How to make a Muffaletta...by Holly & Scott

This is the second installment in "Scott & Holly's How-To Cooking". First we showed how to make a pork roulade, and this time we are making a muffaletta. A muffaletta is a traditional New Orleans sandwich. Scott says the best place to get one is at The Central Grocery in the French Quarter (talk to Frank). This sandwich is huge and meaty and cheesy and has an olive salad on it. This recipe is pretty close to the original Scott remembers.
First, you need to make the salad. The salad consists of 2 tall skinny jars of green olives, 1 can black olives, 1 jar cocktail onions, 1 large jar gardiniera mix (this is an Italian pickled mix of cauliflower, carrots, and peppercinis...it is sold in the olive section), and about 1/4 cup rinsed capers, 1 large carrot (chopped) and 2 stalks celery (chopped), garlic (8 cloves chopped), dried italian seasoning mix (1 1/2 Tbsp), and olive oil (1/4 cup).
Take the green olives and gently smash them in between fingers (you want them to be whole, but slightly flattened). Next, add the black olives, onions, gardineira mix (reserve the juice), capers, carrots, celery, garlic, and italian seasoning. Break up the cauliflower in the gardiniera mix with your fingers so it is roughly the same size as the olives. Add a steady stream of olive oil and mix everything together. To balance out the oil, add a little of the reserved gardiniera juice (a couple tablespoons). If you like spicy food, add some tabasco sauce now. Let the salad sit while you prepare the rest of the muffaletta.
For the sandwich you need: swiss cheese, provolone cheese, french-style ham, and mortadella. We bought all the meat and cheese pre-sliced at the deli. For the bread, find an Italian loaf. We used a large flat ciabatta from Boudins. Slice the loaf in 2 and spoon some liquid from the salad onto 1 side. On the same side, layer the provolone and then the swiss cheese. Next comes the ham and mortadella. On the other slice, pile on the salad (it won't all fit, you will have some salad for leftovers). Carefully flip the cheese/meat side onto the salad side. Slice and serve. You don't need a big slice, it is very filling. Our loaf could feed 8-10 people. Scott says Barq's rootbeer is the perfect pairing. Have fun and enjoy =)