In today’s episode of The Olympic Food Tour, we travel to a place that strangely, oddly in my case because of this food journey I am taking you on, has never participated in the Winter Olympics. Country number two – CUBA! I modified this favorite because I made this on a week night, and slow roasting pork loin was not in my timeline. This is an easy recipe to make and a crowd pleaser, unless you are nine and seven years of age, and trying to make your mother’s hair gray faster than it already is.
Because this was a school night, I cheated and used pork tenderloin. In the twenty minutes it took the pork to cook I had everything else ready to go. I was having a homework battle, so I didn’t snap pics of the pork cooking. An easy breezy way, when it’s not grill season, is pan searing on both sides for a few minutes, and put in a 350° oven for twenty minutes. For the record, the night before what I had assumed (oh, did I get burned by that) would be a two hour delay because of possible icy roads, was the not the night to be grilling.
While the pork was cooking, I whipped up some garlic aioli. It’s an easy one, and let’s say for instances you were planning ahead, and maybe weren’t cramming everything in between math facts, and reviewing how to look up a word in the dictionary, you absolutely can make this ahead, and a larger batch if you need or want.
It’s a combo of mayo, Dijon mustard, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
I used whole grain mustard, but simply because it was what I had on hand.
I sliced up four ciabatta rolls. Of course, sub any bread you prefer. I like this because they hold up well with all the ingredients.
Spread the aioli. And top with sandwich sliced pickles.
Top the pickles with ham. My faves are imported and Black Forest. I had Black Forest on hand, so it seemed to make sense to go with that.
Then the tenderloin. 
Top with Swiss.
Before I returned them to the oven, I brushed melted butter on top of the buns, and sprinkled with sea salt.
In the oven for a few minutes, and everything is heated thru, and the cheese is melted.
It doesn’t get much better than this.
I added in some steamed broccoli and corn chips, a mojito, and dinner was served. This would be great with a bowl of soup in the dead of winter, or cold beer poolside in the heat of summer.
Where will we stop next on the tour?
Cuban Sandwich, makes 4
4 ciabatta rolls, sliced in half
2 T butter, melted
1 lb pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
8 slices of ham, imported or Black Forest are my faves
8 slices of Swiss cheese
1 jar of sandwich pickles
1/2 c garlic aioli, recipe below
Preheat oven to 350°. On a foil lined sheet pan, place the bottoms of the rolls. Coat with garlic aioli. Top with pickles, ham, tenderloin, cheese. Put the roll tops on. Bruch the rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, until the cheese melted and the sandwiches are heated thru. Slice and serve immediately.
Garlic Aioli, makes about 1/2 cup
1/3 c mayonaisse
2 heaping teaspoons of Dijon mustard, or mustard of your choice
1 garlic clove grated (I used a microplane)
lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
sprinkle of salt and pepper
Combine and store in an airtight container in the fridge for several weeks or more.