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Friday, May 21, 2010

A Quick Food Tour Of The Caribbean- A Smackdown


I'm participating in BamaTrav's Caribbean Smackdown- I hope you like the dishes I chose! Each food or beverage is from a different country in the Caribbean...
CUBA:
Medianoche, or Cuban Midnight Sandwich! This is a traditional Cuban sandwich, also easily found in Miami- for obvious reasons!
I took a 1/2 center cut pork loin, marinated it for 12 hrs in orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, crushed garlic, black pepper, olive oil, and bit of jerk sauce and rum. Roasted until done, it set for awhile then was sliced thinly for the sandwich. Mustard is the usual spread for this, applied to both interior pieces of bun. Dill pickles are next, then the pork, and thinly sliced ham and Swiss cheese. Butter the outside of the roll, and put in a sandwich press (I use a Cuisinart Griddler!) and grill until cheese starts to melt. They went over big with my guests!
TRINIDAD:
Caribbean Corn Pie! This casserole type dish went over big, too! Regular corn, cream corn, coconut milk, 5 eggs, a bit of corn muffin mix, and spices. Baked at 300F for nearly as long as the pork, it can be eaten hot or cold- but hot is better!
FLORIDA KEYS:
Key Lime Cake. This is a simple cake in as much as it is made from a box mix, flavored and colored by you. Limes are naturally the flavoring. Makes for a nice light dessert, with a citrus touch!
JAMAICA:
Red Stripe Beer! The beer drinkers in the group were glad to see I offered something other than a fruity drink as an alternative!
PUERTO RICO:
Pina Coladas!(Not shown) Generally accepted as where this drink was invented, I made a blender full for the ladies in the group..Simple drink, really...
So there is my food tour of the Caribbean- Hope you enjoyed it!

55 comments:

Christo Gonzales said...

I would like to try that corn dish...sounds tasty

buffalodick said...

DogB- It really was pretty good..mainly sweet with the corn, but the spices(chili powder)kicked it up a bit!

Pretty Zesty said...

mmmm I'll take a colada please! :o)

The Blonde Duck said...

So curious about the Carribean pie...

Jen said...

I'd never heard of a sandwich like that. Sounds delicious.

buffalodick said...

Kris- When I get the blender out- beware of consumption!
BlondeD- It was a big hit, and easy to make! You and I would call it a casserole..great side dish for the Holidays!

Vickie said...

This all sounds really good - I'd love a bite of that tangy sandwich washed down with a cold Red Stripe. Nice job!

Marjie said...

I guess you didn't invite me because the several hundred miles was too far to travel? That sandwich sounds great, and the corn pie sounds good, too. I have a houseful who would like that Key Lime Cake, too.

Hope you win; this looks good.

Heff said...

The "Red Stripe" was a nice touch !

BamaTrav MIGHT be indisposed this weekend, so he may not comment over here for awhile...

buffalodick said...

Jen- I don't know who invented it, but it is one, good sandwich!
Vick- sandwich looks small, but is tasty and filling!
Marjie- Thanks! The group I had over did a fair amount of damage to the meal! Some leftovers, but not much!
Heff- Thanks for the "heads up"..not in jail, is he? :)

Full-On-Forward said...

Now that is a Cuban Sammich I could get into. I miss the Silver Ring in Tampa!

Big Time!

John

buffalodick said...

John- I made it to a recipe I have from an old Cuban cookbook written by a woman who lived there before Castro took over!

Brian Miller said...

this sounds really amazing. when we live in forida we used to go down to ybor city to get cubans...th corn sounds great too...

sage said...

The sandwich sounds good and the Red Stripe goes well with it.

buffalodick said...

Brian- I've been told to buy a Cuban sandwich and take it on your flight home, as it's better than airline food! Corn is a keeper..
sage- Hot sammich, and a cold beer..what guy wouldn't eat that?

Sharon Rudd said...

Thanks for the culinary tour of the Caribbean! Everything sounds delish, especially that corn pie!

buffalodick said...

Eggplant- That seemed to be a hit...

Chef E said...

Cannot wait to hear how you do, are you taking photos? We all seem to like it when you do of your events!

Anonymous said...

Nicely done. I love Cuban sandwiches and red stripes as well. Good job.

Ileana said...

You make all my meals look dull by comparison. I don't know how you do it, but you inspire me...and then I get busy and I never make anything special.

The Caribbean Corn Pie is something my family would love...they're corn fanatics! I have to get your recipe book, my friend! Let me know when you publish it.

Sarah said...

This sounds great. Love the Cuban (had an amazing Cuban meal when I was in Orlando) and the corn dish especially. You chose some interesting and different (to me, anyways) recipes.

Sheri said...

hmmm. 'hope you enjoyed it' are your parting words. the answer is YES! but after reading your post, i'm going to have to explain to the family why it is that i have drool dribbling down my chin when all i've had today is a few cups of coffee!

buffalodick said...

ChefE- I only got one photo, and my batteries went dead!
Bama- Thanks! That sandwich is more work than it looks!
Ily- Here I thought you'd like the Midnight sandwich!
Fingers- I figured everyone would do a jerk chicken or pork, so I went another way!
sheri- It is a lot of work, but the result was fun!

