Cuban Sandwich

This recipe is from my friend Neil Durrance. He grew up in Florida, loves a good Cuban sandwich, and has introduced us all to this delicious combination of meat, cheese, pickles, mustard and bread. Yes, the bread, and Neil is very particular about the bread. It must be Cuban bread which is fabulous. Anything else is just not going to do. The recipe below is actually a Miami Cuban, and there is another Cuban sandwich called the Tampa Cuban. For this sandwich you follow the same recipe except you add Genoa salami. The Miami Cubans claim the addition of salami comes from the influence of the Italians marrying Cubans living in Tampa. There has been a long debate of who is correct and which sandwich is true. No matter, they both taste great. enJOY!

• Cuban Bread
• Spanish pork, sliced
• Sweet Ham, sliced
• Swiss cheese
• Yellow mustard
• Dill pickle chips

Assemble sandwich. Heat sandwich using a Panini machine until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted, pressed, and flattened. Serve warm.

Note: To heat the sandwich if you do not have a Panini machine. Wrap each individual sandwich in foil, place sandwich on a baking dish and cover with another baking dish. Use a heavy fry pan, like cast iron, to weigh down the sandwich to flatten it. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese had melted.

Publix is the best place to find the Spanish pork and sweet ham in the deli section. If shopping in another store ask for spicy pork and honey maple ham. The bread is very important, and Publix is the best place to find Cuban bread. To keep these jars filled with boiling water in the bottom of a cooler. I use canning jars with lids that seal.

Place the sandwiches individually wrapped in foil in the hot cooler on top of the jars. You’ll find the sandwiches stay perfectly hot for one to two hours depending on the number of jars you place in the cooler.