Kind of Cuban Sandwich

I've been vaguely craving a Cuban sandwich since I saw Chef, the Jon Favreau movie with the Cuban food truck (which is on Netflix Instant now!), a few months ago. Such a cute movie! I kept expecting something terrible to happen with the kid, but (spoiler alert?) everyone just keeps getting happier and eats delicious-looking meat.

Making this sandwich reminded me of the Croque Monsieur I posted a while ago - I need to make that again!! It was pretty simple and very very good.

Kind of Cuban Sandwich

Makes 1 sandwich, multiply for more

1 roll of bun (It should be crispy outside, soft inside. I used both ends of a loaf of ciabatta for this one.)

3 slices pork (I had roasted a pork tenderloin)

2 slices turkey

2 slices dill pickle

2 slices provolone cheese

1 tsp yellow mustard

Spread yellow mustard on the inside of the bread. Layer on the pork, turkey, pickles and cheese. Then either use a panini press or grill in an oiled skillet by placing something heavy on top - I used a bigger cast iron skillet and a smaller on top. 

Fig & Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

I've had my eye on this recipe for a few months - I usually have Trader Joe's fig butter and balsamic vinegar on hand but I hadn't bought the pork. Finally I had all of the ingredients on this nice, short ingredient list on hand so it was time to try it out. I really appreciate recipes like this that have a lot of flavor but include just a few interesting ingredients and are short on prep time. 

Fig & Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

From Skinnytaste

1 pork tenderloin

salt & seasoning to taste (a little garlic powder or a spice mix, nothing too strong)
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp fig butter
(optional) chopped parsley for garnish

Honey & Spice Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Apricots

We had our grandparents over for dinner for the first time at the new place, and I made this pork tenderloin dish with apricots. I was very satisfied with this dinner! It looked impressive but was really easy and quick to make. I'm already excited to make it again, changing the fruit out with whatever's seasonal.

I had never cooked pork before, but Julia talks about all of her pork dishes all the time. (So she should post some recipes...) This dish has officially converted me to pork cooking because it was so delicious for such a simple and cheap meal. I got the pork tenderloins at Aldi for a good price, so the total cost was really low for feeding a group of people. I got home from work at 5:30 and dinner was on the table and looking good on one of Michelle's wedding present serving dishes by about 6:15!

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• ***Photos courtesy of Linda and her iPhone!!

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HONEY & SPICE GLAZED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH APRICOTS

Adapted from Wholeliving.com, where it's a grilled dish (Martha Stewart)

1 teaspoon coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, plus freshly ground pepper for pork

3/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for pork

1 organic pork tenderloin (1 1/4 pounds)

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for scallions and apricots

8 scallions

6 medium-ripe apricots (about 1 pound), halved and pitted