Cubanos and Avocado Citrus Salad

The recipe I made for Pernil the other night was supposed to make enough for 8 servings, but honestly I think there may have been more servings than that.  Perhaps I just eat really small servings of meat??  Either way I ended up with a whole LOT of seasoned pork leftover.  I had planned to make these Cubanos (calzone-like pork sandwiches) with a recipe from the my White Rachel ray Binder, but since the meat didn't really go over well with the kids (technically fulfilling the goal of getting them to try one bite) I figured I wouldn't waste food making them one.  So I whipped up some pizza sauce really quick and made one Cubano for me, 3 cheese calzones for the kids and one hybrid Cubano for my husband.  I used pizza sauce, the ham, the leftover pork (he never even knew there were onions in it...insert evil laugh here) and shredded mozzarella instead of the Swiss cheese for his. 

I am usually not a fan of mustard or pickle relish.  On the rare occasion I actually eat a hot dog, I can put a little bit of mustard to counter out the huge amount of ketchup I put on.  I can eat mustard on a bologna sandwich (which is even rarer still....although not really a far stretch from a hot dog!).  I can put a little mustard in sauces or dressings if I need to, but I usually use a whole lot less than the recipe calls for.  I am also usually not a fan of pickle relish either except for in a tuna fish sandwich or in tartar sauce.  So I was pretty hesitant to try the Cubano in the first place.  I am so very glad I decided to be daring because the combination of all the ingredients together made a delicious sandwich.  The inside was sweet and tangy at the same time and the outside was crunchy and golden brown!  It felt like eating a glorified Hot Pocket.  More leftover pork was going to be used in a second meal of pork fried rice, but the Cubano was so good I decided instead to make more of the pork filling with the remainder of the meat.  Then made another batch of calzone dough and baked 4 more Cubanos.  I ate 1 for lunch that day and wrapped the other 3 individually in aluminum foil and placed them in a Ziploc freezer bag to heat up for a day where there are no leftovers for lunch or a quick dinner if I make the kids grilled cheese and tomato soup.  I'm thinking they will probably reheat pretty well if I stick them back in the oven for 15 mins or so.

I served it with an Avocado Citrus Salad (also from the White Rachel Ray Binder).  I wasn't a huge fan of the salad.  The kalamata olives and grapefruit made everything on the bitter side.  I think it might have tasted better using the dressing from the Avocado & Pineapple Salad I made the other night...I think the sweetness of the dressing would have cut the bitterness quite a bit.  I did eat a whole bowl of it and honestly as I went along the salad did grow on me.  I liked the segmented grapefruit in it and the radishes were okay, but next time I would use regular black olives instead of the kalamata and use the sweeter citrus dressing.  Honestly though I think the Cubano would be awesome with some spicy sweet potato french fries.  Maybe I'll bake some the next time I reheat a Cubano from the freezer!  For the record, I think I can officially say that I'm sold on Cuban food!

Cubanos

*This recipe would make 5 Cubanos.  I'm pretty sure any leftover pork cooked in the oven or crockpot would work in this recipe.  The pictures look like a lot less because I was only making the one when I took the pictures.  When I made the other 4 my proportions were closer to the actual recipe below.  I make the calzone dough in my bread maker, but you could use ready-made pizza dough.

2 tbsp cornmeal

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 1/2 c chopped Pernil

1 lb calzone dough (or other ready-made pizza dough) cut into 5 pieces.

10 slices of boiled ham

1/4 c yellow mustard

1/4 c sweet pickle relish

5 slices of Swiss cheese

1 tbsp milk

1 egg



In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and cook about 12 mins. until softened and brown.

Add the chopped pork and heat through.

Add the pork mixture to a food processor and pulse until combined.

The calzone dough.

Roll each dough into an 8" circle...we have no rolling pin so the Assistant Chef just jumped right in with the "pat flat" method.

On each dough circle, place one slice of ham, some mustard and 1 tsp pickle relish (I think I might have added more than a tsp).

Then add 2 heaping tbsps of pork mixture.  My tbsps were EXTREMELY heaping.

Then add a slice of Swiss cheese.

Top with another slice of ham.

Using a little water, moisten the edges of the dough and fold the dough in half.  Press the edges together to seal.

Grease a baking sheet and sprinkle with the cornmeal.  Transfer the Cubano to the prepared baking sheet.

In a small bowl, mix together the egg and milk.

Brush the egg mixture over the Cubano with a pastry brush.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 mins until golden brown.

The Cubano!!

The delicious filling.

Avocado Citrus Salad

A little more than 1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

1 head Boston lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces

2 pink grapefruits, segmented (click here if you don't know how to segment a grapefruit)

1 avocado, thinly sliced

6 radishes, thinly sliced

1/2 c pitted kalamata olives

Whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Place the lettuce in a large bowl and add 1/2 the dressing.  Toss to coat well.  Add remaining ingredients and top with remainder of the dressing.  Toss gently and serve.

Avocado Citrus Salad