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Cubano
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Cubano

OK Every time I go to Tampa office there is this little restaurant in a strip mall that I insist on going to, I always get the Cuban sandwich. So as I watched the Pats defeat Tampa Bay last week I munched on this sandwich. I pretty much followed theirs but made a mistake in the rub and used whole grain mustard instead of ground. I was off just a little bit all weekend. Hey that’s a good excuse to try the pork again right?

Cubano Epicurious | August 2013

by Jose Garces
The Latin Road Home

Yield: Makes 4 sandwiches

ingredients

Roast Pork

  • 2 Tbsp kosher salt + 1 Tbsp
  • 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 Tbsp ground mustard
  • 2 lb boneless pork shoulder, tied in an even roll
  • 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp ground mace
  • 2 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp Spanish smoked sweet paprika

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Sandwich

  • 4 (6-inch) light crisp-crusted bakery rolls
  • 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 3/4 lb best-quality domestic ham (unglazed), thinly sliced
  • 1/4 lb Swiss or Gruyère cheese, thinly sliced
  • 1 large dill pickle, thinly sliced lengthwise
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter

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preparation

To cure the pork, combine 2 tablespoons of the salt with the sugar and ground mustard. Rub the mixture all over the meat, cover, and set it in the refrigerator to cure for 6 hours.

Place a rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 325°F.

To roast the pork, rinse it under cold running water to remove the seasoning. Pat dry with paper towels. Combine the Dijon mustard, mace, black pepper, paprika, and the remaining 1 tablespoon salt. Rub the mixture all over the meat. Set the pork in a roasting pan, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and cook until the internal temperature reaches 175°F, about 45 minutes. (Mine took much longer) Allow the meat to cool completely before slicing.

To make the sandwiches, heat a sandwich press or griddle to medium-high. Split the bread lengthwise and pull it open. Spread the mustard on 1 side of each roll and layer on the roast pork, ham, cheese, and pickles. Spread the butter all over the outside of the sandwiches and griddle until the cheese is melted and the meats are warmed through, 3 to 4 minutes. (Alternatively, wrap the sandwich in foil and toast in a 350°F oven for 5 to 7 minutes.) Slice each in half on the diagonal and serve.

You can press this as I did, eat it un-pressed or if you don’t have a press take two bricks wrap in tin foil heart in 500 degree oven for about 1/2 hour and use those to press.

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Source Information
Reprinted with permission from The Latin Road Home by Jose Garces, © 2012 Lake Isle Press

Epicurious.com © Condé Nast Digital, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lazy, Crazy days of Summer set in on me
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Lazy, Crazy days of Summer set in on me

Some of this summer’s adventures in cooking

Lazy, Crazy days of Summer set in on me, more the lazy when it came to posting so here is a catch up. This is more for me I can look at the pictures and say OH yeah that was good remember  how I did it and repeat.

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Tuna Roll with a Twist

I bought these little tiny cans of tuna at BJs that come in a 12 pack and whether in a salad or sandwich found them just the right size for one. Lyn does not like the way I make tuna, too much mayo so now I can make it the way I like it lots of mayo. When I was a kid I used to make mayo sandwiches for a quick snack but now a days I just pile on a little extra. Tunas sandwich is a quick and easy solution to that what’s for lunch question.

Make the tuna the way you like it then make a roll up, salad or my particular favorite in an organic hotdog roll.

Usually I like to sprinkle some paprika on it I like the color but most of all the little kick it adds,  but today I drizzled a little hoisin sauce.

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Bison Stuffed Red Bell Pepper
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Bison Stuffed Red Bell Pepper

