Dinner 6: Florida

Menu

Cuban Sandwich
Black Bean and Rice Salad with Peppers
Florida Roasted Corn, Tomato and Basil Salad
Florida Key Lime Pie

Justin's Review

I chose Florida next, because I like Florida. It's fun to visit there, because it's sunny and Mickey Mouse lives there.

We looked on the computer and found some recipes. I chose Cuban sandwiches, bean and rice salad, corn salad and a kind of pie made with limes. To make the sandwiches, first we had to make the right kind of bread and roast the pork with a special kind of sauce on it.

I kind of liked the dinner, but not really. I really liked the bread and the pork, but didn't really like the sandwich, because it was too hard to eat all at once. I did like that Mommy had to eat a pickle, because she doesn't like them, but she tried it in the sandwich anyway and said it tasted okay.

I also liked the rice and bean salad, but not the peppers in it. And I liked the corn salad, but not the tomatoes in that.

I didn't like the key lime pie because it tasted too lime-y and sour. But I liked the crust! It was like eating a cookie!

Recipes

Cuban Sandwich

(original recipe from Three Guys from Miami)

4 small loaves of Cuban bread (we used this recipe: Pan Cubano)
3 tablespoons soy margarine
1 pound sweet cured ham
1 pound Cuban pork (recipe follows)
1/2 pound sliced Swiss soy cheese
Dill pickle slices

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat.

Cut the loaves in half and spread generously with margarine.

Assemble the sandwiches in this order: pickles, pork, ham, and soy cheese.

Melt a little margarine in the frying pan. Place a sandwich on the pan, and, using a heavy skillet, bacon press or foil-wrapped brick, flatten the sandwich. Grill the sandwich for 2-3 minutes per side, until the bread is golden brown and the sandwich is about 1/3 it's original height.

Slice the sandwich diagonally and serve.

Cuban Pork

(original recipe from Three Guys from Miami)

1 4-pound pork shoulder roast
1 head of garlic (about 10-15 cloves)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup sour orange juice (or two parts orange juice, one part lemon juice and one part lime juice)
1 cup minced onion
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 cup olive oil

Mash the garlic, salt and pepper into a paste using a mortar and pestle. Combine with the orange juice, onion and oregano. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan until hot (about 220 degrees).  Remove the oil from heat and quickly whisk in the garlic-orange juice mixture until well blended. Let cool before using.

Pierce the pork roast as many times as you can with a sharp knife or fork. Pour the marinade over the pork, reserving a little for basting while roasting. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for 2 hours, then allow to return to room temperature (about 1 hour).

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Roast the pork, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 225 degrees. Continue roasting until the meat is easy to pull apart with a fork. Baste occasionally with remaining marinade.

Black Bean and Rice Salad with Peppers

(original recipe from About Food)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked long-grain rice, chilled
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
3 green onions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
fresh chopped parsley, for garnish

In a large bowl, combine beans, rice, bell peppers, and onion. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lime juice, mustard, sugar, cumin, and pepper. Add dressing to the beans and rice and stir gently to blend the ingredients. Garnish with parsley and serve chilled.

Florida Roasted Corn, Tomato and Basil Salad

(original recipe from Authentic Florida)

3 ears of corn, with the husks left on
2 pints of grape tomatoes, sliced in half
8 basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the corn, in the husks, directly on the oven rack and roast for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool, then remove the husks. Cut the corn from the cob, into a bowl. Add the tomatoes and basil.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Add the dressing to the corn salad, stir gently, cover and chill for 20-30 minutes.

Florida Key Lime Pie

(original recipe from allrecipes.com)

1 9-inch graham cracker crust
16 ounces soy cream cheese
3 cups sweetened condensed soy milk (we doubled this recipe: Dairy-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk)
3/4 cup key lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dairy-Free Whipped topping (we used this recipe: Dairy Free Whipped Cream Frosting)

In a large bowl, whip soy cream cheese until fluffy. Add condensed soy milk, lime juice, zest and salt. Whip until mixture is smooth. Pour into graham cracker crust. Cover and chill thoroughly.

Before serving, spread topping over pie.