I know this is late, but here are some of the recipes I made at our Cuban/Mambo themed party.
Herbed Mojo Chicken
I adapted this from a recipe I found on Recipezaar.com.
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Ingredients
- 3 lbsChicken Wings (skin on)
- 1 tbsplime zest
- 1/4 cuplime juice
- 3garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tbspchopped fresh coriander
- 2 tbspchopped fresh basil leaves
- 1 tspred pepper flakes (to taste)
- salt
- 1/4 cupolive oil
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Cuban Mojo
- 2 tbspchopped fresh parsley
- 2 tbspchopped fresh coriander
- 2 tbspchopped garlic
- salt
- ¼ cupfresh lime juice
- ¼ cupfresh orange juice
- 1 tsphot pepper sauce
- ¼ cupolive oil
Trim fat and extra skin from wings. Combine lime zest and juice, garlic, herbs, red pepper flakes, salt and 3 tbsp oil in a bowl. Toss with chicken and marinate for 1 hour on the counter or up to 4 hours, refrigerated.
Preheat oven to 400°F
Heat remaining oil in non-stick skillet. Drain chicken, add the pieces skin-side-down, do not crowd the pan. Fry 3 minutes. Turn over and fry 1 minute more. Continue browning remaining chicken.
Place on rack in oven over a baking sheet and bake 20 minutes or until juices are clear.
To make the mojo:
Combine all ingredients except olive oil in bowl. Heat olive oil in a pot until very hot. Pour olive oil over mixture. Cool and reserve until needed. Serve chicken drizzled with mojo sauce, or keep sauce on the side for dipping.
Cuban Bread
This is the bread recipe I used to make the Cuban Sandwiches with from Recipezarr.com
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Ingredients
- 3packages active dry yeast (eg Fleischmanns)
- 4tspsbrown sugar
- 2 cupswater
- 5–6 cupsbread flour, divided
- 1 Tbspsalt
- cornmeal, for sprinkling on baking sheet
- 1egg (or 1 egg white mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash)
- 3/4 cuphot water
Combine yeast, brown sugar and warm water in a large mixing bowl; stir to mix. Stir in 2 cups of the flour; beat well. Let stand 10 minutes for yeast to develop. Stir in salt. Add remaining 3 to 4 cups flour, about 1 cup at a time, stirring after each addition, until a stiff dough forms.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 8 to 10 minutes, adding more flour as needed to keep dough manageable. Dough should be smooth, elastic and not sticky.
Oil the surface of the dough and put it in the rinsed mixing bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place 45 to 60 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
Punch down dough. Knead lightly. Form into two long loaves.
Sprinkle cornmeal on a baking sheet; place loaves on baking sheet. Let rise, uncovered, 10 minutes. Using a sharp knife or razor blade, make 3 or 4 diagonal slashes in the top of each loaf. Brush loaves with egg wash.
Place on middle shelf of a cold oven. Place a shallow pan on the bottom shelf; pour hot water into pan. Set oven temperature at 400 degrees and bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until loaves are well browned and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from baking sheet and let cool on wire racks.
Note: For the best results, this recipe requires bread flour. All-purpose flour works, but it often produces a low loaf if it is not kneaded thoroughly. Notice the absence of oil or butter in the dough, which makes the bread crustier. This bread is so good you won’t have to worry much about leftovers, but if you think you’ll use only one loaf within a day, don’t freeze the other—just give it away!
Cuban Sandwiches
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Ingredients
- Sliced Cuban Bread (see above)
- Shaved Ham (I used Serrano, a Spanish ham)
- Thin sliced Salami (I used Geona Salami)
- Slices Swiss Cheese
- Thin sliced Red Onion
- Sliced Dill Pickles
- Dijon Mustard
- Butter
No quantities/measurements given since, this all depends on how big or how many you want to make. The steps are pretty easy:
- Have 2 cast iron skillets heating on the stove, make sure one is larger, since you will be stacking them to press the sandwiches
- Slice the bread about 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick and spread both sides with mustard
- Pile on the meat
- Put a slice or two of cheese
- Add the onions and a good hand-full of pickles (the more the better)
- Close the sandwich and slather both sides with butter
- Place the sandwich on the larger skillet, cover with foil and press the smaller skillet down on it. Both skillets should be hot so it will toast on both sides simultaneously. (If you must you can use your new-fangled pannini press, but it won’t be as fun)
- Once the bread is nice and toasty and there is cheese coming out the sides, your sandwich is ready, enjoy!
There they are. We had a great turn-out and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. If you were there, thanks for coming!
