Hoagies

There is a lot of regional debate in the United States about what exactly makes up a hoagie. Unfortunately, this debate will never really end. However, in the simplest terms possible, a hoagie is a type of overstuffed sandwich. In fact, many people consider a hoagie to be another sandwich that belongs to the same family of sandwiches such as sub-sandwiches, torpedoes, heroes, and grinders. So if you are hungry, and looking for a wonderful recipe that you can alter to your tastes, you are in luck. Now, on to the hoagies!

Ingredients:

• 1 Fresh hoagie roll (the fresher the better)
• Thinly sliced meats (roast beef, prosciutto ham, turkey, ham, etc.)
• Thinly sliced cheeses (provolone, Swiss, gouda, American, etc.)
• Mayo
• Mustard (optional)
• Red Wine Vinaigrette (optional)
• Thinly sliced peppers (bell and banana)
• 1/4 head of lettuce, shredded
• Salt and pepper
• Oregano
• Thinly sliced tomatoes
• Thinly sliced red onions
• Olives

Recipe:

1. Prepare ingredients. Before you can begin making your hoagie sandwich, you will need to gather all the ingredients together, and start to prepare them. When gathering your ingredients, make sure that you get everything as fresh as possible. The key to making great hoagies lies in using fresh ingredients. The fresher the bread, meats, cheeses, and vegetables, that you use then the better your sandwich will be. If you don't purchase your meats already deli sliced (really, really thin) then you will need to do this yourself. In addition to the meats, you will want to slice your cheese, tomatoes, and onions as thinly as possible.
2. Slice bread. Pull out your bread and slice it down the middle, length wise. The best type of bread to use for hoagies is actually a hoagie roll. If you cannot find any hoagie rolls in your local bakery, or bakery section of the supermarket, then us a small loaf of French bread. After slicing the bread, lay the bread on the table with the sliced bread facing up.
3. Layers. Before adding your favorite meats and cheeses, be sure that you put a little mayo on the sandwich bread. The mayo really helps to bring out the flavors of the various ingredients in your sandwich. After adding the mayo, begin adding the various meats and cheeses that you want on your sandwich. Add as many layers as you want, just be sure that you use your favorite meats and cheeses.
4. Condiments. Once you have added all the meats and cheeses that you want on your sandwich, it is time to begin adding the condiments. Add some lettuce, some tomatoes, onions, bell and banana peppers, and olives. After you have added the vegetables, sprinkle a little red wine vinaigrette onto the sandwich, and top off with a little salt and pepper and oregano.

All that you have left to do is to sit back and enjoy your hoagie. This recipe is designed to serve one person, but depending on how large you make your sandwich, or how many hoagie rolls you use, you can always serve more. Frankly the only limitation to the number of people that you can serve with this recipe is your willingness to make sandwiches.