American Cuisine

Hello ladies and gents today we have another delicious dish and this week we are going to the great state of.

FLORIDA

Before we begin just go and google florida flag because someone has put it on top of the texas map (really funny to me)

Floribbean cuisine is found in varying forms in Florida restaurants and in the homes of many Floridians throughout the state. The essence of what makes a particular dish "Floribbean" is similar to that of certain other aspects of variable Floridian culture: it is influenced by visitors and immigrants from all over the world, but especially from the Caribbean (with notable influence from Haiti, the Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago), Cuba and Puerto Rico. 

In the case of southern Florida in particular, a subdivision called Latin-Floribbean or Hispano-Floribbean cuisine also borrows features of Latin American cuisine from such countries as Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic, as well as the US commonwealth of Puerto Rico, adding more influences to the mix. 

To distinguish the Latin Caribbean style from the non-Latin Caribbean style, the terms Afro-Floribbean cuisine and Indo-Floribbean cuisine are sometimes used, as the majority of the Caribbean islands have substantial populations of African or Indian heritage, descendants of slaves or immigrants transported to the islands colonized by British, French, and Dutch settlers

When we was choosing which dish to choose which took a age because they all look amazing so in the end we got a dart board and blindfolded one of us and she threw a dart at the dish we was going to choose which is this amazing looking dish.

CUBAN SANDWICHES

Ingredients

1 pound boneless pork shoulder

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, peeled and gently smashed with the side of your knife

1/4 teaspoon dried red chili flakes

1 medium onion, sliced

1 cup fresh orange juice

1 lime, juiced

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1 long Cuban bread roll

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

8 thin slices Swiss cheese

1 cup bread and butter pickles

8 thin slices deli ham

Olive oil

You can do this in a regular Dutch oven, but for convenience and time use a pressure cooker as follows

Directions

Begin by braising the pork shoulder. Tie the shoulder in 4 places with kitchen twine so it will hold its shape while being cooked or ask your butcher to do this for you. Season the pork with salt, pepper, cumin and oregano. Set the base of a pressure cooker over low-medium heat and add a 2 count of olive oil.

Add garlic and chili flakes and as the oil heats up it will become fragrant and infuse the oil. Add the pork. Add onions around the pork and brown slightly before adding orange juice, lime juice, stock and bay leaves.

Secure the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for 20 to 25 minutes depending on the size of your pressure cooker. The pork should be tender when done. When done allow to cool in juices before removing twine and slicing.

To prepare Cuban sandwiches, split bread in half then layer the sandwich with mustard, cheese, pickles, ham, pork then cheese again (the cheese glues everything together). Season with salt and pepper in between the ham and pork layers. (Optional: drizzle a little of the pork braising liquid over the meat as well).

To cook, heat a large cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium heat and lightly coat with olive oil. Place the sandwiches on the skillet and top with another heavy skillet and a couple of heavy weights (bricks, or cans of tomatoes work well). Press down firmly and cook for 5 to 7 minutes per side until the sandwich has compressed to about a third of its original size and the bread is super-crispy. Serve with beans, rice and plantain chips.

Anyone else drooling? As always have a chilled day from the Viking.