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Now keep in mind I use the term po-boy for this recipe, and I will use it lightly. I say that only to the fact that this po-boy is not “dressed”, meaning, it is not slathered with mayonnaise and topped with tomatoes and thinly sliced lettuce.

As my wife was gone this past week, this was an opportunity for me to get my food on. As my kids were begging for me to make calamari, this was prime time to bring my clam chowder style sandwich into the spotlight, and wow, am I glad that I did.

Let’s get started.

(Makes One Sandwich)

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 1/2 lbs of clam strips, rinsed cleaned
• 1 cup of masa harina
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 cup of buttermilk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 russet potato, skin on, cut into bite size cubes
• 1/2 onion, cut paper thin (mandoline works well)
• Tabasco Hot Sauce
• 1/2 loaf day old Jimmy John’s bread, or good submarine roll
• Bechamel Sauce (see below)
• 4 cups of canola oil
• More salt to taste

Ingredients for Bechamel Sauce:

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 cup of whole milk
• pinch of salt
• pinch of black pepper
• 1 bay leaf

To make the bechamel sauce, add the butter to a sauce pan and let it melt on medium heat. Once it starts to bubble, add in the flour, and begin to stir, incorporating the butter into the flour. It will form somewhat of a paste, but don’t worry. Your goal is to let the flour cook, stirring along the way, for about 3 minutes. Slowly add in the milk, and begin whisking, on medium heat, for about 5 minutes. Whisk the entire time. The flour will begin to thicken and make a nice cream sauce. Add in the salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Give a good stir, then remove from the heat.

To a medium pot, add in the canola oil, and bring it to a medium heat. Your goal is to get the oil to about 375 degrees.

To another pot add the cubed potatoes, and fill with just enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook for about 8-10 minutes or until they are fork tender. Drain, and return the potatoes back to the pot.

During this time, prepare all of the ingredients as cooking the clams goes very fast, so you will want to be ready , keeping in mind that you will cook all of the clams in a few batches.

Let me pause here to give a good warning here. The goal is to make the sandwich. This is the ultimate goal. HOWEVER, when you remove the fried clams from the oil, and season with a bit of salt, YOU WILL TRY A FEW. Again, the goal is to make the sandwich. I will admit, that when I seasoned the first batch of clams and let them drain a bit on paper, and had that first bite, I was in heaven, and I began eating them like popcorn! So, if you can, stay focused!

To a bowl, add the buttermilk along with the egg, and give it a good mix.

To another bowl add the masa harina, flour, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper, giving that a good mix.

Add a handful of the clams to the buttermilk mixture, and while using your hands, make sure there are no clumps. Get the buttermilk spread evenly on the clams. Let them sit in there for a couple of minutes.

When your oil is ready, with a slotted spoon, remove the clams, letting the buttermilk drain back into the buttermilk bowl, then add them to the flour mixture. Using one of your hands, begin tossing the clam strips all around, making sure they do not clump up, and that all of the flour mixture is evenly distributed onto the clams. If you can, separate them, shaking off access flour, and place them on a tray or plate.

Add them to the hot oil, and begin frying. These will go extremely fast, about 1-2 minutes. Once golden brown, remove them with a large slotted spoon, or spider if you have one, letting the oil drain back into the pot, and add them to a wire strainer lined with paper. Season with salt.

Repeat until all of the clams are cooked.

Now let’s build that sandwich! You still have clams left right?

Slice your bread, lengthwise, but not all of the way through.

To the bottom, add the cubed potatoes. Drizzle with the Tabasco sauce, all along the potatoes. Top the potatoes with a good layer of the sliced onions. Top the onions with a heaping mound of the fried clams, then drizzle the top of the clams with the bechamel sauce.

PLEASE NOTE: If the bechamel sauce cooled up on you, simply bring it back to the stove on medium heat, add a bit more milk, water, or stock, and continue whisking until it is warmed through and easy to drizzle all over the clams.

Pinch both sides of the sandwich, open wide, and dig in. Not only is this sandwich super fun to eat, but it is everything you could think about when eating a clam chowder, but in sandwich form! You get the creamy potatoes on the base, the subtle hint of onion because they are paper thin, and the crunchy and awesome flavor from the clams. Not only that but you get the wonderful creamy bechamel sauce to boot!

