Not everybody goes bonkers over fall flavors, so let's do a not-pumpkin What's New at Trader Joe's this week.
First up, brigadeiros. I usually associate these little fudgy truffle-like bon bons with Brazil rather than Portugal. I've got a few thawing on the counter now. It says to let them thaw for 2 hours,…
How many times have you moved as an adult? Me, 11 times. It’s never fun, and it gets worse, the older you get. Once, early on when I moved from LA to the Bay Area, I shipped a bunch of stuff by mail. Moving by mail is not a great idea. Unless you want to buy all new stuff. Then finally there comes a time when there’s no more rounding up friends with promises of beer and pizza. You just bite the bullet and hire movers. After 11 moves, I can’t believe some of the things that have made the trek. I’ve been looking for a peach pit ring that my grandpa carved, at least that’s how I remember it. I'm convinced I have it somewhere. And I can’t find it.
There’s nothing quite like a good Cubano sandwich. Layer on layer of pork – roasted loin, ham and salami with Swiss cheese, pickles and a schmear of mustard, pressed like a panini until the cheese is melty. On the West Coast, unless you’re at a Cuban restaurant, it’s not a sandwich you see all that often. There are exceptions – the last one I had was actually a couple of years ago at Matt’s in the Market here in Seattle. We also have a Caribbean place called Paseo that’s supposed to have a great Cubano-like sandwich. But really, there's no reason you can't make a pretty good Cubano, or perhaps more accurately here, a medianoche sandwich at home. (The main difference is the bread).
The mojo(ish)-marinated pork started as tacos for Saturday night’s dinner, but as I thought about the leftovers, Cubano-inspired pulled pork sliders seemed like the perfect lunch for us and a great idea for the Super Bowl next weekend.