Summer Picnic Dinner

Such and so friends are coming for dinner is a frequent refrain at our house. My wife seldom lets a week go by when we aren't entertaining either a couple or a whole herd of friends.

This week we are having two small dinner parties, both informal, outdoors, not requiring anything other than good food and company. So for last night's dinner I wanted to do something a bit exotic and yet, well, informal.

Fred and Peggy are great friends of ours and we are all great foodies. Fred and I love to cook, so I guess you could say that whenever one or the other of us cooks a meal we try to do something that will impress the other--not competitive, but fun and just wanting to make sure we are doing something unusual and different.

After a recent trip to the Fremont district of Seattle to try the outrageously delicious Cuban Sandwich at Paseo on Fremont Street, ( I recently wrote a blog entry about this restaurant) I decided I wanted to try and come up with a Cuban sandwich of my own.

Another item on my menu was an Arugula Salad with Watermelon, Feta Cheese and Lime Vinaigrette. This I found in recent pages of Bon Appetit Magazine. So here are my recipes for this dinner.
_________________

My Cubano Sandwich with Carmelized Onions and Garlic Aioli Sauce

1-5# pork shoulder

for marinade in a gallon zip lock bag place:

1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
juice from 1 lime
2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 T brown sugar
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper
2-medium Walla Walla sweet onions

Seal zip lock and toss and turn bag mixing and spreading marinade evenly over the pork. Place bag in the fridge for at least 24 hours turning from time to time to keep all sides of the pork marinading.

Turn on your BBQ so the temperature is around 200 degrees. Place pork on BBQ and let cook slowly for about 5 hours turning occasionally and mopping with remaining marinade. After this length of time the pork should have a dark crusty outer finish and yet be juicy on the inside. Let the meat rest 15-20 minutes and then either pull the meat or chop into small chunks. Pulling requires that you use a fork to "pull" the meat apart. I use a knife to cut the meat up into various sized chunks. Place in a bowl and cover with any remaining marinade.

In a hot saute pan with olive oil, place chunks of 2 medium Walla Walla sweet onions and saute until browned and carmelized. Toss onions with the pulled meat.

For Garlic Aioli Sauce:
2-egg yolks
1 t-lemon juice
1 t-kosher salt
2-3-cloves of garlic
1 cup--Olive Oil
1 t-cold water

Mince garlic. Place in mortar, add salt. Crush with the pestle until creamed. Place in bowl. Add egg yolks. Slowly pour in half the oil whisking continuously as you go. Add lemon juice and cold water, then slowly pour in remaining oil continuing to whisk. You should have a light yellow mixture not quite as thick as commercial mayonnaise. Cover and chill until needed. Best if made 24 hours ahead. Serve pork by filling a crusty sandwich roll with as much pork as will fit and with aioli sauce either as a condiment or mixed into the pork. Add sliced jalapeno for more heat, lettuce, whatever else sounds good.
___________________________

Arugula Salad with Watermelon, Feta and Lime Vinaigrette

3 cups--Arugula or mixed micro greens
3 cups--Watermelon, cut into 1-inch square pieces
4-8 ounces--Feta cheese, crumbled

Dressing:
1-2 limes, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T Grey Poupon Mustard
1 t salt
1 t fresh ground white pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a blender except oil. Blend ingredients adding oil slowly until emulsified. Chill for 24 hours for best results. In the bottom of the salad bowl place half of the salad dressing. Place salad greens and watermelon together with Feta tossing until coated with dressing. Add any additional dressing as desired. ___________________

Remember, as always, you should consider these recipes as a starting place for your own creativity. Don't like watermelon, try some other fruit like strawberries. Don't like pork, try a piece of beef or do chicken. Do a little research at any of the food websites found along the right margin of my blog and come up with your own creation or variation. Make it fun and make it your own! Bon Appetit!