Cuban Sandwich

Kathy and I first learned to love Cuban Sandwiches when we lived in Tampa in the early 70's and had the benefit of living in a city with a major Cuban heritage. I never really thought a recipe was necessary - they are about as simple as a sandwich could be.  But someone asked and I realized that there are a lot of people that have not been so lucky as to have experienced the Cuban foods that are such an integral part of life in Tampa and Miami.

As with many traditional foods, there are those that will get pretty snooty with you if you don't follow their idea of what the traditional recipe is. Some say that you should butter the (inside) bread before putting the sandwich together.  Most recipes say that mayonnaise does not ever belong, but I like mayonnaise anyway.  I also like additions and substitutions like provolone or some hot sauce or slivers of hot green chiles.

The cookbook from the Columbia Restaurant, a very famous century old Spanish restaurant in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa has this to say: "The authentic Cuban sandwich has roast pork that has been marinated Cuban-style with sour orange juice, garlic, and oregano.  Sugar-cured ham cut in thin slices is a very important part of this delicious sandwich.  And it has to have hard salami, not bologna which some people use.  There's also Swiss cheese and sour pickle.  Most everyone today uses dill pickle, but it should be sour pickle.  Yellow mustard is spread on one of the slices.  It has to be cut diagonally, and it has to be wrapped in tissue paper.  If it's not wrapped, with a toothpick through the paper, it's not right."

If you feel like taking the effort to make the sandwich like the Columbia Restaurant does, you can't go wrong.  My advice though, is to use the general recipe idea and enjoy whatever variation you like.  The one in the picture above was as good as any I ever had in Tampa.

Gingered Pork Tenderloin

In my introduction to Jim's Place for Food and Booze, I mentioned how good a simple grilled tenderloin could be.  This Gingered Pork Tenderloin recipe is an great example.  The marinade uses ginger and soy sauce, giving it a great Asian accent, but it is very flexible - the leftovers from last weekend became an integral part of a great Cuban sandwich.  Buy only unadulterated pork tenderloin for this dish, avoiding the kind packed with all kinds of sodium filled marinades or preservatives.  Cook it over good charcoal (preferably the natural lump kind) and don't overcook it - if you follow the original recipe you will get leather, so use a thermometer and aim for about 150° to 155°.  It will be slightly pink inside, but entirely safe to eat.

Serve it with something simple, maybe a nice pasta salad with lots of vegetables in it, or some good stone ground grits (with cheese if you prefer) and a salad.  Just none of those Quaker quick or instant grits...

Add a nice India Pale Ale and you are set.

Summer Margarita

 I thought that with the grilling and chilling season just getting underway, it might be a good idea to start off this blog with a Summer Margarita.  The recipe came from Rick Bayless of Chicago's Frontera Grill, and is among my favorite summer drinks.  The usual orange liqueur is replaced by cucumber, and the result is very light and refreshing. Be sure to use a good 100% blue agave silver tequila, because you will want to drink more than one, and you don't want to be punished for cheap tequila by tomorrow's all-day headache.