MiniReview: Copa Cuban Restaurant

Wound up at lunch time feeling a bit peckish parked across Main Street from the newly opened Cuban place, "Copa". Checked the menu on my smart phone. Looked yumm and affordable. Greg Cox gave it ****, $$, a great ratio of quality to cost. Son Jon and I popped in, were immediately seated. Durham is still very quiet after Hurricane Florence, even though all roads are clear and the sky was sunny. An elegant room, cream lemon walls, photographs of Cuban scenes. Not old Havana. Today's. 

The verdict? Best Cuban sandwich possible! They bake the bread. Perfect crust and crumb. They cure the ham. They cure the pickles. They roast the meat. Their own sauce. And wonderful blackbeans in a rich, aromatic gravy. Good golly, tops! Only drank ice water, which they serve at the table in an elegant, ice-cold glass bottle. Friendly, effective service. We both ordered the same meal, total was $24 before tax and tip. Worth every scrumptious morsel. I took half of mine home. We both made happy noises.

Copa
106 W. Main St.
Durham, NC 27701
https://copadurham.com/

Meat-Cheese Appetizer Rolls

Like many, DrDaddy and Family want to reduce their intake of starches and sugars ('carbs'), and consume fewer calories of all kinds. After carbs, only two food groups remain, protein-rich foods, and fats. What to eat late afternoon, when hunger often develops? These high-protein snacks make a good choice. They deliver virtually no carbs, are quick to prepare, and quickly tame the hunger pangs.

2 slices, about 2 oz (60 g) thinly-sliced delicatessen roast beef, corn beef, turkey, or chicken
Dijon mustard
1 oz sliced Swiss cheese

Cut the cheese into wide strips. Stretch out a beef slice, spread mustard along its length, position the cheese, and roll up from the wider end. Slice across to yield bite-size pieces.

Split Pea Soup

Exploits a meaty ham-bone gift from the Grinnells after Xmas or the Williams after Easter. Developed years ago. Recorded (and prepared) January 5, 2010.

hip joint from honey-baked ham
about 1 lb meat cut from bone, trimmed of fat, and coarsely chopped
water to cover
6 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
4 carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 T garlic, mashed
2 large bay leaves
1 lb split green peas, cleaned and rinsed
1/3 c quick-cooking pearl barley
2 t sugar
juice of a lemon
1 t freshly ground pepper
1 T sea salt

Put bone, meat, and bay leaves in a 8 qt heavy pot, and cover with water. Bring to a slow boil, and cook covered for 30 minutes. Skim as necessary and remove bay leaves. Remove the bone, cool, remove and reserve any meat. Add mushrooms, onions, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook at a fast simmer for 10 minutes. Add the split peas, and continue to simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add the barley, and cook for 15 minutes. Add the bone meat back, and add the sugar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Rest covered about 15 minutes. Correct seasoning and serve. Crusty garlic bread on the side is a good match. Pair with a yeasty ale.

Pizza Plus

Recorded February 29, 2012. The idea is to personalize a factory-made frozen pizza by adding toppings. The list that follows are some of the items that DrDaddy uses, but not all at once, of course. In a recent meal, sweet red peppers, artichoke hearts, sliced tomato, prosciutto, Greek olives, marinated mushrooms, grated cheese, Parmesan cheese, fennel seeds, crushed pepper, capers, dry herbs, olive oil, and granulated garlic were used.

sweet red pepper, fresh or jarred
marinated artichoke hearts
sliced fresh tomatoes
sliced red onion
sauteed onions
piquillo peppers
pepperoncini
fresh basil leaves, whole or torn
rosemary ham
prosciutto
pepperoni
Greek olives
Spanish olives
California olives
sliced cheeses (mozzarella, provolone, asiago, fontina, mild cheddar)
crumbled cheeses (e.g., blue, Gorgonzola, feta, Stilton, Camembert)
marinated mushrooms
fresh mushrooms
Chinese sausage
Italian sweet sausage
country sausage, cooked
chorizo
grated cheese blends
grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
capers
fennel seeds
crushed red pepper
mixed dry Italian herbs
olive oil
garlic powder

Combine all the topping ingredients, except sliced and Parmesan cheeses, appropriately chopped, sliced, or diced, in a bowl. Aim for about a pint of combined toppings. Moisten the mixture with olive oil. Place a frozen 12-inch pizza on a pizza mesh screen (ask your favorite pizza restaurant if you might buy one of theirs). Pile the toppings in the middle, and spread them evenly. Arrange cheese slices on top, and dust with Parmesan cheese, if desired. Bake in a 425 degree F. oven for about 20 minutes, until the crust is browned and the toppings are piping hot.

Reuben Sandwich, modified

Prepared February 16, 2011. Didn't have corn beef, but wanted a reuben.

2 slices Arnold's® rye
1 oz Swiss cheese
1 oz sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
2 T Reuben dressing
2 oz shaved rosemary ham
1 T low-fat margarine

Preheat small skillet on medium-high. Open bread slices like a book, and spread both sides generously with the dressing. Replace top slice back, spread with margarine, and put margarine-side down in a hot skillet. Pile on shaved ham, sliced Swiss cheese, and kraut, top with bread, and spread margarine on top. Grill a few minutes until golden brown, and flip. Finish grilling, pressing down with a spatula lightly to consolidate ingredients.

Eggs Bubba I

Recorded Nov 16, 2010

2 buttermilk biscuits (Pillsbury® Frozen, baked according to package)
2 oz rosemary ham
4 Perfectly Poached Eggs
4 oz sausage gravy (homemade or commercially prepared)

Cut the ham into strips, and warm through in a little butter and set aside. Split the biscuits on plates. Top each half with some ham. Place an egg on each, and spoon on generous dollops of sausage gravy. Serves two. In the variation known as Eggs Bubba II, a bed of grits replaces the biscuit. As starter, gussied up tomato juice matches well.

Butter Beans

Prepared September 2, 2010

1 lb fresh butter beans (baby limas), soaked, rinsed and picked over
1/4 lb smoked ham
2 T dry chopped onion
1 t salt
1/2 t freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 t sugar
dash or two of Louisiana hot sauce
2 c water

Bring to a boil all ingredients except for beans in a small sauce pan. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes to form a quick meat stock. Add the drained beans to the pot and continue to simmer uncovered for about 2 hours, replacing water as needed, until beans are tender and creamy. Mash some of the beans with the back of a spoon to form a thick sauce.

Farmer’s Market Succotash

[Prepared and recorded July 15, 2010. Dish enabled by tiny, tender okra, sweet, juicy summer tomatoes, baby limas (butter beans), and sweet corn available from local farms. All perfect and cheap at the State Farmer’s Market in SE Raleigh. A long haul from Durham, but worth it. Laura loves the green eggs.]

3 T country ham, finely diced
2 T dry onion flakes
3 T low-fat tub margarine
Frank’s hot sauce
1 pt fresh butter beans
1 pt baby okra, cut into small pieces
1 pt ripe tomato pieces
1 cup freshly cut corn
2 T butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Soak, pick over, and drain the beans. Bring 2 cups of water, the margarine, dried onion flakes, ham, a 1/2 t of salt, and 2 t of hot sauce to a boil in a large saucepan, and cook for 5 minutes to form a broth. Add the beans, return to a boil, stir, cover, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes and okra. Mix and cook covered another 20 minutes. Add the corn, mix, and cook another 15 minutes. Stir in butter, correct seasoning and serve as a side dish in a country meal.