Open faced pulled pork sandwiches

I've been kind of lazy with my blog lately, but I have a good excuse. At least, I think it's a pretty good one. With my parents being here visiting from the U.S., we have dined out a lot, especially since it's venison season and most local restaurants serve all kinds of delicious dishes.

Also, I've just been out of town for the weekend. I went to... drumroll please... BERLIN! I had always wanted to go and, finally, I've made it there. It was amzing trip, although a short one. I'll tell you all about it in a different post, though, with pics and all that other fun stuff.

For now I'm just going to share a recipe with you, the first ever made with my brand new crockpot. You have to know that slowcookers are not popular in Europe. I know, I know. It sounds crazy, since they are so awesome and useful... still, you cannot find them anywhere. Most people don't know what they are. I missed mine so much, I started thinking about having my mom ship it to me from Florida. But then I found one on Amazon.it and forwarded the link to my sister asking her to give it to me as a birthday present. And the rest is history. I now have a crock pot and it came just in time for me to make some good slowcooked, fall recipes.

I decided to inaugurate it by making spicy pulled pork. It turned out great, and when I came home from work the house smelled delicious.

PULLED PORK
Adapted from http://www.skinnytaste.com

• 2.5 lb pork shoulder
• 6 cloves garlic cut into slivers
• cumin
• garlic powder
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2-3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 2 bay leaves

Season pork with salt and pepper. In a medium sauté pan on medium-high heat, brown it for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Using a sharp knife, cut small holes into meat and insert garlic slivers. Season with cumin and garlic powder all over.

Place chicken broth in the crockpot, add bay leaves and chipotles. Add pork in crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. After 8 hours, shred meat using two forks and combine well with the juices that accumalated at the bottom. Adjust salt and cumin. Let it cook another 15-30 minutes.

Provencal pork stew

I'm sure you all remember that, lately I've been cooking with tomatoes a lot, with homemade tomato sauce, to be precise. Ever since my coworker flooded the newsroom with beautifully ripe beefsteak tomatoes I've been making homemade tomato sauce like crazy and, subsequently, had to figure out ways to use it, other than using it as pasta sauce of course.


I found this recipe on Cooking Light's website. It caught my eye not only because it called for a lot of tomato sauce, but also because it called for other ingredients I love and had on hand: fennel, black olives and oregano. Well, I'm glad I tried it because it was amazing. I'm also glad I made a lot of it, so I had some leftovers to enjoy a couple of nights later, when I didn't feel like cooking. I love my new job but sometimes I'm really tired at night and I don't always feel like cooking. This stew keeps really well in the fridge... I'd even say it was better after two days!


PROVENCAL PORK STEW

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 4 cups sliced fennel bulb (about 2 bulbs)
• 3 1/2 cups thinly sliced onion (about 2 large)
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
• 2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup fat-free chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
• 3 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup niçoise olives
• 1/2 cup capers
• Chopped fresh oregano 

• Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add fennel and onion; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Spoon fennel mixture into a large bowl.
• Place flour in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Dredge pork in flour, shaking off excess. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add half of pork mixture; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Add browned pork to fennel mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining pork mixture, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
• Add wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in pork mixture, broth, herbes de Provence, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes or until pork is just tender.
• Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and olives. Simmer 10 minutes or until pork is tender and sauce is thick. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Barbara's "Southern Italian" lasagna

First things first: my friend Barbara is NOT from Southern Italy. She's not from Italy, period. She's from Lugano, Switzerland, land of sharp cheeses, decadent chocolate and very precise (and expensive) watches. Definitely NOT the land of lasagna, if you know what I mean. 

Still, Barbara makes a mean lasagna —one of the very best I've ever had. She learned to make this particular recipe from the mother of her ex boyfriend who is from Naples, hence the "Southern Italian" in the title. It differs from regular Bolognese style lasagna because it has layers of ham and mozzarella added to the usual meat sauce and bechamel layers —which makes it delicious, but not too light in the calorie department. 

Oh well. It's cold outside. I guess we can all use the extra calories to keep warm, right? 

SOUTHERN STYLE LASAGNA

Serves 8

1 package fresh lasagna sheets

4 cups meat sauce

2 cups bechamel sauce

12 slices of ham

3 cups shredded mozzarella

2 cups grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Spread a little bechamel sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Make a first layer with lasagna sheets, then cover it with meat sauce, bechamel, ham slices. Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. Repeat with another layer of lasagna sheet, meat sauce, bechamel, ham and cheese. Repeat until you run out of ingredients, finishing with a cheese layer.

Cook in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until bubbly.

