Sandwich Cubano (Cuban Sandwich)

Day Two.

One of the benefits to living in south Florida is the ability to walk into a Cuban restaurant and order a Cuban sandwich, a guava pastry, and a Cuban coffee. If you happen to be in Palm Beach County, I highly recommend Havana for a great meal.

However, if, like me, you're not in the Sunshine State, you can make your own Cuban sandwich at home.

Cuban Sandwich

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf of Cuban bread (If you can't find Cuban bread, look for a long loaf like French Bread. You're looking for very crusty outside and soft inside. A baguette will NOT work. It's not wide enough.)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup mustard (I mix 1/2 cup mustard with 3 Tbsp mayonnaise. You're not supposed to use mayo traditionally. I like it.)
• Baby Swiss. How much you use will depend on the size of your loaf of bread. You need enough to make two layers on each serving.
• 1 1/2 cups of leftover roast pork, cut into thin pieces
• Deli-thin ham (again, the amount you need depends on your bread)
• Dill pickle slices. Not rounds. Ovals are good, as are sandwich stackers.
• Butter, softened

Directions:

• Cut your loaf of bread into four equal part. Slice each horizontally, almost all the way through. Leave the halves connected on one edge.
• Spread your mustard (or mustard mayo mix) on both sides of the bread.
• Starting on the bottom slice of bread, layer your ingredients in this order: Swiss cheese, ham, pickles, roast pork, Swiss cheese.Top your sandwich. Spread both pieces of bread with softened butter.
• Place your sandwich on a preheated (to medium-high) griddle. Find something heavy (I use a plate topped with a full tea kettle) and use it to smoosh your sandwich while it toasts. After a couple minutes, flip your sandwich, smoosh it again, and let the other side toast for a minute or two. You're only toasting and smooshing and barely melting cheese. This does not heat the sandwich all the way through. If you want it heated all the way through, heat up your meats ahead of time. Remove your thoroughly smooshed sandwich from the griddle. Cut it on the diagonal into two thin triangles and serve.

Delicioso!