Is there surfing in Cuba? Yes or no, we can always have a Cuban Sandwich!

What is it about Cuba?  I have always been curious about that place.  I mean, here's this little island, one hundred or so miles off the coast of the Continental United States, but it seems so odd and strange and alien to us.  When I think of Cuba I picture ancient big old American cars, a crumbling infrastructure, and, of course, Castro.  Maybe because we can't easily just jump on a plane and go there is part of the allure. I've always been a little obsessed with JFK, and of course his history is eternally tied into Cuba's, with the Bay of Pigs fiasco and that Missile Crisis, so there's that. Sam's always been intrigued by Cuba too, perhaps because he had a close friend, Oscar, who's no longer with us, who was Cuban.

Cuba's an island, surrounded on all sides by ocean, so I also wondered: do people surf in Cuba?  Well,  a quick search revealed this article from the New York Times about surfing in Cuba.  The answer is yes there is surfing in Cuba, and you should read the article -- it's really interesting. So here's the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/sports/cuban-surfers-face-hurdles-before-catching-waves.html?smid=pl-share.

You can't think about Cuba without thinking about food, because Cuban food is seriously delicious.  (okay, also Desi Arnaz comes to mind, doesn't he?  Who didn't love Desi?  He was a genius actually, pretty much helping to invent the three-camera sitcom, but that's another story!) There's some good Cuban food right here in LA. There's Porto's in Glendale www.portosbakery.com, which also has a pretty great bakery, Versailles www.versaillescuban.com, and in Silver Lake Cafe Tropical on Sunset www.cafetropicalla.com.  I love Arroz con Pollo, I like plantains, but my favorite thing to eat is a Cuban Sandwich, which is a nice thing to have for lunch after a surf. Yep, I paddled out this morning.  Conditions were not ideal though, so after a while I ditched the board and just did some wave management.  Still, as always, I worked up a hunger.  Now, let's backtrack a couple of days when we had Cuban style pork tenderloin with Chimichurri Sauce for dinner. There are always leftovers, which are perfect for Cuban sandwiches. So I'll pass along the recipe for the tenderloins first, and then we'll make these babies, which are super easy, btw. They're pressed sandwiches, so the bread comes out hot and crisp, the filling warm and the cheese all melty.  Nothing wrong with that, is there?

So for Cuban-style Pork (recipe adapted, I think, from the New York Times Magazine several years ago) you'll need:

2 one pound pork tenderloins (best quality from your butcher, as always)
3 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup, plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
A dash or two of red chili flakes, optional
*I usually half this recipe for two people. The regular recipe will easily serve four, with some leftover. It's also easy to double it.

1. Place the pork tenderloins on a double thickness of foil.  Coat with 2 teaspoons garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste, cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano and onion. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons olive oil and the orange juice. Wrap the tenderloins in the foil (ahead of time note:  this can be done several hours in advance)
2. make the chimichurri sauce: in a small bowl whisk lime juice, vinegar, remaining olive oil, garlic, oregano, red chili flakes if you like, and season with salt and pepper.  Shortly before serving stir in the chopped parsley (if you do this too far ahead the parsley will get too limp).
3. Heat your grill to medium.  If using charcoal, bank coals to one side.  If using gas, keep one side of grill cool. (note: I usually add some mesquite chips to my coals, but that's optional.  It adds a nice smokiness to the pork, though). Place wrapped pork on unheated side. Cook, turning occasionally, for 45 minutes to an hour, or until pork is 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer.
4. Let pork rest. Slice thinly and serve with Chimichurri on top, and if you like -- and you should -- rice and black beans on the side.

Now, you will have leftover roast pork. Place it on a plate and spoon any leftover Chimichurri on top.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to make Cuban sandwiches, which sometimes I've seen called Medianoches.  I'm not sure if there's a difference between a Cuban Sandwich and a Medianoche.  If anybody knows, please comment! Anyway,  you'll need, for 2 Cuban Sandwiches:

2 soft Cuban Style rolls (These can be hard to find, but if you can find Mexican-style Cemita rolls they'll work too)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Yellow mustard, optional (I've seen some recipes that include mustard and some that don't.  Up to you!)

Leftover sliced Cuban style pork, about 1/4 pound

1/4 pound plain thinly sliced boiled ham

Thinly sliced dill pickles

1/4 pound thinly sliced baby Swiss cheese

2 tablespoons melted butter

*Note:  many recipes will call for making these in a panini or sandwich press.  I don't have one, and you don't need one either as you'll see below.  But if you have one, use it!
**note 2: you might need a bit more sliced ham and cheese, depending on the size of your rolls, but don't lay it on too thick, okay?

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place a heavy cast iron skillet inside.
2. Slice rolls in half.  Spread bottom and top halves with mayonnaise.  Add mustard if you like.
3. Lay a slice or more of cheese on bottom half.  Top that with a layer of pork. Follow that with a layer of ham and then pickle slices. Top the pickle with more slices of Swiss cheese.  Place the top half of bread on the sandwiches.
4. Brush a baking sheet with melted butter and place the sandwiches on it. Brush melted butter on the top halts as well.  Using an oven mitt remove the hot skillet from the oven.  Carefully place it on top of the sandwiches. Then place the baking sheet back in the oven.  Let the sandwiches bake, with the skillet on top, for about 20-25 minutes, until they're pressed down and the cheese is melted.

Here's a couple of shots, of the sandwich making process, and also of the Cubans in the oven with the skillet on top.   

Maybe one day we'll get to Cuba. I bet at some point travel restrictions will be eased and we will just be able to jump on a plane.  It looks like it would be a fun trip.  For surfing, and for eating.