Roasted Pork Loin, carmelized onion, and escarole sandwich: Cornhole Extravaganza!

A group of my friends gathered last night to play some cornhole.  It's a weird name for a game, isn't it?  Almost feel dirty saying it.  Anyways, this is a game normally played outside as it involves lofting bean bags about 20 feet in the air and into a hole on a slanted board. Perhaps you've seen it being played. It's loads of fun, but I'm not very good at it.  The weather has been remarkably warm (thanks global climate change), so we decided to break out the boards at Mark's shop, which is in a quansit hut. 

Of course, this was an opportunity for me to cook.  And, as we were going to be in a woodworking shop, I decided to make something that could be eaten over a long period of time without need for heating or refrigeration.  Sandwiches!  Oh, my opportunity was here to make that lovely sandwich I had at Olympic Provisions back in December.  Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!

I made 2 batches of focaccia dough and made just one huge sandwich for folks to cut into hunks as they saw fit.  I actually made two parts to the sandwich.  2/3rds was the roasted pork loin with homemade mayonaise, escarole, and carmelized onions (YUM!), and 1/3 was hummus, feta cheese, calamata olives, cucumbers, red onions and tomatoes, for my vegetarian friends.  I layed the sandwich out on a big cutting board and left a knife there for folks to cut off their own hunks.  It was a huge success.  This sheet pan sized sandwich was enough to feed at least 12 folks. 

Also on our makeshift table was homemade onion dip (thin onion sliced dried out and browned in the oven mixed with 1 pt. sour cream, 1/2 cup homemade mayonaise, 1 t. "Better than Boullion" Vegetable base, salt and pepper),

I have copied parts of this recipe from my previous sandwich recipe in which I used chicken.  Trust me, the pork is where it is at (if you eat pork, that is).  This sandwich was not as good as the one I had in Portland, but was amazing all the same. I am guessing it was the pork I can have access to here in Central Illinois.  The pork in Portland was much more juicy. I hope you will enjoy it.


Focaccia (single recipe)

5 cups bread flour (I like King Arthur unbleached bread flour)
1 t.  salt  (not kosher here, but rather fine grained salt)
2 t. instant yeast
6 T.  olive oil
1 3/4 cups (8 oz.) water, at room temperature
1/4 cup olive oil
1 t. rosemary (dried is fine)

Directions
Using the stand mixer, stir together the flour, salt, and yeast using the paddle attachment.  Add 6T. olive oil and water and stir until combined.  Change over to the dough hook.  Knead on medium low speed for 7 minutes or until you form a smooth, sticky dough that clears the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom.

Sprinkle a 6 inch square of flour on your counter.  Place your dough on the square.  Stretch it out to this size.  Lift each side and fold over in thirds, like an envelope.  Walk away for 5 minutes to let the gluten in the dough relax.  

Stretch the dough to be twice its size and fold over as before, in thirds.  Mist with spray oil, sprinkle with flour, cover with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, repeat.

Let the dough ferment for one hour on your counter.  It should swell.  If your counters are stone, and it is winter, and if your house is cold like mine, this may take up to 3 or more hours depending on the temperature.  You will see pockets of bubbles on the surface of the dough when it is ready for the next step.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Drizzle with 2 T. olive oil. Lift the dough and place it on the parchment paper.  Put 2 T. olive oil on top of the rectangular dough.  Use your fingers to stretch it out until it is about 1/2 inch thickness.  Heavily dimple the surface with your fingers.  Sprinkle on the remaining 2 T. olive oil, 1 t. crushed dried rosemary, and 1/2 t. coarse sea salt.  Cover with plastic, or place in a plastic bag and let rest in the refrigerator (or on your cold porch) for at least 8 hours to retard the dough (this makes for a much more complexly flavored dough).  

3 hours before baking (or 6 if your kitchen is cold), redimple your dough and add more oil if desired.  Proof at room temperature for 3 hours or until about 1 inch thick.  Preheat your oven to 500 degrees with the oven in the middle position.  When the oven gets to temperature, put your focaccia in, lowering the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Turn the pan 180 degrees and continue to bake until browned, about 5 minutes.

Immediately transfer the dough to a cooling rack.  Allow to cool for 20 minutes before slicing or serving.

Mayonnaise
1 egg
2 t. lemon juice
1/2 t. salt
1 t. white wine vinegar
1 t. Dijon mustard
2 cups canola oil

Directions
For this recipe, you'll need either a food processor, blender, or bowl and whisk.  It is almost foolproof with a food processor, but I've had some difficulty with my mayonnaise breaking when using a blender. I made this last week with the food processor after failing with the blender. It was super easy!  Place your egg and lemon juice in the processor.  Process for 5 seconds.  Add the salt, vinegar and mustard.  Process 5 more seconds.  Next, fill a 2 cup glass measuring cup.  If you have a small hole in the bottom of your plunger mechanism of the food processor, start the processor and begin to pour in the oil into the plunger. It will stream in the oil at the perfect speed.  Do this until all of the oil has been emulsified.  To do this with  the blender or in a bowl, follow the first set of instructions up to when you add the oil.  Then, very slowly, in a very thin stream, whisk or blend in the oil until emulsified. Homemade mayonnaise is amazing.  There is no replacement, particularly in something simple like this sandwich.

Pork Loin
1 t. canola oil
3 lbs. pork loin (whole loin, not tenderloin)
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper (fresh ground)

Directions
Turn your oven on to 300 degrees.  Heat up a roasting pan until it is smoking.  While pan is heating, rub the loin with oil, salt and pepper.  Tie every 1 1/2 inches for even cooking.
Place the loin in the hot pan.  Brown on all sides. Place browned loin in the oven and bake until it reaches 140 degrees internally.  Remove from oven and let it rest for at least 20 minutes.

Sandwich
3 medium onions, sliced to about 1/4 inch thick
2 t. olive oil
pinch of salt
Escarole
Mayonnaise
Focaccia

Directions
Carmelize your onions in the 2 t. olive oil until medium brown. 


Slice the pork into 1/3 inch slices. Shingle the pork onto the sandwich.  Put mayonaise on the bottom of the leftover piece of foccacia.  Put a generous amount of pepper on the meat, and add a sprinkling of good sea salt.  Top the sandwich with the bread and enjoy.

Note:  you can also make this sandwich in individual portions.  Just cut your foccacia into pieces that are about 4 x 5 inches then proceed as listed above. 


Put your foccacia in the oven to crisp it up on the outside (about 5 minutes).  For one huge sandwich, lay one (or 1/2 for a smaller sandwich) flat side up on a board.  Spoon on a nice coating of mayonaise.  Top with a full layer of escarole, carmelized onions.