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(Serves 2)

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 6 thin slices of Gruyère cheese
• 8 thin slices of Black Forest Ham
• 1 cup of grated Gruyère cheese
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 4 slices of thick cut French sandwich loaf
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

Begin by making the béchamel sauce. Get two saucepans, and heat one on a medium low heat, and the other on medium heat. To the pan on medium, low heat, add the milk, and let it get warm. To the other pan, add the two tablespoons of butter, and let it melt down and begin to bubble a bit. Add the flour to the butter, and mix it very well to incorporate the two. Continue whisking for about two minutes, being careful not to let the flour mixture brown. Slowly add in the warm milk, and continue whisking until you everything is nice and smooth. You will whisk this for about 8-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Add in the salt, nutmeg, and the parmesan cheese. Give a good mix, then remove it from the heat until it is ready to be used.

Next, get a large skillet going on the stove, and bring that to a medium heat. Butter four slices of the bread, and lay them into the skillet, butter side down. The goal here is to get them nice and golden brown, without burning them. As they begin to cook, add a tablespoon of butter to two pieces of the bread. Lay down three slices of Gruyère cheese on top of the mustard, then top each with four slices of the black forest ham. Let them continue cooking on the skillet, lifting to peak every couple of minutes, until the have reached that golden brown color, and have a crunchy exterior.

Now for the assembly.

Get your broiler going on 475 degrees.

Add the slices of toasted bread to a baking sheet. Place the toasted bread on top of the bread with the mustard, cheese, and ham. Now take the bechamel sauce and generously spread it all of the top of each sandwich. Take half a cup of the Gruyère cheese and add that to the top of the bechamel sauce.

Place this under the broiler until the cheese is nice and bubbly and everything is warmed through, roughly 4-6 minutes.

Remove the sandwiches from the broiler, and place on a serving plate. Dig in!

This one is super delicious and has not left my mind since I last made it. It has that sort of impact. Trust me.

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This bacon jam was not only phenomenal on the burger and could be my go to condiment for burgers now, but in its simplest form is awesome on pretty much anything, including a basic cracker.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 lb of good bacon, cut into pieces
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce
• 1/2 tbsp Hungarian paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 4 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 cup of strong coffee
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of light brown sugar

Begin by heating a large cast iron skillet on medium heat. Add the sliced bacon pieces, and begin cooking this, rendering all of the fat, and cooking just until slightly crisp, but not super crispy. This will take about 10 minutes or so. During this time, prepare the rest of the ingredients.

When the bacon is cooked, remove with a slotted spoon onto some paper towel to remove any excess fat. Pour off most of the bacon grease, reserving for a later use. Return the skillet back to the heat and add the tablespoon of butter. Toss in the onion and garlic, and let them begin to sweat, cooking on medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring along the way.

When the onions and garlic and cooked, add the salt and pepper, along with the brown sugar. Give a good stir, letting the sugar begin to melt away into the onions. After a couple of minutes, add the remaining ingredients and let it come to a boil. Toss in the bacon, stir, and add this to a slow cooker, on low heat, for 3 hours.

After a few hours in the slow cooker, place the mixture into a food processor and pulse down for your desired consistency. I like mine to have some recognizable bacon pieces, but pieces that are not extremely big, almost like bacon bit consistency. Return the mixture to a sauce pan, and cook on medium heat until most, if not all of the liquid evaporates, leaving you with a jam like consistency.

Store in a sealed container for up to three weeks, if it lasts that long.

When you are ready to serve, feel free to spread this on pretty much anything. The texture is spot on, and the flavor is something out of this world. You get the sweetness from the onion, sugar, and maple, and a subtle but ever so delicious bitterness from the coffee, along with the smokiness of the bacon and a slight sourness from the cider vinegar, this bacon jam was something else. Give it a shot and let me know your thoughts! Hope you enjoy.

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A croque madame is essentially a French ham and cheese sandwich, but not only a ham and cheese sandwich. See, this sandwich has a coating of bechamel sauce, and topped with an egg. Now how’s that for a nice pick me up brunch item!?

Let’s get started, as staring at the photo only makes me want another one.

(Serves 2)

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 6 thin slices of Gruyère cheese
• 8 thin slices of Black Forest Ham
• 1 cup of grated Gruyère cheese
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 4 slices of thick cut French sandwich loaf
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs, 1 tbsp butter

Begin by making the bechamel sauce. Get two saucepans, and heat one on a medium low heat, and the other on medium heat. To the pan on medium, low heat, add the milk, and let it get warm. To the other pan, add the two tablespoons of butter, and let it melt down and begin to bubble a bit. Add the flour to the butter, and mix it very well to incorporate the two. Continue whisking for about two minutes, being careful not to let the flour mixture brown. Slowly add in the warm milk, and continue whisking until you everything is nice and smooth. You will whisk this for about 8-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Add in the salt, nutmeg, and the parmesan cheese. Give a good mix, then remove it from the heat until it is ready to be used.

