Sammich Saturday: Cuban Sandwiches

 

This year sure is flying by...I can't believe Spring is officially here and we are practically a quarter of the way through 2012. But, It's been a good year so far, I can't really complain. I had another sandwich on the calendar for this Saturday post, but when I saw THIS one on Sarah's blog, I had to put it on the menu right away...bumping the others back a week. Roasted Pork, Ham, Pickles, and Banana Peppers?!!? I was in love before ever taking a bite! I squealed to her how perfect it was, based solely on the ingredients, and she laughed at what an incredible dork I am ;) Good thing she's my friend anyway!

Unfortunately for me, my grocery store doesn't carry roast pork, so I had to make my own! Say what? Good thing it was super easy...or I would have had to go an alternate route and miss out on a delicious sammich. I did layer a few too many banana peppers onto my first sandwich, which overpowered everything else between the buns, but I quickly fixed that and enjoyed an incredible sandwich. I can't believe I'd never had one before. I've heard of them, but had no clue what was on them or that I would love it SO much! I don't have a lot of recipes that I repeat, but I'm pretty sure there are more Cuban sammiches in my future! They should be in yours, too.

Cuban Sammich

Source: A Taste of Home Cooking

Ingredients

• 4 potato sandwich rolls (I used wheat kaiser rolls)
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise (I used miracle whip - of course!)
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup dill or hamburger pickle rounds (I used kosher dill sandwich slices)
• 1/3 cup jarred banana pepper rings
• 1/4 pound thinly sliced baked ham
• 1/2 pound cold roast pork, sliced thin (recipe at bottom of post, if you want to make your own!)
• 8 slices thinly sliced Swiss cheese
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preparation

1. Split sandwich rolls in half.
2. Combine mayo, mustard and garlic in a small bowl, refrigerate until ready to use. 
3. Spread rolls with mayonnaise mixture, then layer cheese, roast pork, ham, pickles and peppers onto bottom half, and top with another piece of cheese before top roll. Press down to flatten the sandwich.
4. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat for 4 minutes, adding 1/2 Tbsp of butter and allowing to melt.
5. Meanwhile, heat large pot or Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-low heat for 4 minutes. 
6. Add sandwich to buttered skillet and place the Dutch oven on the top, pressing down slightly for a few seconds. Cook (keeping pot on sandwiches but not pressing down) until first side is golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pot, add more butter if needed, flip sandwiches over, replace pot on top of sandwiches, and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
7. Repeat with remaining sandwiches. Cut in half and serve immediately.

Roast Pork

Source: Group Recipes

1 1/2 - 2 lbs pork tenderloin

1 clove garlic

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.Trim pork of fat.

Mash the garlic, salt, pepper and cumin until a paste forms.

Rub the paste onto the pork tenderloin and place in a small roasting pan.

Cook for 20-25 minutes, remove from oven and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes.

Cut pork into thin slices. (Use warm or refrigerate and use cold slices for sandwiches.)