Pork chops pizzaiola style

 Just to prove to myself and to the rest of the world that I can indeed cook something other than seafood, I made some good pork chops the other night, as I continued watching the World Cup on tv. This recipe was supposed to be made with veal chops, but since I had pork in the freezer I decided it would do. And it did. Quite nicely too.

See, one of the trickiest things about living 5,000 miles away from your boyfriend —apart the obvious ones— is to cook for one. For years I've been used to cook for two which, with his appetite, meant cooking for three or four really. And for all those years I considered cooking just for myself a real drag, which meant that, if I were alone for the night, I'd eat crap standing in front of the fridge, as my dad would say, like a savage. But now things are different. With the prospect of eating in such manner for three months, I decided that cooking for one isn't that much of a waste of time after all. So I started cooking recipes I would normally cook if Tommy or if a guest were here and, guess what? It was a great idea. I mean, if you are eating all alone, in front of the tv, talking to the cat like a lunatic, you might as well do it in style and eat something good, right?

Hence this recipe. "Pizzaiola" in Italian means "pizza-man style" and refers to pretty much anything that is prepared with tomatoes, oregano, capers and anchovies. I used fresh oregano from my miniature garden, which of course made me very proud not only because I have a mini garden, but also because I haven't killed everything in it... yet. If you don't have fresh oregano leaves on hand, use dried. It works almost just as well. 

PORK CHOPS PIZZAIOLA STYLE
Serves 4:

4 bone-in pork chops
Salt and pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 anchovy fillet
3 tablespoons capers
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Fresh oregano
Extra virgin olive oil

Heat up a little olive oil in a large frying pan. Season chops with salt and pepper and sautee them in the pan until browned on both sides. Keep warm in the oven.

In the same pan, add garlic and sautee for a couple of minutes, without  burning it. Add tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, add oregano and cook for a couple of minutes.


Add anchovy and break into the sauce using a wooden spoon. Put chops back into the pan , add capers, let the chops warm up for a minute and serve immediately.

 

Pork tacos with pineapple salsa

A funny thing about living in Southwest Florida is that everyone, and I mean everyone, when they come visit they ask two things: to eat by the water and eat "good Mexican". I'm guessing that, ideally, they would like to eat good Mexican by the water —which isn't that much to ask for, I guess. The problem is, the Naples area lacks two things when it comes to restaurants: good Mexican ones and restaurants by the water. Throughout the years I have been looking everywhere for excellent tacos and finger licking tostadas, and I've only found two places that are worth mentioning, both little holes in the wall. Nothing against little family ran eateries, but sometimes you just aren't in the mood for mariachi music blaring from half broken speakers and hours of operation that change on a daily basis.

So what to do if you are in the mood to go out for Mexican? Simple. You make it at home. Thanks to Cooking Light and the abundance of small Mexican grocery stores I have become an expert at making very satisfying tacos, tostadas and enchiladas. Not bad for an Italian girl, uh?

PORK TACOS WITH PINEAPPLE SALSA
From Cooking Light

For salsa:
2  cups  minced pineapple
1  cup  minced apple
1/4  cup  minced shallots
2  tablespoons  chopped cilantro
1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice
1/2  teaspoon  ground cumin
1/4  teaspoon  salt 

For tacos:
 
1  tablespoon  canola oil
1  cup  thinly sliced yellow onion
2  garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2  pounds  pork tenderloin, cut lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1  tablespoon  cider vinegar
1  teaspoon  dried oregano
1  teaspoon  ground cumin
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
2 tomatoes, chopped
3  chipotle chiles, canned in adobo sauce, chopped
Flour tortillas, warmed

 

To prepare salsa, combine the first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir until well blended. Cover and chill.

To prepare tacos, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion to pan and cook 2 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add pork to pan and cook 4 minutes or until pork loses its pink color, stirring occasionally. Stir in broth and next 7 ingredients (through chipotles). Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer 10 minutes or until liquid is nearly evaporated. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Serve pork mixture with tortillas and salsa.

Pork tenderloin with olives and capers

 

Well, I guess that I have already failed miserably at posting every day, but I have a good excuse. I swear. See, cooking without a dishwasher is something I'm not used to and after seeing how freaking long it took us to do the damn dishes by hand I kinda went into survival mode (surviving by using the least amount of pots and pans, that is.) But today is the big day when things are gonna change. Between 2 and 4 this afternoon the good folks from Best Buy will be delivering my brand spanking new dishwasher, so I thought I'd celebrate by posting one of my favorite recipes which, incidentally, can be made by using only one pot. It's a win-win situation, right? 