Next, get a large skillet going on the stove, and bring that to a medium heat. Butter four slices of the bread, and lay them into the skillet, butter side down. The goal here is to get them nice and golden brown, without burning them. As they begin to cook, add a tablespoon of butter to two pieces of the bread. Lay down three slices of Gruyère cheese on top of the mustard, then top each with four slices of the black forest ham. Let them continue cooking on the skillet, lifting to peak every couple of minutes, until the have reached that golden brown color, and have a crunchy exterior.

Now for the assembly.

Get your broiler going on 475 degrees.

Add the slices of toasted bread to a baking sheet. Place the toasted bread on top of the bread with the mustard, cheese, and ham. Now take the bechamel sauce and generously spread it all of the top of each sandwich. Take half a cup of the Gruyère cheese and add that to the top of the bechamel sauce.

Place this under the broiler until the cheese is nice and bubbly and everything is warmed through, roughly 4-6 minutes.

During this time, add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet, and let it melt on medium-high heat. Crack the eggs, leaving the yolks whole, and continue cooking in the skillet until the whites around the yolk are cooked through, sunny side up style.

Remove the sandwiches from the broiler, and place on a serving plate. Top each sandwich with the egg. Dig in!

What you get in a totally sexy sandwich. You get the perfect sharpness from the cheese and mustard, along with the creaminess of the egg and bechamel sauce, then on top of that, you get the tender ham. Wow. Words sometimes cannot explain, however I am extremely glad that I forgot to eat breakfast this morning! Hope you enjoy.

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As the Christmas meal often stems around a bone in, spiral ham (which I love), I decided to surprise the family with something new. I wanted them to experience a whole new dish, and something that is elegant in its own right. The porchetta.  Days prior to the holiday feast, I began preparing the porchetta. A bit labor intensive, and time consuming, the end result is nothing but spectacular.

Lets get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 11 lb pork belly, thick skin in tact
• 6 sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of sage, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 tbsp toasted fennel, ground
• 3 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp cracked black pepper
• 2 heads of garlic, minced
• olive oil
• 15 slices of pancetta, thinly sliced
• 4 lb pork shoulder, butter flied
• Additional Salt, pepper, chopped rosemary, thyme, sage
• 3 large carrots
• 3 celery ribs
• 3 cups of chicken stock
• butcher’s twine

Begin by cutting the meat side of the pork belly into crisscross incisions being careful not to cut through the skin. Do this for the whole pork belly.

Add the minced garlic, and herbs to a bowl. Drizzle enough olive oil until it just becomes wet. Set aside.

Generously season the pork belly with salt and pepper. Take the garlic and herb mixture and begin massaging it into the pork belly, making sure you get into all of the scoring of the meat. Roll, and securely wrap it in plastic wrap. Place this in the refrigerator for 3 days.

To the pork shoulder, season with some salt, pepper, and the additional herbs, just enough to lightly coat. Lay down the pancetta on a flat surface, making it a blanket for your pork shoulder. Add the shoulder to the pancetta, and carefully roll into place. Place in a large plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for 3 days.

When you are ready to prepare the porchetta, take the shoulder and belly from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature. Unroll the pork belly. To the top of the pork belly, add the pork shoulder, making sure everything is nice and snug. Roll the porchetta, lengthwise, into a roll. Take your kitchen twine and begin securing the porchetta.

Now what you end up with is a pretty darn long pork roll. My guess is that it will be too long for your roasting pan, so what I did is simply cut the porchetta in half and roasting them in two separate roasting pans. With that said, to the bottom of your roasting pan, add the carrots and the celery stalks, laying the porchetta, skin side up, on top of the vegetables. Drizzle a bit of olive oil onto the skin and massage it all over the skin. Season with a bit more salt.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Lay your roasting pan in the preheated oven, and cook for roughly 45 minutes. Take in the smell, it’s amazing. After this time, begin basting the top of the skin with the pan juices every 30-40 minutes.

Your total cook time for the porchetta will be roughly 4 hours.  After this time, remove the porchetta from the oven and onto your cutting board. Let this rest for about 20 minutes so that all of the juices distribute throughout the porchetta.

