My Big Fat Cuban Family

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Movie Nights – a lo Cubano

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The best part of summer for me is our weekly movie nights. 

Yes, you read that right: WEEKLY. That means every Friday night we open our home and host an outdoor movie and – to my everlasting delight – our home is filled with friends and family who come to enjoy each week’s offering. 

The highlight of hosting for me (#DarbyOutdoorMovies if you’re following on Instagram) is planning the menu and the decorations to reflect the theme of the movie we’re showing. 

A few weeks ago, we showed the movie “Chef.”

{Full Disclosure #1: We’ve shown it before, but it was for a limited audience and I was craving a Cuban sandwich, so two birds and all that.} 

And if you’ve seen the movie Chef, you know that a perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich is also one of the stars of the show.

{Full Disclosure #2: I was most recently super inspired by watching The Chef Show on Netflix, but that’s not important right now.) 

Meanwhile, Back to the Cuban Menu…

Eric and I always end up having a little fight each week. Not a fight fight, but let’s just say it’s usually an intense disagreement. (I know. Shut up.)

He thinks we will have entirely too much food and always wants me to scale back. I argue (like the good Cuban wife that I am) that the food will be entirely too delicious for there to be any leftovers.

{Full Disclosure #3: Of course, I’m usually right.}

So for my “Chef” menu, I decided to serve the Cuban sandwich (which I was already craving and which was the impetus for this entire operation) and the grilled cheese, which we’ve already discussed. 

And everyone knows you can’t have a grilled cheese sandwich without Tomato Soup. And the whole thing escalated from there. 

The Menu 

  • Cubanos (of course)
  • Grilled Cheese
  • Plantain Chips
  • Tomato Soup
  • Meat Pies
  • Guava & Cheese Pastries

Doesn’t that just make you hungry? It made me crazy-happy to serve such an abundance of Cubanity (<–I know. But it should be a word.)

Porto’s Bakery – Bake at Home Service

At this point in the preparations, something wonderfully serendipitous happened: I reached out to Porto’s Bakery and their fabulous Porto’s Bake at Home Service and they delivered frozen Pastel de Carne (Meat Pies) and Refugiados (Guava & Cream Cheese Pastries) TO MY DOORSTEP(!)

{Full Disclosure #4: They provided the frozen goodies at no charge, and just asked if I was willing to share them with the class. Of course!}

Class, meet Porto’s Bake at Home. You’re welcome.

The meat pies and guava & cheese pastries arrived beautifully packed in dry ice, ready to be refrigerated and made at my leisure. 

When You Have Dry Ice and a Grandson

As I was unpacking the goods to begin my baking, Eric decided it would be a perfect Fun With Science moment and showed Sebastian (you may call him Bash) how to make fog. 

{Full disclosure #5: I was against it from the start.} 

I’m happy to report that none of my hysterical Cuban Wella fantasies transpired, the child lives, and was delighted by his PomPom’s magic. 

Prepping the Meat Pies

The Porto’s Bake at Home goodies were easy-peasy. Along with the frozen goods, they provide baking parchment and detailed instructions. 

STEP 1: Preheat oven to 400˚ F. While oven is preheating, stack two baking sheets, one on top of the other. Place provided parchment paper on the top baking sheet, then place pastries on parchment paper and make sure pastries have at least ½” of space between each piece to bake evenly.

STEP 2: Place the two baking sheets in the middle of the oven. Bake pastries 35-40 mins. in a conventional oven, 30- 35 mins. for convection, or until golden brown*. While they bake, prepare simple syrup by placing ¼ cup of water and ¼ cup of sugar in a saucepan and stir to combine over medium to high heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, and the mixture has come to a boil, remove from heat.

STEP 3: When pastries are done, remove from oven and brush them with simple syrup while they are still hot. Let the pastries cool down completely before you enjoy them, which takes about 15 minutes, since the filling takes longer to cool.

Pass the Refugiados®, Por Favor

STEP 1: Preheat oven to 400˚ F. While oven is preheating, stack two baking sheets, one on top of the other. Place provided parchment paper on the top baking sheet, then place pastries on parchment paper and make sure pastries have at least ½” of space between each piece to bake evenly.

STEP 2: Place the two baking sheets in the middle of the oven. Bake pastries 35-40 mins. in a conventional oven, 30- 35 mins. for convection, or until golden brown*. While they bake, prepare simple syrup by placing ¼ cup of water and ¼ cup of sugar in a saucepan and stir to combine over medium to high heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, and the mixture has come to a boil, remove from heat.

STEP 3: When pastries are done, remove from oven and brush them with simple syrup while they are still hot. Let the pastries cool down completely before you enjoy them, which takes about 15 minutes, since the filling takes longer to cool.

{Full Disclosure #6: The guava and cheese direct from the oven are an amazing thing to be experienced. I swear I could literally hear angels singing. I’m not kidding. You heard it here first.}

Plantain Chips for the Win

We usually serve movie snacks – popcorn, chips, candy – alongside whatever special thing we have on the menu that week. 

But because I was so loving the Cuban vibe we had going, I grabbed some small wax paper bags and filled them with plantain chips. Genius, right? 

After all, plantains are an integral part of any Cuban meal, am I right? 

The Cuban Sandwich

I feel like we need to review how to make a Cuban sandwich. In this case, we had 6 long baguettes worth of Cubanity (<–I know it’s not, but it should totally be a word) prepared like this:

 Classic Cuban Sandwich Recipe

  • Long loaf of bread (preferably Cuban, but French will do.)
  • Softened butter (to spread on the outside of the bread)
  • Yellow mustard
  • Swiss cheese
  • Dill pickles (Clausen Bread and Butter Sandwich Pickles make all the difference here)
  • Roast Pork
  • Sliced Ham

1) Coat the bread lightly with mustard.
2) Make the sandwich with the ingredients in this order: Swiss cheese, pickles, roast pork, and sliced ham.
3) Butter the bread on the outside.
4) Grill. A sandwich press is ideal for this.

The Best Grilled Cheese You’ll Ever Have

Taking a note from The Chef Show on Netflix (from which I stole the idea for the menu), we made The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches You’ll Ever Have. 

We followed actor/director Jon Favreau’s advice on how to make the perfect grilled cheese.

  • Fresh Sourdough Bread
  • Orange Cheddar
  • Gruyere
  • Sliced Parmesan

I used a large warming tray to keep the sandwiches warm. 

Our Chef movie night was a great hit, due in no small part to our fabulous menu. 

So grateful to Porto’s for their fabulous Bake at Home Service. I can absolutely recommend it highly. 

Because any Cuban food delivered to my door is the next best thing to Christmas! 

Buen Provecho, my friends. 

You might also like:

Porto’s Bake at Home “You have to see this movie.” Chef Movie Review and Cubanos Elena Ruz Turkey, Guava & Cream Cheese Sliders Recipe Hello, Outdoor Movie Nights

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