Cuban Pork Roast and Sandwiches

I'm all for cooking something that will provide more than one meal. I love to fix a big chunk of meat and then use it forty eleven different ways. (Or maybe just a few less.)

We lived in south Florida for almost five years and developed a taste for Cuban food. Especially their roast pork. Delectable. Mouth-watering. Full of garlicky goodness. Cuban pork roast is all that and more. We like to have it the first night with the full complement of rice, black beans, and fried plantains. Then the second day we slice leftover pork real thin and make succulent Cuban sandwiches.

Am I making you hungry yet?

The trick with a really good Cuban pork roast is to marinate it overnight, letting all those spices and seasonings soak deep into the meat so that every single bite is absolutely bursting with flavor.

CUBAN PORK ROAST
4-5 lbs pork roast
3 cloves garlic peeled and slivered
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon oregano, ground
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon salt, to taste
1 large onion, sliced

Trim excess fat from roast (but not all!) and then make tiny slits all over the roast with a sharp knife and insert the slivers of peeled garlic.
Mix remaining ingredients in a zip lock bag, add roast and marinate in fridge overnight.
The next day you have two options: in the morning you can dump it into a crockpot, on low, and forget about it until evening. (Well, forgetting about it isn't technically possible with all the wonderful smells wafting around your kitchen!)
OR early afternoon preheat your oven to 275° and slow roast, covered, for several hours (figure one hour per pound of meat, so a 4 pound roast would take four hours).

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If your family doesn't devour the entire roast in one sitting (which has happened to us a time or two) you can thinly slice the leftover meat and make...

CUBAN SANDWICHES
~ 1 loaf Italian or French bread
(or Cuban bread if you're lucky enough to have a source!)
~ mustard (the original recipe calls for plain yellow but I've used stone ground when it's all I had and it worked fine -- obviously I'm not a purist)
~ thinly sliced leftover pork roast
~ thinly sliced ham (any kind you want; it's YOUR sandwich)
~ thinly sliced dill pickles
[are you getting the idea that things HAVE TO BE THINLY SLICED?!]
~ thinly sliced swiss cheese (okay, so that's not so easy to find where I live now; I've used Fontina, Holland and Havarti -- I don't think it really matters; whatever floats your boat)

Slice the bread horizontally so you create one looooooong sandwich. Smear mustard liberally on both slices. Along the bottom half layer ingredients any old way you want. I like to put cheese on the bottom and top, right next to the bread to sort of prevent it from getting soggy from the juicy pickles which I slap right smack in the middle. I'm sure there's probably some kind of law in Cuba about the order in which to correctly place these ingredients, but I'm a rule breaker from way back. Then put the top piece of bread on and start mashing the whole thing as flat as you can. I am not a small person and I put all my weight into the effort, palms down flat against the top of the sandwich and mash, MASH, MASH.

In my U.S. oven I could take the whole sandwich, put it on a cookie sheet, cover it with a little piece of tin foil and then slam my heavy old cast iron skillet on top. We want this sucker FLAT! Here I have a much smaller oven so I have to cut the sandwich in half and lay the two pieces side by side on the smaller cookie sheet I'm able to fit into the itty bitty oven. Then I pop it in the oven at 325° for about 20-30 minutes until the sandwich is hot and the cheese all bubbly. Remove from oven, take the skillet off the top, slice and enjoy! Preferably with chips of your choice.
Wasn't that easy?

You can thank me later, after you've tried them and see how FABULOUS they are :-)

Chocolate Pudding Cake

1 cup flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the topping:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
1-1/2 cups very hot water
Whipped cream garnish:
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly butter an 8-inch round or square baking dish or casserole.
Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Combine the milk, butter, egg and vanilla. Whisk together and stir into the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Spread the thick batter in the prepared pan.
To make the topping, in the same bowl combine the sugars, cocoa, and coffee powder. Sprinkle over cake batter.
Pour hot water over the topping and place pan on middle rack of oven. Bake until cake is firm, about 40 minutes. The pudding-like sauce will have sunk to the bottom and will be soft. Cool 15 minutes.
Whip the cream, adding sugar and vanilla, until soft peaks form. Serve the warm cake with chocolate sauce spooned over the top. Garnish with sweetened whipped cream*.

All American Potato Salad

1-1/2 lbs. potatoes
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
salt and pepper
sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped oniion
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tablespoon coarse-grain mustard

Put unpeeled, scrubbed potatoes in a pot. Bring to boil and cook just until tender, 15-20 minutes depending on size of potatoes. Cut them in chunks, place in bowl and sprinkle with vinegar, salt, pepper and a few pinches of sugar. Toss gently and allow to cool.
Add onions, eggs and celery.
Combine mayo, sour cream (or yogurt) and mustard and add to potatoes. Toss gently and refridgerate until chilled and ready to serve.

NOTE: I almost always double, and sometimes quadruple, this recipe based on the size of the crowd we're feeding.