Remove the butcher’s twine and discard. With a serrated knife, or better yet if you have an electric knife, begin slicing through the crisp pork skin, then through the succulent pork. Cut into rounds if you can. Plate on a large serving dish for your guests.

A layer of crisp pork fat, then a wonderful blend of herbs and pancetta, followed by succulent pork shoulder, every bite is succulent and extremely delicious. This porchetta was the perfect meal to serve lots of people, inexpensive compared to most other holiday meals, and I had plenty of leftovers for some really killer sandwiches.

Let’s get started.

Serves 4

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 1/2 cup of masa harina
• 1 1/2 cup of warm water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup of Deli ham, thinly sliced and chopped, per arepa
• 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, per arepa
• Your favorite hot sauce

Begin by adding the masa harina and salt to a small mixing bowl, and mix it around with your fingers. Next add the water, and begin mixing, and kneading until the dough comes together. Continue kneading the dough until it forms a smooth dough, and no longer is sticky. At this point in time you can add a bit more masa harina if it is too sticky, or a bit more water if it is too dry. You basically want to form a medium sized ball that you can flatten down a bit, about a 1/2 inch thick by the width of your palm, approximately 3 inches.

Continue this process until you have formed all of the arepas.

Next, heat a large cast iron skillet on medium heat. The goal is to use a heavy skillet that can retain really good heat. Add the oil and swirl it in the pan. Add the arepas to the heated oil and let them cook for 4 minutes on each side. You want a golden exterior on both sides.

During this time, preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

When the arepas as golden on each side, add them to a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven.

With a sharp knife, make an incision in the side of the arepa, cutting through the arepa, making an opening. The goal is to not slice this all of the way through, just a nice incision that will allow you to stuff them with the ham and cheese.

If you notice the knife is doughy, much like you would see when you pull a knife from cooking a cake or bread, place them back into the oven for another 5 minutes or so.

Next, stuff a bit of the cheese inside of the arepa, then some ham, then more cheese on the top of the ham. Place them back into the oven for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melted.

When you are ready to serve, plate them, and serve with a simple salad and a nice drizzle of hot sauce.

The end result is nothing but awesomeness. You have a crunchy exterior with a soft interior, the fresh aroma from the masa, and with the melted cheese and ham, well, you know where I’m going.  Give them a shot, and I hope you enjoy.

Note: I also served these with roasted chicken, cheese, and guacamole, but once again the creations are endless as to what you put inside of them.

Don’t get me wrong, a chip sandwich on its own is pretty darn awesome, but as I am always trying to get my kids to try new things, I thought I would take his idea of a chip sandwich and convert that into one of his favorite burgers. Yes, his favorite burger is a plain burger, stacked with bacon. No cheese. No condiments. No nothing.

So this led me to make this really awesome burger creation, and sure, I loaded mine up differently than I did my oldest child, and my middle son, but what did shine besides the delicious burger was the crisp, yet tender, homemade garlic chips.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 3 large russet potatoes, cleaned, skin on
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed
• Ground chuck, made into your preferred size burger patty
• Generous amount of salt
• Generous amount of cracked black pepper
• Thick cut bacon, cooked, bacon grease reserved
• Thick style burger buns, proportionate to your patty, and thick enough to trap any juices
• Carmelized onions, optional
• 2 slices of American cheese, per burger

If you have a mandoline (highly recommend if you do not have one), use it, and set it to about a 1/4 inch thick. If you do not have one, don’t worry. This will give you an opportunity to work with your knife skills. The point is slice the potato lengthwise, so use a very long knife, a knife longer than your potato, cutting into about 1/4 inch thick. Keep the skin on. I’m a big believer in skin on. Add all of your slices to a large bowl, and cover with cold water as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

As the potato slices soak, cook your bacon in a large cast iron skillet. Add the garlic to a skillet and add in the oil. Cook on medium to low heat, being gentle to not burn the garlic. Your goal is to extract the great garlic flavor into the oil. After about 10 minutes, remove the garlic cloves and discard, and turn off the heat. Your bacon should be finishing up now, so once it is cooked, remove to a paper lined plate to drain any oil. Turn the heat off of the bacon skillet as well, but reserve the bacon fat. Yes, we are going to cook the burgers in the fat.

Caramelize your onions if you are using them.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Drain the water from the potatoes and lay them on a large towel. Cover with another towel and gently pat them to dry. Next, add a wire rack onto a large cookie sheet. If you do not have a wire wrack, don’t worry. Use parchment paper instead. Brush the garlic oil on both sides of the potato slices, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place in the oven to cook for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, and maybe even 10 minutes into the cooking, take a peak on them. The last thing you want are burnt chips. Flip over, then raise the heat to 400 degrees, cooking for another 10 minutes of so, and once again, keeping your eye on them. If some are cooking faster than others, remove them from the oven and place on a plate. Continue until all of the chips are done.