PORK TENDERLOIN WITH OLIVES AND CAPERS

From Cooking Light

• 1  pound  pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
• 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil, divided
• 1/2  cup  dry white wine
• 1/2  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2  cup  coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives
• 2  tablespoons  capers
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cut pork crosswise into 8 pieces. Pound each piece to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle both sides of the pork with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow bowl. Dredge pork in flour.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Add wine and broth; bring to a boil. Stir in olives and capers; cook 4 minutes.

Pork Stroganoff

Yes. That's right. Pork stroganoff. The recipe is usually made with tougher cuts of beef, but when I was a child my dad spoiled the hell out of me by making it with filet mignon -so going back to the tougher cuts of beef was out of the question. Good thing Cooking Light came to the rescue, as usual, giving me the idea of making Stronganoff with pork tenderloin. How cool is that? 

When I told my dad I was going to try this recipe he said "You like to cook adventurously, don't you?", which I took as a compliment since -in fact- I do enjoy pairings and ingredients that are different. This particular recipe isn't adventurous at all, in my opinion, but it tastes really really good, so if you like Stronganoff you should definitely give it a try. It also takes less than twenty minutes to make, which on any given weeknight is a blessing, and the dill/sour cream/mustard combo is finger-licking good.

PORK STROGANOFF

Adapted from Cooking Light
Serves 4

3  cups  uncooked medium egg noodles (about 6 ounces)
1  (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch strips
1/2  teaspoon  salt, divided
1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
2 1/2  teaspoons  butter, divided
Cooking spray
1/2  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2  cups  chopped onion
1  (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1  cup  low-fat sour cream
1  tablespoon  chopped fresh dill
1  tablespoon  Dijon mustard
1  teaspoon  all-purpose flour

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
Sprinkle pork with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Melt 1 1/2 teaspoons butter in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add pork; sauté 4 minutes or until pork loses its pink color. Remove pork from pan; keep warm.
Add broth to pan; cook 30 seconds. Add 1 teaspoon butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, onion, and mushrooms; cook 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat.
Combine sour cream, dill, Dijon mustard, and flour in a small bowl. Add pork and sour cream mixture to pan; stir well. Serve pork mixture immediately over noodles. Garnish with dill sprigs, if desired.

Spicy pork chili

So here's the thing: I couldn't care less about football or Superbowl. I'll be brutally honest with you: I find the game too long and not packed enough with action to hold my interest and, until yesterday, I was convinced -hopeful, really- that Superbowl Sunday was today. I say hopeful because after Superbowl is over there is a few months  of peace and quiet when I don't have to listen to football talk. Not that anyone would directly talk to me about football, but you know, they talk loud enough for me to hear. And if they are not talking they are updating their Facebook status with all-caps nonsense about the Colts or whoever else could make it to Superbowl.

One thing I like about Superbowl is the chili-eating aspect of it because chili happens to be one of my favorite dishes. Besides the fact that I love soupy meals, I like the fact that everyone makes chili in a different way and, at least when it comes to food, I will never get bored at a Superbowl party. I have three or four favorite chili recipes so far -this particular one is the latest addition. It's from -yet again- the Jan./Feb. issue of Cooking Light and it's made with pork instead of beef. I had to change the recipe a little bit, mostly because I forgot to buy some of the ingredients, but it turned out amazing: the ham hock gives it a wonderfully smoky flavor and the Mexican hot sauce delivers a nice kick.

SPICY PORK CHILI

Cooking spray

2  pounds  ground pork

3  cups  chopped onion

1  chopped green bell pepper

3  garlic cloves, minced

3  tablespoons  tomato paste

1  cup beer

Salt

3  tablespoons  chili powder

1  tablespoon  ground cumin

2  teaspoons  dried oregano

3/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

6  tomatillos, quartered

2  bay leaves

2  (14 1/2-ounce) cans plum tomatoes, undrained and chopped

1  (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained

1  (7 3/4-ounce) can Mexican hot-style tomato sauce

1  smoked ham hock (about 8 ounces)

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add ground pork to pan, season with salt and pepper to taste; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to slightly crumble. Drain well. Transfer pork to an electric slow cooker.

Recoat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in beer; cook 1 minute. Transfer onion mixture to slow cooker. Add salt, chili powder, and next 9 ingredients (through ham hock) to slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 5 hours. Remove bay leaves and ham hock; discard.

Serve with fresh cilantro, chopped green onions, or sour cream if desired.

