We love our
monthly “dinner and movie” nights with our good friends. Our recent movie was “Chef” starring Jon
Favreau. If you haven’t seen it – I highly
recommend it. The theme of the movie
centers on the relationship of a father and son. And, it features delicious Cuban Sandwiches. I was in charge of making the appetizers. I thought that making Cuban Sandwiches would
be too filling, so I improvised and made a version of a Cuban, but as an
appetizer braid. I hope you enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 porketta
roast (If your market doesn’t have
porketta roasts – you can use a regular pork roast and season it well. I just happen to like the flavor of the
porketta and this allowed me to just pop it in the oven with no prep.)
8 -10 slices
of shaved ham
4 – 6 slices
of dill pickle
4 – 6 slices
of swiss cheese
Yellow Mustard
1 sheet puff
pastry
Directions:
Roast the
Porketta at 350 until done. I used a
fairly small roast – so it was cooked in just about an hour. Allow to cool and then slice into thin
pieces.
Lightly flour
a cutting board; unfold the puff pastry.
Roll it out slightly, but you want to still be able to faintly see the
creases from where it was folded.
Cut diagonal flaps
in the pastry, as shown below, leaving the middle panel intact. These will be the “braids”.
Spread the
yellow mustard down the middle of the puff pastry. Layer as follows: Pork Roast, Swiss Cheese, Pickles, Ham, Swiss
Cheese.
With the
diagonal cuts facing toward you, start folding the pieces of pastry over the
top of the middle panel – alternating sides - effectively braiding the pastry.
When all the
cuts have been braided, place on a cookie sheet and paint with egg wash.
Bake at 400
degrees for 20 minutes.