Next, make your patties. I like to mix a small bowl of salt and pepper together, then generously sprinkle a plate with the mixture. Once my patty is made, I can set it onto the plate, absorbing the salt and pepper, then season the top. I’m always generous when it comes to seasoning the top and bottom as it helps build a nice crust, which I really love.

Bring the bacon fat up to a medium to high heat. Add in your burger patty(s) and cover with a splatter screen if you have one. Cook to your desired doneness, flipping on both sides. I prefer a medium on my burgers. Before you reach your doneness, add bacon slices, caramelized onions, then top with the cheese. The cheese will begin to melt down, covering the onions and bacon for another added surprise.

Before serving, slice your buns, and add into the warm oven. To plate, add the cheeseburger to the bottom bun, and stack with a handful of the homemade garlic chips, then top with the top bun.

This burger will grab your attention, and those around you. It is stacked with perfection. With both hands, grab that burger, give a light squeeze, and wrap your mouth around it. Crunchy and garlicky from the chips, then the really juicy burger along with the smokey sweetness from the bacon and onions, really complete the burger. Super great, and now I am glad my kid opened my eyes to a chip sandwich. Who knew? The big question is, which is better the pretzel burger, the cheese crisp burger, or this bad boy? Hope you enjoy.

A torta ahogada is a particular type of Mexican sandwich that is derived from Guadalajara, but can be found, or sought after in other Mexican cities. Typically, the sandwich can be fully submerged in a chili sauce made from chili de arbol, and depending on the the amount of chilies, the sauce can get rather spicy, very much how I like it. When you think of a fully submerged sandwich, you might think like I do, probably not the best way to eat a sandwich, so instead, I simply ladle on a bunch of the sauce in the interior, giving a better approach to eat the sandwich.

As the sauce has a bunch of ingredients, this sandwich is worth making and is great for a party. It is not only fun to make, but it is also a seriously great sandwich to eat.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients for the Carnitas: [Print this Recipe]

• 2 1/2 lbs of pork shoulder, cut into large cubes
• 1 orange, juiced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• water

Add these ingredients to a bowl, giving a good mix and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

During this time, begin making the sauce for the ahogada.

Ingredients for the Sauce:

• 20 chile de arbol, stems and seeds removed
• 1/2 cup of cider vinegar
• 3 Roma tomatoes, quartered, pulp removed
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 white onion, roughly chopped
• small pinch of ground cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, leaves and stems
• 1/2 cup of water

Place all of your ingredients in a food processor and pulse until you have a smooth sauce. Feel free to strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer if you prefer to remove any of the solids. I prefer to leave some of the texture in the sauce. Set aside.

Ingredients for making the sandwich:

• Hard rolls, like an Italian hard roll or a French Batard (You want a hard exterior and a soft interior)
• Pickled red onions (for a quicker pickle, you can add sliced onions to orange juice, with a couple of bay leaves for about two hours)
• Avocado, sliced (optional)

To cook the carnitas, add the marinated pork and the marinade to a heavy pot. Pour in water to just cover the top of the pork. Cover, turn the heat on medium, then uncover in 2 hours. Turn up the heat and reduce all of the liquid, stirring along the way. Continue to cook the pork, getting the exterior a bit browned and crisp. Once the liquid is dissolved, turn off the heat, and poke a fork into it. The pork should fall apart. Resist to try the pork, as you might eat a lot of it!

To make the sandwich, slice your bread lengthwise, making a nice pocket. Do not slice all of the way through.

Stuff the carnitas into the pocket, and pour on the sauce. Top with pickled onions and dig in.

Three words. Nothing like it. Hope you enjoy.

A couple of years later I began doing a lot of cooking as I grew unhappy with the quality of food in Milwaukee. I’m no food snop, don’t get me wrong, but the quality of food and for the cost, I just knew I could make something taste better in my own home for half the cost. Crab rangoons became one of those items.

It was only last week when I made wonton soup for the family where I decided to surprise my wife with a batch of warm shrimp rangoons, not the fake crab. The shrimp added a slightly different texture to them, and in my opinion were better than imitation crab any day.  As I only made about twelve of the shrimp rangoons, I had plenty of cheese and shrimp mixture left, which led me to create this new grilled cheese sandwich.

