahn mi served at Dong Phoung in New Orleans East is cheaper, less caloric, and sometimes tastier. Kat will tell you the world’s best sandwich is a shrimp po-boy, possibly the version offered at Nan’s Café in Mandeville, LA. Purists will likely insist that the best of them come from various neighborhood cafes here and there in NOLA, such as Domilise’s in Uptown, or Parkway Tavern in Midtown. But frying shrimp is messy with all the bread and spattered fry grease, and Vietnamese French bread can only be obtained at the best fusion bakeries. To me that means buy po-boys or banh mi at the source; don’t try them at home.

But the muffaletta is easy to create in your own kitchen once you locate the proper ingredients. You need good Italian bread, either a whole boccia, or other high quality Italian bread sliced thick. The two cheeses, sliced mozzarella and smoked provolone are usually in the better groceries. The three sliced meats are the challenge. Mortadella (Italian bologna with big chunks of fat) is likely the most problematic. Capocolla (smoked and highly peppered pork neck sausage) is unlikely to be in your neighborhood Kroger or Wal*Mart. Genoa salami is widely available. The last key flavor is a superb olive salad. The two I know are Boscoli’s and the Central Grocery brand. Amazon offers both.

Assemble your ingredients and build that sandwich, layering each ingredient. Start with brushing some of the olive oil in the salad onto the upside of each bread slice. Add a layer of one meat, then a cheese layer, then spoon a tablespoon or two of olive salad solids. If you have enough cheese of either type to cover three cheese layers, put a layer of mozzarella here to seal the olives upon heating. Then lay in another meat layer, then more cheese, and finally the third lunchmeat layer. Spread another tablespoon of olive salad over the topmost meat and then crown your big sandwich with the second slice of bread. Wrap it in aluminum foil. Then press it with something flat and heavy. Let it rest under pressure at room temperature for an hour if you can wait that long. Finally bake it at 375 or 400 until the cheese has melted; around 20-25 minutes.

That bad boy is going to weigh almost a pound and will satisfy two hungry people. Plus you get to enjoy a taste of New Orleans without having to find a parking space in the French Quarter.