Last Sunday was father’s day, Mike and Laurel came over which was all I really wanted. I can’t explain how proud of him I am he has done well just want it to take off for him so to speak he has so much to offer and does. Laurel brightens any situation she is always so up and being a foodie puts her in a special place in my heart.  Since I got what I wanted and Mikie was not going to be around for Lyn’s birthday on the 29th I thought why not take advantage of this gathering and throw a surprise birthday party. Laurel, Mike and I thought about it and a new Nespresso maker that Lyn had been hinting about for years is what we decided on. Sunday morning I snuck out at 6:30 AM to pick up the Boston Cream Pie, her favorite, (I don’t bake) that I ordered from Ray & Dick’s Bakery. Then I thought to Facebook message a bunch of family and friends to have them text her Happy Surprise Birthday at 2 PM.  It was success and for someone who normally does not get a lot of texts she was delighted. I love this woman and was happy to see her big fat smile for the text and the espresso maker. So enough of the mushiness.  I cooked Missi’s Dill Chicken with Tomato-Dill Relish and ribs for Father’s day. The ribs I cheated bought pre-cook and wrapped in tinfoil with sauce and baked at 175 for hours and finished on the grill. Being a good father I cooked enough so that leftovers could be taken home which left me with this week of leftover meals. The ribs, I eat fatty meats very limited these days, I dove into on Monday only looking up to wipe my face when they were all gone. Lyn bought some macaroni salad for Sunday which I made a meal of the leftover and diced Dill chicken breast, the Blue Grass Coleslaw also from WholeFoods was added to my regular work lunch salad with chicken and 18 year old balsamic vinegar. That brought me to last night everything gone what to do. We had bought some ground bison and I had frozen two leftover patties so I defrosted them and add a few things to make a Stuffed red bell pepper.

 

Ingredients

  • 1 red bell pepper slice in half length wise
  • 1 carrot grated and minced
  • ½ shallot minced
  • A few cherry tomatoes chopped fine

Minced carrots, shallots and tomato

  • ¼ lb. ground bison

Bison burgers

  • Hoisin sauce
  • Salt and pepper to taste –  I used very little
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Grated cheese – whatever you have on hand – I had parmesan

How:

Sauté the shallot and oils in a little butter and olive oil until shallots are slightly transparent

Suate shallots and carrots

Add ground beef and a pinch of hot pepper flakes and cook until brown

Add tomatoes and about 1 tbs. Hoisin sauce

Stir to mix

add hoisin sauce

Stuff the pepper halves and top with cheese

stuff red pepper and top with shredded cheese

Roast in 350 oven for about 10-15 minutes until cheese melts

Then I ate! Was pretty good for a from the gut meal!

Bison Stuffed Red Bell Pepper

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai
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Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

Another Lyn free meal that she found on Pinterest. We love spaghetti squash there is just so much you can do with it. It is wicked easy to prepare then you just get inventive. This recipe is adapted from Dr. Mark Hyman site. Just a few additions and some substitutions and there we had it, one of my favorite meals but no noodles

In this classic Thai dish you can maximize your nutrition by trading carbohydrate-rich rice noodles for low-glycemic and vitamin-A- rich spaghetti squash. You’ll find Thai fish sauce in your local Asian or natural food market, or in the international aisle of most large supermarkets.

 

Ingredients

Ingredients

1 Large spaghetti squash halved and seeded

1/4 Cup peanut oil – I substituted with Canola oil normally I would have used peanut but my cupboards were bare.

1 Tablespoon thai fish sauce .  I can’t get past the smell of fish sauce so I used Hoisin sauce instead.

2 Teaspoons reduced-sodium, gluten-free tamari sauce – used low sodium Soy sauce

1/2 Teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 Large egg beaten

2 Cloves garlic minced

4 Ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts roughly chopped

1 Pinch sea salt

4 Ounces raw shrimp peeled, deveined, and roughly chopped – did not have the shrimp so doubled up on chicken

2 Large carrots peeled and shredded

2 Cups mung bean sprouts – or any bean sprouts you have on hand.

6 scallions finely chopped

1 lime halved

1/4 Cup roasted peanuts chopped, for garnish – I also added the zest of  one lime to the peanuts

incredients prepared

How

Preheat the oven to 400°F

Brush the cut sides of the squash with 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil. Place the squash, cut sides down, on a baking sheet and roast for 30–40 minutes. The squash is cooked when a knife easily pierces through the skin and flesh. Let cool, use a fork to shred the flesh into spaghetti-like strands, and set aside.

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In a small bowl stir together the fish or hoisin sauce, tamari, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large wok or large cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Add the egg and cook until scrambled, 30–60 seconds, breaking it up. Transfer to a plate and reserve

Pour another tablespoon of the oil into the wok and stir-fry the garlic until aromatic. Season the chicken with a little salt and add it to the pan. Stir-fry the chicken until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Push the chicken to the side and add the shrimp in the center of the pan. Stir frequently until the shrimp are pink and firm, about 3 minutes

stir fry chicken and garlic

Toss in the carrots and stir-fry them for 1 minute. Transfer the contents of the pan to a platter.