Lets get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 lb of cooked shrimp, deveined, tails removed
• 1/2 cup of green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 8 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 2 slices of ciabatta bread, lightly buttered

Begin by adding the shrimp to a food processor, and pulse it a few times to break it up a little. Remove the shrimp from the processor and add it to a mixing bowl. Add in the green onions, sauces, pepper, and cream cheese, and fold until everything is nicely mixed.

Next, heat a skillet on medium heat. I like to use cast iron, and being mindful to watch the heat. Lightly butter one side of each slice of bread. Lay the slice of bread, butter side down, onto the skillet. Generously add the shrimp rangoon mixture, then top with the other slice of bread, butter side up.

Cook the sandwich on a medium to low heat, lifting a few minutes ahead into cooking to check your nice golden brown color. Once you have achieved your golden brown, carefully flip over, and cook on the other side, until you have a golden brown.

Now your sandwich is ready. To serve, slice in half on the diagonal and plate.

The result is this fantastically, creamy grilled cheese that reminds you not only of a great crab, or should I say shrimp rangoon, but also of that comforting grilled cheese.

So remember, if you are making crab, or shrimp rangoons in the near future, save a bit extra, and make yourself one of these shrimp rangoon grilled cheese sandwiches! Enjoy.

What makes a Cuban sandwich so go is only to be said when you crunch your way into toasted, pressed sandwich. It might be the cheese, it could be the pickles, but I believe overall, it is the combination of all ingredients that make a Cuban sandwich so delicious. The Cuban sandwich is basically a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with a few extra ingredients, and cooked just a bit differently from a traditional grilled cheese. As the Cuban sandwich traditionally calls for Cuban bread (hard to find in the Milwaukee area), I used a day old loaf of bread from Jimmy Johns (48 cents) and it pressed and toasted really, really well. Let’s get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 loaf of Jimmy John’s bread, cut into 8″ slice (other options, french roll, or seedless hoagie)
• Sliced ham (I used Wisconsin’s finest Sunday boiled ham, thinly sliced)
• Slow roasted pork cooked in mojo (see below)
• Dill pickle slices
• 2 slices of Baby Swiss Cheese, per sandwich
• Mustard (optional)
• Butter

Ingredients for Pork:

• 3 lbs of pork shoulder
• 1 head of garlic, skins removed, smashed
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the pork, mix all of the ingredients, excluding the pork, in a bowl. Take a knife, and create large slits into the pork. Add the pork to a large, sealable plastic bag and dump the marinade into the bag. Massage the pork, seal, and let it marinate for at least four hours. When you are ready to cook, you can throw the pork, and marinade into a slow cooker, or roast in the oven until cooked.

Start by getting everything ready, and set it out on the counter for at least 30 minutes. Everything should be room temperature, and I mean everything. This allows everything to cook together nicely and get evenly cooked.

When you are ready, I recommend getting heavy cast iron skillets out if you have them. The goal is to create a heavy press, and cast iron not only heats really well, but it has the weight you are looking for to press the sandwich.

Build your sandwich by adding the pickles to the bottom layer, or if you want to use mustard, spread a light coating of mustard before adding the pickles, then top with roasted pork, ham, and top with cheese. Add about one tablespoon of butter to the skillet that is on medium-low heat. Take the sandwich and massage it into the butter. Take another tablespoon of butter and spread it on the top part of the bread. Lay another cast iron skillet on top of the sandwich, and carefully press down. If you do not have the second skillet, you could wrap aluminum foil around a brick, and use that as your press. Be creative, but find a clean, heavy pot or pan to lay on top of the sandwich.

Leave the sandwich alone for a few minutes, however monitor the heat. You definitely do not want to burn the bread, so lower the heat a bit if you are concerned. The goal of the sandwich is to build an amazing crust and have the cheese melt. After a few minutes, flip the sandwich over, add the skillet back to the top of the sandwich, give a little press, and cook another few minutes. The sandwich is done when the cheese is melted, and your crust is complete. You know the crust is complete when you tap on the sandwich and you get that sound. You’ll know the sound, and it is a beautiful one at that.

Take the sandwich, let it rest for a few minutes, then slice on a diagonal. The result is everything, and a bit more. The exterior is so wonderful, and biting into it you will know first hand why this sandwich is really great. It could be the combination of flavors, or it could be the balanced textures. Whatever it is, the Cuban sandwich is a must make, and what a better time to make one then today or tomorrow! Enjoy.