People often ask us about our eating and cooking habits. I always say we never cook at home, and that is very close to being true. When the kids were little Tom ate out all the time, and the kids and I were more like most people, eating a lot at home. I used to worry that our children would not have many people to identify with, but the millennial generation as a whole eats out a lot. Whew!
Our refrigerator contents are comprised of a few staples like milk and juice, but it is mostly take-out boxes. And condiments. As much as I adore our pup, some of these things are just too good to give to him. Like the enormous chunk remainder of the double-cut pork chop from last week’s dinner at Lafitte. It was gorgeous, perfectly cooked, and too large. It was this slab of meat that inspired me to reuse delicious leftovers in ways that we might see in places where we would pay $20 again to eat something this gourmet. I can do this. I have been hanging around with Tom thirty years and have paid attention, learning a few things.
The Cuban sandwich (pictured ) is made of pieces/parts of things collecting in our refrigerator.
I went to an opening party at Bellegarde last week and left with bread. There was the pork chop. I thought of a Cuban sandwich. We had pickles, mustard, and cheese. Tom usually buys sliced deli ham at the store and it sits too long. I gave the dog three packages just this week. So I had to buy some fresh.
Bellegarde is a very dense bread that is, frankly, a workout for your jaw. It’s one of my favorite things about this bread. Since a Cuban sandwich is usually made with a softer bread, and since the Bellegarde was already a few days old, I rinsed it with a very quick pass under the water to soften it. Then I toasted it to make it the right consistency to yield to the manipulation required to flatten the bread for this sandwich. It was a little soggy, but the heat of the flattening made it work. Fresher bread would not require this step.
Heating an iron skillet on medium, I seared the ham. While this was cooking, I sliced the pork very thin and seared it, using a tiny bit of water to make some jus. When these meats were hot and ready, I toasted the bread with a melted pat of butter. Then I layered the pork, cheese and ham in that order so the cheese would melt. I took the other bread slice and spread mustard, loading it with pickles. (We are a pickle household.)
Smushing it down, I returned it to the skillet and turned off the heat. A final quick toasting made this Cuban everything I wanted it to be. Now when I see Tom order an enormous pork chop knowing he’ll never eat it, I will look forward to a delicious Cuban sandwich. And that next leftover steak will become a Philly cheesesteak in practically the same way.
Cuban sandwich
Bread of medium stiffness
Sliced leftover pork
Deli Chisesi ham sliced very thin
Slices of Provolone or other white cheese
Pickles
Yellow mustard
Pat of butter
Cheesesteak
Bread of medium stiffness
Thin slices of leftover steak
Provolone or other white cheese
Chopped onion
Pat of butter
