Craving the Cubano

I don’t get to a lot of movies in the movie theater. Unlike some friends who seem to be going to the movies weekly, I generally get to the theaters about 3-4 times a year. Don’t get me wrong, I like seeing movies, but a combination of a spouse that rarely can sit and watch a whole movie without also doing something else, and wanting to spend my entertainment dollars on other things, makes it rare that I go.

Because of that, each movie that I go see really needs to be worth my while. It generally seems like when I am ready to go, there are two competing movies that I have to decide between. Unfortunately I tend to make some bad choices. Really bad ones. Don’t believe me? Check it out:

• The battle of the leading men: Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday or Tom Hanks in The Green Mile. One is a classic (hint: mile) and the other I found awful. I went for Pacino
• The battle of Gravity stars: George Clooney in The Men Who Stare at Goats or Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side. Yup. I chose the goats.

In May of 2014 we went to the movies and there was only one that I really wanted to see, Chef. Written and directed by Jon Favreau, it is a story of a high-end chef rediscovering his culinary roots, and in the process reconnecting with his family. Favreau also stars in the film and, in my opinion, does not disappoint.

The food looks good in the movie. While there are a number of dishes, the (food) star of the film is the Cuban sandwich. When I left the theater I had a strong craving for one.

This version is built for the low-carb crowd. Eschewing the traditional roll, the sandwich is captured between lettuce leaves.

Six simple ingredients.

I had whole pickles, so brought out the mandolin to make the prerequisite slices.

I decided to put it under the broiler to melt the cheese instead of the microwave. Here you see the sandwiches in the various stages of assembly.

Prep the lettuce for when the meat and cheese is ready. YUM!!!