Add carrots stir fry and put aside

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the wok, spread the squash strands out in the pan, and cook for 1 minute without stirring. Flip the pile of strands over and brown them for 2 minutes on the other side.

pan fry spagetti squash

Pour the sauce into the wok and add the chicken-shrimp mixture, egg, bean sprouts, and scallions. Gently toss to heat through, and squeeze the juice of one lime half over all. Garnish with the peanuts and serve with the other half lime available for table-side squeezing. Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

add other ingrediants combine and squeeze limeand

 

 

 

Spaghetti Squash

spagetti squash

The spaghetti squash (Cucurbita pepo) (also called vegetable spaghetti, noodle squash, spaghetti marrow, and squaghetti) is an oblong seed-bearing variety of winter squash. The fruit can range either from ivory to yellow or orange in color. The orange varieties have a higher carotene content. Its center contains many large seeds. Its flesh is bright yellow or orange. When raw, the flesh is solid and similar to other raw squash; when cooked, the flesh falls away from the fruit in ribbons or strands like spaghetti.

Spagetti Squash Pad Thai

Spaghetti squash contains many nutrients, including folic acid, potassium, vitamin A, and beta carotene. It is low in calories, averaging 42 calories per 1-cup (155 grams) serving.[2]

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Sweet Potato Pancakes
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Sweet Potato Pancakes

Lyn wanted some sweet potato puffs or tater tots and because it was not on the list we forgot. We also forgot where we saw them. The list is becoming very important these days for two reasons, it keeps our impulse buys to a minimum “not on the list, not in the carriage” (In theory at least) and recently if it is not on the list we tend to forget about it. Hey, we talk as we shop and we forget things, that is until we are putting away things. That’s Ok because shopping for food ideas is one of our favorite things so we tend to hit a lot of grocery stores on the weekends. So I thought quickly and came up with this as a substitute and served with my Herb Marinate flank steak. She gave these a thumbs up on her second one.

 

Ingredients:

I eyeballed most of this

  • 1 Sweet potato or yam (this one was white) grated
  • 1 tablespoon (estimated) fresh flat leaf parsley chopped fine
  • 1 Shallot finely minced
  • 1 egg beaten
  • ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese – depends on how finely grated could be more or less.
  • Salt and pepper to taste- I went light on the salt and then sprinkled more on them when they were done.

sweet potatoe pancake

How

Micro wave the potatoes for 3 minutes and let cool, when cool enough to touch where it will not cook the egg then proceed.

Combine all ingredients

Heat small amount of canola oil in pan

fry them up

Form pancakes and flatten on pan

Brown on each side turn when necessary.

Sweet potatoe pancakes

I did it in batches so as not to lose the heat of pan which would have been steaming

I kept the ready ones on a pan on cookie rack in low oven to keep crisp

eat

BTW – these made a great topper in my Dill Chicken sandwich the next day.

I like this time of year
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I like this time of year

Spring brings a new kind of depth to the woods in the back

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The colors start in the front

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and the official garden in honer of Mom who smiles in appreciation from above start to fill the deck

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Every year Lyn and I say next year it will just be a small deck garden and by Mid June there is not a empty space on the railing.

Let the gardening begin.

The herbs are coming up in the yard garden and the grape tomatoes like thier new home.  They say there might be a frost on Tuesday so I will cover those up.

Yes, I like this time of year.

Bread Pizza with Avocado Slices
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Bread Pizza with Avocado Slices

Next to work is a bakery called Ray and Dicks and they make a great bread or sheet pizza. The sauce is heavy tomato paste base and when slightly warmed it melts in your mouth. My wife does not care for it likes the Portland style sheet pizza better. I will buy one for work every once in a while freeze in single servings of the left overs to reheat and top with whatever is left over or in the frig that hits me when I open the door. This week it was in celebration of avocado season.

 

So this is simple reheat top and eat!

 

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Continuing with my avocado celebration how about a turkey rollup

Sorry this post was supposed to go up Monday but with the excitement  of the new season you know….

