Leftover 'Cents'

I don't know about you but I had to think of ways to make our fridge full of holiday leftovers taste delicious. We ate most of the leftovers but there were still the extras that were taking up space.

We had lots of cheeses and deli sliced salami, ham, and enough bread to make french toast for brunch to feed the neighborhood.

It makes no cents to throw away perfectly good food so I decided to do what my mom always did with her leftovers.

It's been a while so I had to dig deep into my childhood memories to think of all the foods I loved that my mom and grandmother would prepare.

When I was growing up there was always ricotta and mozzarella cheeses in our typical Italian fridge. Whenever we visited our Nonna my mom would take the leftover cheeses and she and my grandmother would make broiled ricotta sandwiches.

So I decided to make these sandwiches. Everyone was hanging around looking for something to eat so these leftovers were IT using up the last of the holiday foods that we so enjoyed the first day but not so much now that the holiday has gone.

The open faced sandwiches are filling and delicious and of course you can add slices of salami, ham, or provolone or whatever else you may have. Everyone ended up with a custom sandwich made with their leftover of choice.

Here's a quick guide to making broiled sandwiches. This recipe will yield approximately 2-6 servings, depending on the size of the rolls and bread slices and how hungry everyone is. The guys wanted the whole roll, and the girls only wanted the sliced Italian bread.

Open-Faced Broiled Ricotta Sandwiches
Ingredients

• 2-4 rolls or Italian bread slices
• 16 oz. ricotta cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• grated parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• fresh chopped parsley and/or basil
• olive oil for drizzle
• salt and pepper to taste
• leftover slices of deli ham or salami (optional)

Directions:

1. Slice open the rolls or Italian bread.
2. Drizzle a little olive oil over the dry bread. Spread about 1/3 cup ricotta cheese on an average size roll (use as much or as little as you like).
3. Add a slice or two of the deli meat if you choose then spread a little more ricotta over that.
4. Then sprinkle on top of the ricotta a little of the grated cheeses, chopped parsley/basil, salt and pepper, and drizzle of olive oil.
5. Place on a foil covered baking sheet and broil for about 3-5 minutes, depending on your oven. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.

Enjoy!


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Mangia!
Winelady Cooks