Grilled Cubans and Mojitos...welcome to the islands

Or welcome to Miami, either way its good sh*t. We love Cuban sandwiches, we got hooked on them at one of our favorite water side restaurants in Mount Pleasant call Vickery's. (If your in town I highly recommend checking it out) We decided to take the cuban beyond the normal panini press (aka a George Forman grill with my knife block on top of it) and out to the grill. Taking it one step even further we had the deli slice the meat 1/8 inch thick so we could grill the it before assembling the sandwich and panining it up (read smashing it with a brick)

Cubans (two sandwiches)
1 Loaf Cuban Bread
4 1/8" Slices  roast pork
4 1/8" Slices  tavern ham
4 Slices swiss cheese
8 kosher pickle sandwich slices (I took 2 whole pickles and introduced them to my mandolin)
~2 Tbs yellow mustard
Salt and Pepper

Heat your grill to med-low. Wrap two bricks in tin foil. You will want to set up a tray to work with by the grill, things cook quick. On the tray have your meat, mustard, salt and pepper, and bread (split). Grill the ham and pork for 1-2 mins on each side seasoning with pepper. On each half of the bread spread the mustard (about 1 Tbs per sandwich or more if you like). On the bottom half layer the cheese, pork, ham, then pickles. Season with salt and pepper and top with the other half of the bread. Lower the grill to low and place each sandwich on the grill. Press them down with the brick and leave it on top of the sandwich. Grill for about two mins, remove the brick, flip the sandwich, replace the brick (pressing down) and grill about 2 mins longer. (Careful bread burns quickly)

Cut the sandwiches in half, grab a glass of Mojito and enjoy!

Fig Stuffed Pork Loin..almost by the book

So we were trying another Thomas Keller recipe from Ad Hoc at home, this one took some adapting. Lets start off by saying there is a difference between pork tenderloin and pork loin...The tenderloin is those two skinny loins you get at public, the loin is the monster roast you get at costco. (You may be able to find them in your grocery store but I didn't) Let me follow up by saying February is not fig season, good luck finding fresh ones. Three stores later I decide F it, dried figs will work too ;) The end product was great but this dish was an all day affair. The recipe below is what I did to make it work, do yourself a favor and get the pork loin and stuff it instead of the nonsense I did with the tenderloin

The long way is to brine the pork and make your own fig jam for the stuffing. You could of course cheat and not brine (won't be as tender) and buy fig jam...

2 1/2 Lbs Pork Tenderloin
Pork Brine (recipe to follow)
2 Tbsp Oil (vegetable or other neutral)
1/2 C cubed bread (1/2" cube, ciabatta)
1 Fennel Bulb, cut 1 1/2" matchsticks (1/2 cup)
1 Shallot, minced
4 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1/4 C Chicken Stock
1 Tsp thyme, finely minced
1 Cup Fig Jam (recipe to follow, or cheat)
Salt and Pepper

Brine:
8 Cups water
1 Cup kosher salt
1/4 C honey
1/2 bunch thyme
3 Sprigs Rosemary
Handfull of chopped parsley
5 Garlic cloves smashed
2 Tsp whole peppercorns

To make the brine, combine all ingredients, bring to a boil, dissolve salt, remove from heat. Let cool completely before using.

Fig Jam:
1 Lbs Dried Figs (2 lbs of fresh would have been better)
1 1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Balsamic vinegar
1 Tsp Peppercorns, tied in a satchel (I used a coffee filter because i didn't have cheese cloth)
1/2 Lemon, juice

To make the Jam:
Roughly chop to figs. Combine figs, sugar, vinegar, and pepper satchel in a med sauce pot. Heat over med-high heat until it just simmers, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and insert a candy thermometer. When the temp hits 215 remove from the heat. Let cool and store in an sir tight container.


To make the Roast:
Brine the pork for 6-10 hours. Remove from brine and rinse under cold water. Pat dry and let the pork sit out until it comes to room tempeture. Heat the oven to 350.  Meanwhile make the stuffing. In a large skillet heat oil over med-high heat. Add the bread cubes and season with salt and pepper. Cook browning on both sides 2 mins. Remove bread and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Return pan to the heat and add the fennel. Cook until soft on the outside and crisp in the middle, 3-4 mins. Add the shallots and garlic, cook 1 min. Add the jam, thyme and chicken stock. Heat through. Remove from heat and let cool.

The tricky part with tenderloins...On a cutting board put the two loins together and fill the middle with the stuffing. Truss together the two tenderloins. (The bottom should be touching and the top will be slightly open.) Season the roast with salt and pepper. In a large skillet heat oil over med-high until smoking. Brown the roast on each side. Then place in a roasting pan. Roast in the oven for 30-40mins, until a instant read thermometer reads 135-140. Let rest for 30 mins then slice.

Enjoy!

Wontons--reinventing leftovers in the Lemire house since 2006

So Ryan was off to a business dinner leaving me to fend for myself to fill my grumbly tummy and we had about 4 lbs of pork leftover from the slow cooked asian pork the other night. In the spirit of being economical (and a lil lazy), it was time to bust out the wontons for "wrap and resuse" of the pork. I will admit that I cheated ever so slightly by using pre-made wonton wrappers (again, i'm a lil lazy).

The result of this dinner remix was awesome and ridiculously easy to pull together (aka...i didn't burn down the house without my husband's supervision). My only tip is that you may want to adjust the heat of the pepper (if you're a weenie)....

Left over Pork Shoulder, shredded
1 Package of Wonton Wrappers
2 Egg Whites
2 Tbls Olive Oil
2 Carrots, Sliced
3 Scallions, Sliced
1 Serrano Pepper, finely sliced
1 Quart Chicken Broth
1/4 C Soy Sauce
1 Pint Water


For the Wontons pile a small about of pork (around a tablespoon) in the center of a wrapper, brush the edges with egg white and fold over forming a triangle. Press the edges together ensuring you get all the air out of the center. Bring the two far corners of the triangle together and seal with egg white, repeat until your out of wontons, out of pork, sick of making them, or any combination there of.

For the broth heat a large sauce pan or a pasta pot over med-high heat. Add the oil and the carrots, cook about 5 min until the carrots begin to get soft on the outside. Add the peppers and cook down one min. Add the scallions, broth, soy sauce, and water. Season with freshly cracked pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let simmer about 10 mins then add the wontons. The wontons should could in 3-4 mins, pull one out and try it, thats the only real way to know.

Ladle in a bowl and garnish with fresh scallions.

Enjoy