Ingredients

  • Avocado sliced
  • Store roasted turkey sliced thin
  • Romaine lettuce shredded
  • Cranberries
  • Thinly sliced tomato
  • Whole wheat wrap

 

How

Layer lettuce, cranberries, turkey, tomato and avocado roll tightly

Cut the wrap in half, or don’t bother–it’s ready to eat

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sorry forgot to take picture took this with my camera

How To Roll Up A Wrap

Picture borrowed from Entre Fogones con Mimi!

how-to-roll

 

You can make an open-ended wrap or a closed one.  And everyone seems to have their own best way to wrap a wrap.  This is how I wrap a wrap.

Smear sandwich cranberry within an inch of the perimeter of the tortilla.

Layer makings in a wide swath down the center of the tortilla and to within a couple inches of the left and right edges—kind of a rough rectangle.

 

To make a closed end wrap, fold both the right and the left edges over the goodies and roll from the bottom.  To make an open-ended wrap, fold only one edge.

 

If I make a closed end wrap, we cut the wrap in two at an angle and eat half at a time, or share with my honey.

 

If the tortilla is a little stiff and hard to wrap and keep closed, try microwaving the tortilla under a paper towel for 15 to 20 seconds.  It will be more pliable

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Salad with Strawberry, Pineapple and Avocado
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Salad with Strawberry, Pineapple and Avocado

Salad with Strawberry, Pineapple and Avocado

So its lunch time and every day I bring a salad for lunch. Usually on Sundays make one huge base salad and store in a container that you can give CPR to the top and it pushes the air out of it.freshvac

I don’t put in things like cucumbers or other things that tend to spoil quickly just the base salad. Then in the morning I grab a bunch put it in my container and add my condiments if you will. saladshakerThe condiments are things cukes, tomato, whatever I had left over from dinner last night.  My handy little container has a compartment for dressing which for me is just plain ole 18 year old balsamic vinegar.

 

Ingredients

  • Base salad
  • Organic Strawberries cut in chunks
  • Fresh pineapple cut into chunks
  • ½ avocado slices
  • Cumber cut into chunks
  • Cherry tomatoes
  •  18 year old Balsamic Vinegar (you could add oil but why dilute the vinegar.)

 

How

Place all in your handy take to work container along with an orange and banana maybe some celery or carrot sticks.

Release vinegar, shake or toss and eat!

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4 Healthy Reasons to Eat a Salad Today

By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD

WebMD Feature

 

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Have you had your salad today? Eating salad almost every day may be one of the most healthy eating habits you can adopt — and one of the simplest, experts say.

 

Eating salads is a super-convenient way to work in a couple of servings of vegetables and/or fruit. Green salads are on the menu of almost every restaurant. You can even buy a side salad (with Romaine lettuce, carrots and tomatoes, available with fat-free or reduced-calorie salad dressing) for a buck at many fast food chains these days. And you can make a green salad at home in 5 minutes, armed with a bag of pre-washed salad greens, a few carrots or other veggies, and a bottle of light salad dressing.

 

Not only that, but salads are cool, crunchy, and fun to eat (lots of textures, colors, and flavors). Most people enjoy eating salads–even kids! You can customize them to include the fruits and vegetables that appeal to you the most, and whichever ones you have on hand.

 

Here are four health reasons to reach for a salad today:

 

1. Eat Salads for the Fiber

It’s hard to believe that something we can’t even digest can be so good for us! Eating a high-fiber diet can help lower cholesterol levels and prevent constipation.

Read more…

Not only that, says Barbara Rolls, PhD, author of The Volumetrics Eating Plan, eating more fiber can help you feel fuller, eat less, and ultimately lose weight.

 avacoda about

Avocado Health Benefits: The World’s Most Perfect Food?

It has achieved this distinction because many nutritionists claim it not only contains everything a person needs to survive — but it has also been found to contribute to the prevention and control of Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other health conditions.

The avocado (Persea gratissima or P. americana) originated in Puebla, Mexico and its earliest use dates back to 10,000 years B.C. Since AD 900, the avocado tree has been cultivated and grown in Central and South America. In the 19th century, the avocado made its entry into California, and has since become a very successful commercial crop. Ninety-five percent (95%) of U.S. avocados are gown in Southern California.

The avocado, also called the alligator pear, is a high-fiber, sodium- and cholesterol-free food that provides nearly 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, is rich in healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (such as omega-3 fatty acids), vitamins A, C, D, E, K and the B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12 and folate) — as well as potassium.

Read more here