Saturday, slow and easy

I woke up at 5:00 AM and couldn't fall back asleep. So, I got up and got to work. I stripped the bedding and stuffed it into the wash machine. I put on a pot of coffee and took a shower.

I went outside (in my bathrobe) and checked the rain gauge (the patio was wet) and found I had gotten over 1/2 inch of rain overnight. Hurray!

Back inside, I turned on Saturday Morning, Over Easy and had a cup of coffee on the couch. Then I went and watered the hanging baskets out front (they are under the eves of the house and never get the rain). Wow! Judging by the number of buds on the clematis, its gonna be spectacular this year!

I took some pictures of the back yard and posted them, BTW.

For breakfast I made white sausage gravy and biscuits. I was fantasizing going over to Jake's house and challenging him to a "biscuit throwdown" until mine came out of the oven. Last time I made them, they rose about three inches. Today, they only rose about one inch!

Regardless, they tasted great with the pork sausage gravy on top of them. I did talk with Jake later and he suggested maybe my baking soda was too old (seems like damn near everything I own is getting too old!).

Remember me telling you Melissa and I agreed on a time to talk today? Well, it was 9:00 AM. So, I got my book and sat in the living room, waiting for her call... Waiting... Waiting... Waiting... I gave up and went to make up my bed, figuring she has something better to do than call me. I putzed around a bit, but didn't go too far from the phone, still waiting.

I finally gave up at 11:00 AM and left to go and make a deposit at the bank. Really nice weather here, (albeit a bit windy) although I saw a severe weather alert for St. Clair County on the TV.

Melissa did call me around noon, telling me she'd been waiting since 9:00 AM for my call! Apparently, we each thought the other was calling! She emailed me pictures of the house she and Dave are trying to buy, and as I opened each picture up, she talked me through it. It's much more modern than anything I can picture them buying, but they have their reasons and it is interesting!

After we hung up, I had a decision. Stay inside and catch up on the many, many taped shows on the DVD-R or take my book and head outside to the hammock (it's a laid back day, today). I decided to stay inside and hopefully, catch a nap. So, I did and I did!

I dozed off after a while and woke up just after 4:00 PM. I went into the kitchen and pulled out the following items from the fridge: Last weekend's smoked pork shoulder from Jake and Carla, deli Swiss cheese slices, deli ham slices, yellow mustard, thin sliced dill pickles (Vlasic Stackers) and the Kroger deli-made submarine sandwich buns. I also got out my old (7+ years) George Foreman Grille. Why? I am making Cubano Sandwiches!

According to the information I can find, these were first made in the 1940's-50's in Florida. They were the lunch favorite for Cuban's who lived in Cuba but traveled to Florida to work each week. Sort of the Cuban version of the Michigan UP Finn's pasties, lol!

According to legend, these are authentic, except for some dispute on whether or not they also included salami (most say no). Later, they were also made in Key West, Florida but with the addition of lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise (sounds good, too, but not authentic!) So, I am going with the original recipe!

I sliced open the bun, spread yellow mustard on the inside, and then added smoked pork slices, pickles, ham and Swiss cheese. You couldn't tell it last weekend with the pulled pork, but you should see the smoke ring on this meat! Beautiful! Then I buttered the outside of the bun, stuck them in the George Foreman grille and shut the lid (using it as a Panini or Panino press). BTW, you can do this at home even if you don't have a Panini press (or an old GF grille, lol!) Just grill them in a skillet (preferably cast iron) and weigh them down with "something" - another cast iron fry pan or even a brick, wrapped in tinfoil. Once the cheese started to melt, I removed it. Oh, my! Very tastey, nice and warm and the pressing makes the bun flat and more dense, almost like focaccia bread.

I must admit, I had one around 6:00 PM, and then another just before 8:00. After watching mostly cooking shows in the afternoon, I was ready for a change. So, I watched Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (which I hadn't seen before). That ended at 11:00 and I watched the local news, then shut everything down and went to bed.