Mike Minzes said...

If you don't have the best dishes, the people must have something wrong with their taste buds

UBERMOUTH said...

OMG I would murder than Cuban sandwich and keylime cake.
Have you ever considered writing a cookbook?Seriously,I'd buy it, Buffy.

You are very inventive and creative with your cooking.

buffalodick said...

R.L.M.- I went for the less obvious Caribbean dishes- let's see if it works...I'm afraid it's a photography contest, instead of a cooking contest..
Uber- Thanks! I have considered a cook book the common folks(like me!) could use...

Ileana said...

I'm impressed that you went for the midnight sandwich. I haven't had one of those in years, and I love the sweet bread they're made with! It's not the same without the "midnight" rolls!

Pam said...

Ok, how did I miss an invite to this shindig? I'll take it all with a nice cold pina colada to wash it down with.
Buffalo, you know how to throw a party!
Gypsy

buffalodick said...

Ily- I thought you would embrace this traditional sandwich first! Only you, would know how much it takes it requires, to make it traditional!And believe me,it was the real deal!
gypsy- get into the next Smackdown- you are more than qualified!

Robin said...

..It all sounds so fantastic..but that corn pie sounds like a lil bit of heaven...Mmmm...hot with butter..I think I would love to make this... !!..Great job Buffalo.....!

buffalodick said...

smArtee- this is that good! Hope you try it, and you will agree!

Full-On-Forward said...

Wow--Now you can't get more Cubano than that! I love the Mustard-- I'd like that little BITE that it gives instead of some of the one's with mayo!

J

buffalodick said...

John- some use mayo, but the real real is mustard!

Christo Gonzales said...

did you check out this one? she wins hands down in my book both for nice photos and a fantastic variety of dishes...http://ladivacucina.blogspot.com/2010/05/culinary-throwdown-caribbean.html

Chris said...

Dude! Errr I mean BD! I love how you treated the pork roast for the Cuban. I bet that was one great sandwich. I feel like I have sand between my toes and hear a steel drum band.

tattytiara said...

Key Lime cake! I could maybe do that! I want to do that. Mmm. With chocolate icing and coconut.

snowelf said...

Hi UncleBuf,

I'm off to the store to shop for the week and in the moood for some yummy summer dishes so naturally I had to stop by. And your sandwich stopped me in my tracks. They had some kind of similar cuban sandwich in my cafeteria at work, and granted cafeteria food is what it is, but I fell in love with that sandwich and they haven't had it again and it's been haunting me!! Ours had beef, not pork, but it was the same concept of ingredients. I would love to figure out a way to re-create it and yours sounds delicious!!

I know I would have given every single dish (and drink) it's fair share of attention. ;)

Take care,
--snow

JihadGene said...

And I thought Cubans only had good cigars and baseball playas!

JihadGene said...

The cup with the figure...did that come from Kemoo Farms Pub across the street from Schofield Barracks on Oahu? I've seen that cup before.

Mona said...

the lime cakes and the corn pie sound interesting!

Just telling it like it is said...

I love red stripe beer ...where is the grass?

Akelamalu said...

Oooh I'lljoin you in a Pina Colada, cheers. :)

buffalodick said...

DogB- Yeah, I saw her post...darn good job!!
Chris- I've done Cuban pork roast before, and am amazed it doesn't taste more citrusy, but gets very tender..
T..T.- Never made that one before, but it was easy!
snow- We all pretty much liked the sandwich here..easy to build, but the pork takes some work!
Gene- It is an old cup I got from a Chinese restaurant..
Mona- Both were pretty tasty, but I like corn!
Darngirl- It's a good drinkable Lager..
Ake- Pina Coladas go down pretty easy!

Velva said...

Fabulous! Nice spread. I love Media Noches sandwiches...Deliicous.

buffalodick said...

Velva- We do too!

Carma Sez said...

what a fun idea - good choices!

buffalodick said...

carma- It was fun, but a lot of work, too!

Just telling it like it is said...

I love red strip!

Anonymous said...

Love the corn dish!

Barbara said...

Excellent work, BD. I wish I could have been there. I bet you throw a great party! :) Pina coladas are one of my favorites!

Stacy Uncorked said...

I LOVE the Caribbean and Caribbean food! Your selections are perfection! :)

Anonymous said...

Excellent combination of flavours!!

G-Man said...

The last time I was in Florida, the restaurant that I visited had a GREAT take on Key-Lime Pie.
Skewered on a stick, Frozen, then dipped in Chocolate!
Love a Cuban Sandwich. Outside of Miami though the best ones are made by yourself... Or though it seems.
Red Stripe please....

buffalodick said...

Darngirl- Good beer!
Ellie- Welcome to the blog!
Barb- Sneaky drink...tastes like candy!
Stacy- They were different, but went well together!
Ruth- Thank-you very much!
G-man- sandwich, corn and Red Stripe were the hands down favorites!

Anonymous said...

Oh my...now I am going to want Caribbean food and and a Pina Colada too. I've not eatin' any of this but now I feel I must try it.
Thanks for sharing something new for me to try out.
j-