Cuban Sandwiches

This was my roommate's idea, but I was so impressed with the sandwiches, that I figured I needed to share. He got the recipe from the Food Network, but we simplified it and made it a little spicier.

Ingredients:
1 pound pork (the recipe called for a shoulder, but we used chops and they cooked faster. Just make sure to cut most of the fat off if you use chops)
Salt
Pepper
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp oregano
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup orange juice
Juice from one lime (or 2 Tbsp from one of those lime-shaped bottles)
1 cup chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 loaf french bread
Dijon mustard
Pepper Jack cheese
Bread and butter pickles
8 slices deli ham

Procedure:
Rub the pork on both sides with salt, pepper, cumin and oregano. Braise the pork by quickly browning both (or all) sides on a hot skillet. While it's cooking, put the garlic and crushed red peppers in the olive oil.

Once the pork is braised, remove it from the skillet and add the oil to the center of the pan. Warm up the oil (until it starts to smell like garlic and hot peppers), and add the onions until they start to soften.

Reintroduce the pork, and add the juices, stock and bay leaves. Cover the skillet and simmer until the pork is cooked (20 minutes for chops, longer if it's a real shoulder; the recipe calls for a pressure cooker, but nobody I know actually has one, so the skillet version is much easier.)

While it's cooking, cut the bread in half, sandwich style. Smear both sides with mustard, and put ham, pickles and cheese on the bottom side (make sure the cheese is directly under the pork so it melts everything together). Once the pork is done, slice it thin, put it on top of the cheese and close the sandwich.

Put the sandwich on another skillet, and press down on top of it with a baking sheet. Continue to press on the baking sheet until it gets hot, or you can't wait any longer.

Tips:
This isn't easy. It takes a good bit of time and effort, and you have to really be committed to eating Cuban sandwiches. That being said, it's definitely worth the time. These things were tasty.
Also, I'm not manly enough to eat one of these by myself. I got half way through, and had to stop. At least I have lunch for tomorrow.

In all, 4.5/5