Today is the birthday of my spouse's best friend, and friend Barb Slaton and I are cooking dinner for 8. Barb thought it would be fun to do a Cuban theme. So she's doing black bean soup, empanadas and flan, and I'm bringing Cuban pork and Lubina a la Criollo (Sea Bass in Creole sauce).

The pork recipe is from Cook's Illustrated and is a doozy: one starts by putting a pork shoulder in a brine of orange juice, salt and sugar for 24 hours. Next the pork is rinsed, dryed and rubbed with a paste of garlic, citrus juice and herbs.

Then it goes on a the BBQ for 2 hours over indirect heat with an aluminum foil barrier, before going into the oven for 3 hours. It rests for an hour, then is sliced and served drizzled with mojo sauce. The fish will only take 20 minutes as will the black beans and rice in El Bodegita del Medio style. Had I known it would be over 100, I think the menu would have leaned more toward chilled gazpacho...
Comments 3:44:26 PM