Cuban Sandwiches!

There’s this restaurant downtown (Grand Rapids, MI) called Bobarinos, located inside the B.O.B., that sells the most amazing Cuban Sandwiches. When Kylee was in the hospital Eric brought me one for dinner and I fell in love. All that pig with pickles and cheese!? Uhm, yes. Twice. Thank you. I was on my Weight Watchers diet then though and that sandwich did not quite fit into my allotted amount of points for the day. So, sadly, I only had it that one time and then one more time on Eric’s last day working there. I often crave them, but Eric isn’t so willing to take a detour downtown, and neither am I. So, this morning when I was staring at the thawed pork loin in my fridge and wishing upon wishes that I could think of something besides tacos, bbq pulled pork sandwiches and roasted pork it finally dawned on me. CUBAN SANDWICHES HAVE PORK! I hopped online and started digging around. The only thing I didn’t have to complete a couple of the recipes was fresh orange juice. And to be honest, I didn’t mind. Eric and I have had a couple bad experiences with adding orange juice to recipes and I didn’t want this to be another one of those, so I omitted it completely.

I must start by reiterating that I don’t like fatty cuts of meat floating in my Crock-Pot that I have to sift through. I’m a little more health conscious these day and seeing all that gelatinous mess kind of grosses me out, so I use pork loin instead of pork shoulder. You’re free to use whatever you want though! No harm, no foul.

For the pork-

2-3 lbs pork loin

Salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons ground cumin

canola oil

3 cups chicken stock

2 limes, juiced

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

4 cloves of garlic, smashed

1 small onion sliced, or ½ large onion sliced

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons ground oregano

Directions:

Season loin with oil, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano place in slow cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours, until fork tender.

 

For the sandwich-

Pork, shredded or sliced

Ciabatta loaves, sliced in half (or use Cuban bread if you can find it!)

Mayo

Dijon

Dill pickles, sliced

Swiss cheese

Ham, good quality, sliced

Directions:

Spread Dijon on top bun and mayo on bottom. Layer pickles, ham, pork and cheese. Grill or use a Panini press to toast the whole sandwich together. Enjoy!

If you want to add orange juice, Bobby Flay says to add 1 cup. And he’s pretty smart, so you might want to listen to him.

I think the best part is that the pork itself is very versatile. You could use the leftovers for tacos, BBQ pulled pork sandwiches or anything else your heart desires. Eric will probably sneak it in an omelette, ’cause he’s a weirdo, but hey, whatever suits you.

 

I’d like to add that I attempted to make my own ciabatta and something went terribly wrong so we went and bought some loaves instead. I was not a happy girl and plan on fixing whatever mistake I made and sharing that recipe another time.

Lastly, knowing that Thanksgiving is coming up and having had listened to a chef on television say “never try a new recipe on the day of a family get together or party,” I tested a new side dish and am so thankful I did! Food Network is usually pretty trustworthy, but this time (in our opinion) they botched a recipe in their magazine. Luckily, the trial run is not a complete waste and we can still eat it, but I know what I’m going to do differently and it will be delicious for our family on Thanksgiving! That recipe will come closer to that time!

.. And just because it’s cute.. Kylee played in some flour today and quite liked it lol…

Related articles

• Cuban Sandwich ~ Cubano (mccallumsshamrockpatch.wordpress.com)
• Ritz Cuban Sandwich Recipe (kraftrecipes.com)
• Best Places to Find Cuban Sandwich Recipes (latinfood.answers.com)
• Cuban Sandwiches (elanhaya.wordpress.com)

Pot Roast Paninis? Sure, why not!?

We eat lots of leftovers in this house. I often make a lot just to be able to stretch it out for a couple of days. Not only does it save money but it also enables me to be creative.

I can make pretty much anything into a panini and I often do. Eric and I actually have a list going of all the different kinds of paninis that I’ve made. And I started a new folder in my recipe section dedicated solely to the delectable sandwiches. A lot of the time I’m using the left over meat with maybe a part of a side dish and then making a sauce to hold the whole thing together. I must say, I’ve never tasted one I didn’t like.

Paninis are easy. If you have a panini press or grill pan with a brick, or something heavy to weigh down the sandwich, then you’re golden. The second part you need is good bread. Paninis are not meant to use up your white bread. The best kinds of bread are sturdy like ciabatta, sourdough or a rustic crusty bread. Today we used the sourdough I made a few days ago (see post for that recipe) and our leftover pot roast (also see the post for that).

I reheated the pot roast in some left over beef ju that we saved. We always try to save any broth and even freeze some to make other dishes. Eric cut slices of the sourdough bread and reheated the mash potatoes we also had with the pot roast. On one side of the bread he spread a thin layer of taters and then a little of the gravy (also a leftover!). Then on the other side he slathered on a horseradish cream sauce I had made earlier and topped that with a slice of provolone cheese. Although I think a havarti or a sharper cheese would have worked better, we only had provolone or american. Finally, we put the roast on the sandwich and let our press do the rest of the work. The best part was the horseradish cream sauce which really complimented the meat. So, I’m including that recipe here!

Horseradish Cream Sauce (makes about a 1/2 cup)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup light mayo

1 tablespoon light sour cream

1 1/2 tablespoons horseradish or more to taste (jarred)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Mix all ingredients together, taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Let sit in the fridge for a couple hours so the flavors meld together.

Eric also said that it would have been good with some chives in it. So, add those if you’d like. Also, if you feel you went overboard on the horseradish (DOUBT IT!) then just add more mayo. Worst case scenario is you have too much. Which is never a bad thing.