The pandemic has a lot of us putting in more reps in the kitchen than we'd like. I love to cook, but there are days I wake up w/ the realization that another day = another dinner to plan and execute.
A fave from the before times is the Cubano. I would argue that the bread is the #1 difference maker for how much you enjoy almost any sandwich. You could bring your own AOC prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella to a Subway, but the sandwich is still gonna taste like ass, b/c it has the texture of a sponge you would rather not touch. Most of the time, you can get their Cuban bread at our our Publix (yeah, I know), and that puts you on the way to a sandwich which you will not dash to the ground and pine for Calle Ocho.
A Cuban is ham, roast pork, Swiss cheese, and pickles. You want thin-sliced pickles. I have put up jars w/ Cubanos in mind, but Rick's Picks People's Pickle sliced in half will do nicely. And Mt. Olive Sandwich Sliders work in a pinch. You could get real fancy with the ham, but I suspect Benton's would be too much. The roast pork is the tricky part. Janie Campbell was kind enough to share her roast pork recipe, but you're marinating and roasting a butt, which is sometimes more than you want. On the other hand, sliced roast pork from a deli case can be hard to find and is usually Not Great.
Waiting for cold cuts to get sliced to order at a deli counter was a little bit annoying in the Before Times, and actually scary now, esp if you live in an area where wearing a mask suggests that you are partying in the Underground Pizza Sex Dungeon with Q themself. So, I tried to figure what I could do w/ grab and go presliced cold cuts. Our market has ham, Swiss, and (I have been known to sneak in some cheddar), and... sliced turkey. So against my instincts, last weekend I made Cubanos with turkey, and they were fine. Not the best I've had, but it worked as a meal, and got me parked back in front of the TV watching Billions. If I ever run for office in Miami, I will delete this post, but making this for dinner tonight, and looking forward to the sandwich, as well as the time it will allow to do other stuff.
Comments