Cuban Sandwich

So…we have a serious problem.

We cannot stop buying $0.50 day-old bread from Jimmy John’s and making sandwiches out of it.

Exhibit A: Philly Cheese Steak

Exhibit B: Chipotle Chicken Sandwich

And our latest creation…

Exhibit C: Cuban Sandwhich

The Cuban is a simple sandwich, with it’s roots tracing back to Miami and Tampa Bay. Natives of both towns will tell you that they created the Cuban, but research shows that it most likely started in Miami. The Tampa version usually contains Genoa Salami or other Italian meats. We went with the more traditional Miami version, swapping out Cuban bread for Jimmy John’s day-old bread. Roast pork, ham, swiss cheese, dill pickles, and mustard…simple, but so incredible. A Cuban is usually cooked in a sandwich press called a plancha. It is basically a panini press without the grooved surfaces. I don’t know about you, but we don’t have one of those lying around our house. So we decided to come up with our own plancha.

Cuban Sandwich
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2-3

Ingredients
1 loaf Jimmy John’s day old bread, cut lengthwise
yellow mustard
5-6 dill pickle slices
5-6 slices swiss cheese
1/2 lb sliced roast pork (can be found at most deli counters)
1/2 lb sliced ham
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

Directions
Place two large pans in the oven and preheat the oven and pans to 500° F. The pans need to be long enough to hold the entire loaf of bread.

Spread a layer of mustard on both sides of the bread. Add the pickle slices to the bottom half of the bread.

Add the cheese, pork and ham to the sandwich.

Fold the sandwich together. Lightly butter the top and bottom of the bread.

Remove the hot pans from the oven. Place the closed sandwich on one pan and set the second pan on top. If the top pan is not heavy enough to smash the sandwich down, you may need to set a heavy, oven safe saute pan on top.

Bake at 500° F for 8 minutes. Remove from oven, slice and enjoy!

Crunchy, Chewy, Sweet, Salty…you get all of those attributes in this sandwich. How can something so simple be so deliciously complex?

We served the sandwich with some crunchy salt and vinegar chips. It was the perfect combo!

Officially craving another Cuban…

What are you craving right now?