Leftovers Makeover: Sausage Marinara Sandwich

Sausage and Chorizo Marinara Sandwich, Topped with a Truffle and White Wine Cheese Sauce, on Buttered Garlic Baguette

Sometimes the best part of the meal can be the leftovers.

I love Italian food, every single classic dish. I am not Italian, but it was my mom’s version of homemade spaghetti and meatballs that created my love for the cuisine and culture of Italy. My mothers deliciously famous recipe for spaghetti and meatballs, to this day,  remains to be my favorite meal ever. The dark red sauce dense with chopped onions, whole tomatoes, and bite sized meatballs, make it hard to put down your fork. I have tried many a plate of what has been proclaimed “the best spaghetti”, but no one can ever come close to matching the savoury magic of her recipe, including myself. I have decided it’s some secret ingredient she never let anyone see her using.

A few evenings back we had a fantastic homemade sausage spaghetti for dinner.  It wasn’t like what my mom makes, with her meatballs of perfection, but the combination of two different sausages, one being chorizo, really gave the sauce a deep and complex flavor. Canned whole peeled tomatoes, the browned sausage, a handful of basil, a handful of oregano and a splash of Merlot started the sauce off right. This was followed by red onion, an obscene amount of garlic, and a few bay leaves on top.  It made for a wonderful dinner, and I ate a quadruple portion of angel hair pasta with it. Luckily, we made a large pot, so there would be enough for a few days worth of leftovers.

I could tell you the complete recipe, but I learned something from my mother’s spaghetti. For something to be truly special it must be unattainable.

A couple of days later, I needed a quick lunch. I love a good meatball sub topped with toasted provolone and torn basil. Because we happened to have a fresh French baguette and some of the leftover pasta sauce, I decided to make a sandwich. I prepared garlic bread just like I would if I was going to have a plate of spaghetti. I split the loaf, topped it with thinly sliced garlic and softened Italian butter.

I wanted a melty, gooey cheese to toast over the top, but all we had were hard cheeses. To solve this, I took some truffled white cheese and some black truffle extra-virgin olive oil, and placed it together in a stainless steel mixing bowl. In a sauce pan I heated some water and placed the stainless steel bowl over the top to act as a double boiler. Once the cheese softened, little by little, I added some Sauvignon Blanc white wine to create a thick sauce. I had some additional truffle oil that separated from the cheese sauce so I just poured it onto my garlic toast. I placed a giant helping of sausage marinara onto both sides of the garlic bread along with some of the truffle and wine cheese sauce. Each piece was placed into the toaster oven, and one minute later lunch was served.

 

 

This leftovers makeover was one of my favorites to date, the combination of sausage, garlic bread, and rich earthy cheese really made for a great meal. In my book the best attribute about Italian food is that it is not too fancy. The classic recipes are slowly cooked quality ingredients with a lot of love added. I think I may have discovered the secret to my mom’s recipe after all.

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