Pork chops with sweet potatoes, apples and raisins

This morning I went to the farmer's market and, as predicted, it was a real zoo. And may I ask what the hell is wrong with pushy old people that practically walk over you to get their hands on the tomatoes? I mean, geeze! I tried to get to the tomatoes for about five minutes and eventually gave up because these old ladies just wouldn't decide which ones to choose and in the process kept elbowing me to keep me from reaching the case. The funny thing is that -due to the temperatures in the 20s and 30s we experienced at night for a couple of weeks- the produce at the farmer's market today looked pretty crappy. Regardless of that, these ladies were acting as if they had never seen better tomatoes in their life -so I let them have them, while I stocked up on squashes, onions and potatoes.

So it looks that this winter we won't be having the usual beautiful, tasty tomatoes and that we'll have to survive on recipes that were clearly not intended for Florida. These pork chops are a perfect example. I found the recipe in Susan Branch's "Heart of the home", a collection of recipes from Martha's Vineyard. Of course I changed it a bit but that with me it's a given.

PORK CHOPS WITH SWEET POTATOES, APPLES AND RAISINS
Serves 6

6 large sweet potatoes
6 bone-in pork chops
Salt and pepper
6 red apples
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Butter
1 onion, minced
3 ribs of celery, minced
2 cups breadcrumbs or cubed bread (I used cubed bread)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Peel and cut the potatoes in large chunks, then boil them for about twenty minutes. Heat a little oil in a pan, season chops with sal and pepper and brown them on both sides in the oil -about two minutes per side. Remove from pan and with a sharp knife cut a deep slit in the side of each chop.

To make stuffing melt a little butter in a pan, cook onion and celery in it until soft, seasonw with salt and pepper and add breadcrumbs or cubed bread. Fill each chop with stuffing.

Place stuffed chops and sweet potatoes in a baking pan. Halve and core the apples and place them around the chops. Sprinkle with raisins. Sprinkle apples with cinnamon and season the whole dish with salt and pepper. Cover the pan with foil and cook for about 30-40 minutes.

Comfort me with ham soup

Yesterday I finally went to the doctor to have my knee checked and was mildly surprised when he told me that I have a fractured knee cap. The good news, he said, is that it doesn't need surgery and doesn't need a cast. Only six weeks of crutches and a removable knee brace. At first I was giddy with excitement -who wouldn't be after finding out she doesn't need surgery? But then reality sunk in. The truth is, I wasn't expecting a broken bone for the simple reason that I had never broken a bone before. I skied like maniac for twenty years, went ice-skating, horse back riding, played tennis, soccer and volleyball, waterskied, wakeboarded and surfed. And I never broke a bone. Then I cook Thaksgiving dinner, I slip, and I end up with a fractured knee cap. Seriously. What the hell?!?

Anyhow, after this first realization sunk in another one dawned on me. Six weeks with crutches is a long freaking time. I mean, in six weeks we'll be in 2010 and Christmas will have come and gone, and so will have New Years. And for this long stretch of time I'll be limping around like little Timmy, only with a less cheery attitude and more alcohol in my free hand.

A bunch of questions immediately arose. How am I going to decorate the house? What about the Christmas tree? Who's going to cook now that I can't stand for more than 2 minutes without getting tired? How stupid am I going to look in my fabulous red dress, killer heels and crutches? What am I going to do about our plans to go to New Orleans next week?

The only one I could answer right away was the one about the cooking. I'll still cook. I'll take a chair and sit by the stove and limp around the kitchen to gather ingredients, but I'll cook nevertheless. Otherwise I'm going to go crazy and crazy right now is no good since I'm already pissed. So I cheered myself up by making one of my favorite soups in the world, my version of the US Senate ham and bean soup. I had leftover ham from when my friends were here for Thanksgiving and also some leftover mashed potatoes. Bean were in the pantry and my fridge was packed with fresh herbs -what else could I ask for? (Besides a healed knee, that is.)

HAM AND BEAN SOUP

One ham bone (with a little meat attached)
4 cups leftover ham meat, cut into strips
8 cups of water
Salt and pepper to taste
2 sprigs of thyme
A few sage leaves
2 large onions
2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1 pound navy beans, soaked overnight

Place ham bone, water and one chopped onion in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, add thyme and lower heat to low. Simmer for at least four hours.

Remove and discard solids. Add beans to ham broth, season with salt and pepper and add sage. Simmer on low for two hours, until beans are tender. Add a chopped onion, mashed potatoes and ham meat. Simmer for another 20 minutes, until warm. Adjust seasoning and serve.

