Cuban Sandwich
Remember!...NO tomato!...NO bell pepper!...NO onion!...NO lettuce (shredded or otherwise)! This is better with Cuban Bread

Cuban bread or substitute French bread if you must,but NOT a baguette!

butter, softened
1 pound boiled ham sliced (Use a good quality ham.)
1 pound lechón asado (roasted Cuban pork) sliced
½ pound Swiss cheese, sliced (Use a mild Swiss, like Baby Swiss -- it has only a few holes.)
Sliced dill pickles (dill "Sandwich Stackers" work great)
Yellow mustard
To make four generous sandwiches:

Cubans use a sandwich press, but you can also use a preheated pancake griddle or large fry pan.

1. Cut the bread into sections about 8 inches long. Cut these in half and spread butter on both halves (inside). Make each sandwich with the ingredients in this order: pickles, roasted pork, ham, and cheese. Be generous!

Place the sandwich on the hot griddle (fry pan) sprayed with a little "Pam" or lightly greased. Place a heavy iron skillet or bacon press on top of the sandwich to flatten. (You really want to smash the sandwich, compressing the bread to about 1/3 its original size!) Grill the sandwiches for two to three
minutes on each side, until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden. Make sure your griddle or fry pan is not TOO HOT! Otherwise, the crust will burn before the cheese melts. Slice the sandwich in half diagonally and serve.

Cuban Shredded Pork

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless pork chops
1 pint water to cover
1 lime, juiced
1 sprig fresh thyme
8 black peppercorns
1 tablespoon garlic powder, or to taste
1 tablespoon onion powder
salt to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 lime, juiced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
1 In a large saucepan, combine water, juice of one lime, thyme sprig, peppercorns, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Bring mixture to a boil. Add pork chops, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until meat is very tender. Add more water as necessary to keep chops covered.
2 Turn off heat and let the chops rest in the broth for 30 minutes. Remove chops from broth and shred, removing excess fat; set aside.
3 In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shredded pork and fry until it is almost crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and continue to cook until the onion is just tender yet slightly crisp, about 10 minutes more. Add the juice of one lime, mix though and toss with cilantro. Serve and enjoy.
Serve with Black Beans and rice

GRANDPA ARROYO'S CUBAN BLACK BEANS & RICE

2 lbs. black beans
2 lg. bell peppers
1 c. olive oil
1/2 c. sugar
2 lg. onions
8 oz. diced pimentos
1 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. sherry
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 c. vinegar (to taste)
2 c. rice
Salt & pepper to taste
Soak black beans overnight. Cover in pressure cooker with water 2 inches over top of black beans. Cook in pressure cooker for 45 minutes. Do not drain any remaining fluid. Dice onions. Cut bell peppers into 1/2 inch by 3/4 inch slices. Add all ingredients to black beans. Simmer for 2 to 4 hours. Beans should make their own broth.
Add liquid when necessary to prevent drying out or burning, but keep broth thick. Serve over rice. Use as side dish to chicken or steak, or main dish on its own. Also, try in flour tortillas to make unique Cuban burittos.

Cuban Fritas (Cuban Hamburgers)
Posted by Marlen (My Page) on Fri, Aug 15, 03 at 0:33

This is the Cuban version of the good ole’ American hamburger. It is made into patties and served on plain hamburger buns. A deli close to my house makes them into rectangles and serves them on Cuban bread and they are superb!
Traditional Cuban fritas are served with a bit of ketchup, a sprinkle of chopped onions and a pile of shoe string potatoes right out of the can – on top of the meat, inside the bun!
The traditional version also has no lettuce or cheese, but DH sneaks it in and calls it the Cuban-American version! LOLOL
If the patties are not too firm after I form them, I return them to the refrigerator to firm up before cooking.
This is my version.

1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb/ ground pork
2 T ketchup
1/ 2 c fresh bread crumbs
1 egg beaten
1 clove garlic, minced
1 /2 c finely minced yellow onion
1/4 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients well and form into patties. Fry in olive oil or grill.
I use my George Foreman grill.

Marlen's Cantaloupe Bread
3 eggs,beaten
1 c vegetable oil
2 c granulated sugar
3 t pure vanilla extract
2 cups of pureed cantalope
3 c all-purpose flour
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
3/4 t baking powder
2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground ginger
1 c chopped walnuts

Mix eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Add pureed cantaloupe to mixture. Sift dry ingredients. Add to liquid. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9x5 loaf pans. Bake 325* for 1 hour or until done. Check after 50 minutes.