Cheap and Easy Salami Roll-Ups

Who are all these people? Do you recognize them? Sure you do. They are your family and friends coming over to share the holiday season with you. Or maybe you’re going to their place or to the office potluck to take advantage of the food, drink, and festivities?

I feel for you. Unless you are a hermit or live in a cave or on a desert island, you’re going to have to socialize sometime. While you’re at it, this is the time when people expect you to contribute the food and drink wherever you go. Think of it as helping the host or the hostess out. You may run into a lot of freeloaders who eat up a lot of food and consume a lot of drinks. These folks don’t even think of pitching in.

But you aren’t like that, are you? In fact, you are always looking for ways to cook smart. By cooking smart, I mean buying cheap and not spending a lot of time fixing a dish. After all, you do have better things to do during the holidays, don’t you?

In the past, it was such a big deal for me to fix masterpieces to bring to a party or potluck. Not anymore. I don’t want to spend a lot of time digging up a recipe, spending time shopping for ingredients, and slaving in the kitchen. Many people I know are satisfied to go to the supermarket or the bakery for any gathering. There is still a part of me that is old-fashioned. I do want to make a dish and get credit for it.

The biggest insult to me is bringing a dish to a gathering and going home with all or part of it. Where have I failed? Why didn’t anyone like my cooking?

As a teen, I was at my cousin’s Sacramento duplex when she was putting these salami roll-ups together. My cousin has improved over the years as a home cook, but back then, all she could do for office potlucks were these salami roll-ups. They are so easy that she showed me how to make them. I was so fascinated with the preparation part of this dish. As I was making them, she had time to leave me and go out on a date with her new boyfriend. By the time she returned, she had a potluck dish with no effort on her part at all.

Salami roll-ups can be an economical party dish for under $10. Salami is a treat at my home, so with a pound of salami and 2 cans of mandarin oranges, you may or may not end up with the 45 salami roll-ups that I created with my ingredients. These appetizers are addicting, and you have to be careful as you make them. I do have this awful habit of eating the ingredients as I go along. If you have control as you make these roll-ups, you will end up with more than 45 roll-ups. I did have leftover mandarin slices. You can either eat them or use them to decorate your finished project.

Salami Roll-Ups

Ingredients

1 pound sliced salami (packaged or purchased at the deli)

2 cans mandarin oranges (in water or light syrup)

Plain, colored or fancy tooth picks

Instructions

Place a slice of salami on a flat surface.

Place a slice of mandarin orange at the bottom of the salami slice.

Roll the bottom of the salami upward so it covers the mandarin orange.

Continue to roll the salami upward.

Turn the salami/mandarin orange over so that the seam edges faces upward.

Secure with a tooth pick and place on a serving platter.

Repeat the process until you are out of salami or mandarin slices.

Serve and watch your creations disappear.

Presentation

You can be as fancy as you wish. You can arrange the salami roll-ups on a paper plate. I have pictured the roll-ups stacked on my mother’s old glassware. She had won a lot of dishes by tossing dimes at the California State Fair “Tinkerbelle” booths, so those dishes come in handy. In my second photograph, I used one of the crystal serving platters I keep around the house. I used an old Pyrex dish to serve the leftover mandarin orange slices. My guests could either use their toothpicks from their salami roll-ups to get the slices out of the dish or use the tooth picks made available by the hostess. Usually, that hostess is me!

If you don't have the attractive serving dishes, they can be purchased at a garage sale or a thrift store. Better yet, if you know someone who is moving or giving stuff away, simply ask if you can have their throwaways. Be gracious, smile like a Las Vegas showgirl, and don't be shy when it comes to acquiring freebies. Don't spend your money on the brand new dishes at retail stores. Find attractive glassware that won't break your heart or your bank if they are lost, stolen or broken.

Variations

I’ve also made salami roll-ups substituting pepperoncini peppers for the mandarin oranges. I changed my mind today when I saw 32 ounces of pepperoncini peppers costing over $4 at the supermarket. I’ll stick to mandarin oranges until I’m making these salami roll-ups for a special occasion. You can probably find a better buy on canned pepperoncini peppers when you do some serious shopping at a dollar store. I didn't have the time.

Cheap Tips

People are forever cooking and stuffing themselves during the holidays. You don't have to spend a fortune on what you cook. Shop smart, and this dish will cost you less than $10 if you need a quick dish to take with you. You can cut corners by purchasing your mandarin oranges at the 99-Cents Store, Dollar Tree, Grocery Outlet, etc. My two cans cost 52 cents each, compared to the same cans at the supermarket for $1.27 each. You can also save by purchasing your salami at these stores or getting them at the supermarket when they are on sale.

I prefer to buy my Genoa salami at my local Safeway for around $8 a pound because the slices are larger and much easier to roll. I would not attempt to buy a log of salami and cut it myself. I would leave it to someone with a professional meat slicer. Is this a splurge? Not really. There’s a cute guy working at the Safeway deli department, and we swap stories on how to save our grocery money when his boss isn't looking. I also get to watch him use the meat slicer. Although he knows me as a frequent customer to the deli department, he also offers me free samples of the salami whenever I'm there.

I know what you’re thinking. Yes, I do need to get a life (sigh).