Toasted Italian Sandwich

I have a serious obsession. Can you guess what it is (?)....yup, food. Big shocker, huh? Well, in my endless pursuit of finding more food blogs, I came across of couple of blogs devoted to Italian food. Um...another obsession...Italy! I love all things Italian and am determined to live there, at least for a little while, at some point in my life. Lucky for me, these lovely Italian food bloggers were inviting everybody to participate in their 2nd Annual Festa Italiana Roundup! This roundup of Italian food ranges from the simple to the fancy...as Proud Italian Cook and Finding la Dolce Vita tell us in their blogs...the party is about the people ! Well, it's always about the food, too.

Now, where to begin...what to make!? I love Italian food and have many, many favorites...but the one I decided to submit to the Festa Italiana Roundup is probably the simplest of them all. It is my husband's favorite sandwich (or so he says every time he asks me to make a few). I know I've said it before (I guess that means I really mean it)...sometimes the simplest food is the best food. So, follow my lead or gather a different variety of Italian (or other) lunch meats & cheeses...and toast up a sandwich today!

Now this is what I'm talkin' about! For the sandwich, gather:

Italian bread, cut in sandwich lengths or individual loaves cut in half.

Garlic, whole cloves- halved lengthwise

Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated

Salami

Pepperoni

Ham

Provolone

Lettuce, shred or whole leaf

tomato, sliced

Your favorite Italian dressing or vinaigrette

Preheat your broiler. Put bread, cut side up, under broiler until toasted. Rub w/ cut side of garlic and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Layer your meats onto bottom half of bread. Add cheese.

Place this half back under broiler until cheese is bubbly & browned.

Top with lettuce & tomato. Drizzle all over with Italian dressing. Place other half of bread on top of sandwich. Cut in half and serve. It's delicious when it's really warm (just toasted)...and deliciously messy; with each bite the dressing will run down your fingers! It's so perfect! The reason I layered everything on to the bottom half of the bread is to allow the dressing to soak into the top half once it's on, but it can never soak it all up...