Moussaka

3-4 large eggplants
2-3 large potatoes (enough for one layer in 9x13 pan)
1-1/2 lb. ground meat (lamb, hamburger, your choice)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 tomatoes chopped
[or I suppose you could use 1 can diced tomatoes to replace sauce and chopped tomatoes]
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
3 cups milk, warmed slightly
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
1-1/2 cups parmesan, shredded

Peel and slice eggplants 1/3" thick, lay on paper towels (10 minutes each side) to eliminate bitterness. [This is an important step, don't skip it!]
Peel and slice potatoes 1/4" thick, place in one layer on lightly greased cookie sheet and bake in 350° oven for 20 minutes, turning slices halfway through. For those who are mathematically challenged, that is 10 minutes each side. The potatoes provide a firm foundation for the dish so that when you're serving it, it doesn't fall apart -- a good thing with any casserole.
Then bake eggplant slices in the same manner (10 minutes each side on greased cookie sheet at 350°).
Meanwhile fry ground meat and onion until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic and stir for a minute, then add sauce, tomatoes, cloves, cinnamon and salt. Cook on medium heat until liquid has evaporated.
To make the bechamel sauce, melt butter in saucepan, add flour and stir to form a roux. Stir over low heat for 3-5 minutes (you don't want this to start turning brown). Add warmed milk, increase heat to medium and stir until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool 15 minutes or so (this cooling time is necessary because you don't want the eggs to start cooking when you add them). Add beaten eggs to cream sauce along with salt...voila! you have bechemal sauce.

To assemble moussaka in 9"x13" pan:
spray with oil
one layer of potatoes on bottom
one layer of eggplant, lightly salt and pepper
1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup parmesan sprinkled over all
meat mixture, spread evenly
final layer of eggplant, lightly salt and pepper
1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup parmesan sprinkled over all
bechemal sauce spread evenly so it completely covers everything
sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup parmesan on top

Bake at 350° for one hour. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Slice and serve to a grateful group of diners, be it family or friends.

Yes it is a lot of work. Yes it is worth it!

Seriously Yummy Sausage and Saurkraut

I shouldn't be surprised at all the northerners who can't appreciate a good fried bologna sandwich (snicker, snicker). Y'all probably don't like red eye gravy or grits either, do you? Well I love you anyway, bless your heart! ☺ Just means there's more for me.

Because I think it's just too sad if y'all go through life without having a good dish of sausage and sauerkraut at least once, I'm sharing what I do to the sauerkraut to make even fussy kids (or adults!) like it.

SAUSAGE & SAUERKRAUT
1-2 sausages per family member, depending on how much each person typically eats
[USE ANY KIND OF SAUSAGE YOU WANT! I've made this with a variety over the years. It's all good.]
1 large can sauerkraut
1 individual serving (bottle or sippy carton) of apple juice (apple cider is even better to use when you can get it)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon beef bouillon granules (if using cube, dissolve in apple juice)

You can brown the sausage or not; that's one of those personal choice things.
Rinse sauerkraut well. Really well! Don't mess around with this step. It's VERY important.
Place rinsed sauerkraut in a casserole dish, pour apple juice (or cider) over, sprinkle with brown sugar and beef bouillon granules. Top with sausages (browned or not). Put tin foil over casserole. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, removing tin foil for last 10 minutes.
Serve with mashed potatoes, applesauce or fried apples and brown bread (we prefer pumpernickel).

Muy delicioso! Really!

Bologna, Pickles and Saurkraut -- Foods That Make Me Swoon

Estoy muy satisfecha! Why, you ask? Because this southern girl just finished the most delectable fried bologna sandwich with a side of pickles and Cheetos. Oh my, it was good!

I've been craving this southern delicacy for quite a while and yesterday the hubby came home with the bologna. Hallelujah! But we didn't have any bread so I had to wait until today when we went shopping again. The bread (a nice round loaf) was fresh out of the oven and still warm when we got it home and sliced it.

To top it off, we also found a jar of pickles on the aisle of international foods. Thought it was kosher dill but since we don't know German, we weren't sure. It's not but we aren't sad 'cause these are the best pickles we've had since we arrived!

The bologna had a little something added to it. Can you guess what? No, seriously! Guess! Come on, what have I said they put on EVERYTHING? Eggs of course. Yep, hard boiled eggs had been added. But it wasn't in obnoxious amounts and didn't detract from the bologna at all.

Or maybe I'm just getting used to the eggs.

Also on the international food aisle we found what we think is sauerkraut. Again, can't be sure, and it's purple but we think that's 'cause they used red cabbage. We'll find out ☺ The last time we went to Santa Rosa we stopped at a little meat market in Belgrano (a German enclave) and picked up bacon and knackwurst. Didn't think about getting any sauerkraut though, and that's not something typically sold in stores here. But we're hoping we truly did score some so that tomorrow we can have sausage and sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. Yum!

Meat and Potato Quiche

It's been fun sifting through old recipes stored in a large tin. I've saved not only recipes but interesting and helpful information like the 1951 publication "Colonic Irrigations: Painless, Pleasant, Healthful". I'm sure you'll be horrified to learn that Constipation is a Curse to Civilized Peoples or that Slow Elimination Means Slow Decay of Mind and Body. Yes indeedy, if you're suffering from a variety of ailments, including but not limited to biliousness, colds, asthma, nervousness, rheumatism, appendicitis, insomnia or high blood pressure, perhaps the only solution lies in an effective colonic irrigation! And remember, you heard it here first.

So how about we follow up that appetizing bit of information with a recipe? What, you're no longer hungry? How can that be? Maybe I can tempt you with this, though.

MEAT & POTATO QUICHE
3 Tablespoons oil
3 cups shredded potatoes
1 cup swiss cheese
3/4 cup cooked, chopped meat - your choice
1/4 cup onion
1 cup light cream
2 eggs
salt & pepper

Mix oil and shredded potatoes and press into pie pan to form shell. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
Layer swiss cheese, meat and onion in shell.
Mix cream, eggs, salt & pepper and pour over other ingredients in shell.
Bake at 425 for 30 minutes until set.

And it's not true that real men don't eat quiche no matter what you've heard. So this recipe is perfectly acceptable to serve to husbands and sons.