Havana Nights!

I am ashamed to say that it took me almost a complete year to really delve into Bobby Flay’s Throw Down cookbook, which Dawn gave me as a Valentine's Day present last year. It had nothing to do with my interest in the recipes inside. Simply, that just about every time I would go on a recipe hunt I used the internet since I wasn’t at my house. But after the smashing success of Bobby’s Mac & Cheese, I decided to see what other recipes intrigued me. It didn’t take me long. Actually, I now have a Throw Down recipe waiting list. In particular, there are several chicken recipes that I want to take a shot at. The ironic thing here is that not more than a year ago, I hated chicken. The only form of chicken I would eat was nugget form. I don’t really have a reason. Maybe I just had some really bad experiences, but I never seemed to find any chicken that I liked. But then like many things, Dawn perked my interest. I can’t remember if it was due to a chicken dish she made me, or if it was her suggestion that I BBQ some chicken, which led to my first original Aric Merrill recipe, Raspberry Chicken (which I will post about after Christmas), but it worked. Chicken is my new favorite food to cook. Let’s get back on track here.

As I was saying, I identified several dishes that I wanted to prepare, but was most interested by Bobby Flay’s Cuban Pork with Sour Orange Sauce. Now some of you may be confused since I spent the whole first paragraph rattling on about chicken, and those of you who know me may be confused because you know I don’t eat pork. Well the marinade and the mojo dipping sauce for this Cuban pork sounded so amazing so decided I had to try it and thought it would go great with Chicken; I was not disappointed. The Cuban pork got me all riled up and I decided that we needed to do a cultural theme so I found a great recipe for a Cuban salad to pair with the chicken. Let’s delve into the salad straight away.

Avocado & Pineapple Salad

The salad itself its incredibly simple. Just combine the following items:

Shredded iceberg lettuce
2 Cups Pineapple Chunks
1 Large Avocado, peeled and cut into cubes
1 Small onion, sliced thin

This recipe did come with its own simple vinaigrette dressing, but I found the following recipe for a Cuban Mango Mojo that sounded to die for, and I figured it would make a wicked good salad dressing.

Cuban Mango Mojo

2 Cups fresh mango
½ Cup fresh lime juice
½ cup fresh orange juice
1 red onion, diced
¼ Cup garlic, chopped
¼ Cup ginger, chopped
1Tbsp. sugar
1 Bunch Cilantro, minced
2 Cups Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

A few points of interest. This is the original recipe. It makes a lot of Mojo. I cut up 2 fresh mangos, used the juice from 2-3 fresh limes, used store bought OJ, used about ½ an onion, used about 4 cloves of garlic, and much closer to 1/8 cup of ginger, and no more than 2/3 cup of olive oil. But play it by ear to see what seems to be working for you.

Directions:

Mix the all the ingredients into a blender and puree. Use the olive oil to get to the consistency you desire. Use the salt & Pepper to season to your preferred taste. Once completed, simply pour over the salad and enjoy.


Bobby Flay’s Cuban Pork (or Chicken) with Sour Orange Sauce

Interestingly enough, Bobby’s recipe differs ever so slightly from the recipe I have posted here, which was found on the internet, to the one he has in his cook book.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups fresh orange juice, divided
1 1/4 cups fresh lime juice, divided
1 orange, zested
1 lime, zested
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh oregano, divided
12 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1 bone-in pork shoulder (about 4 to 6-pounds), trimmed of excess fat (I used a couple of chicken breasts)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mojo Dipping Sauce, recipe follows

Directions:

Combine 4 cups of the orange juice and 1 cup of the lime juice and zest in a large saucepan over high heat and reduce to 2 cups. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining orange juice and lime juice add a few cloves of garlic and 1/4 cup of the oregano. Let cool to room temperature.

Using a paring knife, make small slits over the entire surface of the pork and rub the garlic into the slashes. Whisk together the oil and remaining 1/4 cup of the oregano in a large roasting pan, add the pork and turn to coat, cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. I also grilled my chicken on the BBQ. The BBQ season is rapidly coming to an end, so I’m using every excuse in the book to get outside and grill.

Remove the pork from the refrigerator 30 minutes before roasting. Season the pork with salt and pepper and cook for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and continue roasting, basting with the marinade during the last 30 minutes of roasting until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reaches 150 degrees F. Remove from the oven, baste with any remaining glaze, tent loosely and let rest 15 minutes before slicing.

Mojo Dipping Sauce:

8 cloves garlic
1 serrano chile, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
Salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Using a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic, serrano, cilantro and a few pinches of salt until it becomes a paste. Add the orange juice, lime juice and oil and stir to combine.

Dawn will be following up with a post explaining the beans you've seen in the photos throughout this post.