Pork and sweet potato goulash

I know. Goulash isn't made with pork and usually you don't see sweet potatoes anywhere near it. But as it often happens with me, I had decided that that's what I wanted to cook last night and -dammit- nothing was going to stop me from having a delicious bowl of goulash. Not the fact that I didn't have beef in the fridge. Or potatoes in the pantry. Or pink paprika, for that matter. I decided that pork, yams and hot smoked paprika would make wonderful substitutes and well, they did. Of course my goulash had little to do with the stew I used to eat in the Italian Alps near the border of Austria. It was thicker and spicier, and at the same time sweeter because of the sweet potatoes. In one word, it was good, just the perfect way to end an almost flawless weekend. I served mine over egg noodles, but I'm sure it's very good by itself or, if you are feeling creative, with rice.

PORK AND SWEET POTATO GOULASH:

1 1/2 pounds pork loin, cubed
2 yellow onions, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cipolle bionde, tritate
3 tabelspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 carrot, sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Heat a little oil in a casserole, add the onions and sautee for a few minutes, until tender. Add garlic and pork, season with salt and pepper to taste and stir well. Lower heat to low. Stir in paprika and cumin, mix well and pour in a cup of water. Simmer on low for about 45 minutes.

Add potatoes, carrot, bell pepper and more water, enough to cover the stew. Cook for ten minutes more, then add the tomatoes. Adjust salt and pepper, cook for ten minutes more and serve over egg noodles.

Pork chops "Robert"

I have no clue who Robert is and my friend Google for once hasn't shed any light on my dilemma. I have been going through the "Mastering the art of French cooking" tome lately and the more I read it the less I believe I'll ever master said art, mainly because I usually leave the office between 6 and 7 p.m., which means that I don't have hours to dedicate to the preparation of my meals. Mastering the art of French cooking is a great book written -as Julia Child herself announces in the introduction- "for the servantless American cook". What good old Julia didn't take into account is that in 2009 the avarage American cook not only would be servantless, but would also be employed full-time, a detail that makes most of the recipes in the book impossible to make on a week day. Or at least it makes it impossible for me -Julie Powell did it so I guess it is technically possible. To make a long story short, I was going through the book the other day and I happened to find a recipe for cotes de porc Robert, a recipe that not only sounded yummy but also reasonably quick to make (I mean reasonably quick by 1950s standards, it takes about an hour). So I made it and I have to say it was the best pork chops I have had in a long time: slow-cooked, juicy and smothered in a savory tomato sauce. What else can one ask for?

PORK CHOPS ROBERT
For two

2 thick-cut, bone-in pork chops
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup minced onion
All-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup good quality chopped tomatoes out of a can
Salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon sage
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup beef stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Fresh chopped basil

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper.Brown them in an oven-proof casserole over medium high heat. Remove from casserole and set aside. Brown the onions in some butter on low heat, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Sift flour over onions and cook for two minutes more.

Preheat oven to 300F.

Add canned tomatoes, sage, salt, wine and stock. Simmer for a few minutes. Add tomato paste, taste and adjust seasoning. Place cooked chops back in casserole and baste with tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer, cover and place in the oven. Cook for about 20 minutes or until pork is done. Garnish with basil and serve immediately.

Bánh mì

As it often happens with my favorite foods, bánh mì isn't readily available where I live. It's not that I'm crazy picky, it has more to do with the fact that Naples is a pretty mainstream town where ethnic options aren't always plentiful and exciting.
If you ask me, the bánh mì -a Vietnamese sandwich of crunchy baguette, rich pate', spicy pork and refreshing veggies- is possibly one of the best sandwiches in the world, along with the Cuban, the Italian prosciutto di Parma with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes and grilled ham and cheese. After reading a couple of articles about it in cooking magazines such as Cooking Light and Bon Appetit I decided to take the matter in my hands and make it home. It was a hit and it's fairly simple to make once you buy a couple of ingredients from your local Asian market.

BANH MI
Makes 4 sandwiches

1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup grated peeled daikon radish
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Salt
4 tablespoons chili garlic sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 1/2 pound pork tenderloin
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 baguettes
Thin cucumber slices
Fresh cilantro sprigs
2 thinly sliced green onions
1 thinly sliced jalapeño pepper

Combine carrot, radish, vinegar, brown sugar and salt to taste, cover and let stand at least 15 minutes. Drain.

Preheat oven to 400°. Mix chili garlic sauce and 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, stir well. Sprinkle the pork with 1/2 teaspoon salt and baste with 2 tablespoons of the chili garlic sauce mixture. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Cool and refrigerate.

Combine mayonnaise and remaining chili garlic sauce mixture.

Cut each baguette horizontally, cutting to, but not through, the other side. Spread mayonnaise mixture inside baguettes. Thinly slice pork; divide pork between baguettes. Top with carrot mixture. Arrange cucumber slices and cilantro sprigs on each baguette. Top with onions and jalapeño. Press top gently to close; cut each baguette into 4 equal servings and press in panini press if desired.