Roll with it - Pork Schnitzel and Chipotle Sandwiches

We're on a roll, with some pretty drool-worthy sandwiches of late, and I'm liking the idea of continuing down this path. Especially after the sandwiches I made this past Thursday night for dinner. Why not, sandwiches are simple, complete, and satisfying handheld meals. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, on the go, in the car, at your desk, midnight snack...

Just in case you've missed some of our recent ones, you can find the luscious Croque-Madame, here, and the awesome Fried Oyster and Bacon Sandwich, here...and, one from a while back, the sophisticated Grilled Fontina, Mushroom, and Sage Sandwich, here.

The latest and greatest is this smoky and spicy Pork Schnitzel and Chipotle Sandwich, inspired by Saveur, The Sandwich Issue. I've been salivating over Saveur's photos of the Cemita Poblana (veal cutlets, avocado, queso blanco, onion, and chipotle chiles in adobo, on a roll), and the Israeli Schnitzel Sandwich (chicken cutlets, onion, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and pesto and red chimichurri sauces, on a French baguette). The magazine has been on the front seat of my car for the past week, so I could stop by the store on the way home one night and pick up the fixings.

It frustrates me sometimes when I go to a market and can't find everything I need. I often go to three different markets, searching for ingredients. This started to be the case when I stopped on the way home from work, hoping to pick up veal cutlets for the Cemita Poblano. When I didn't find veal cutlets at our local "gourmet" market, and wasn't willing to make the rounds to the other two stores on the island, I came home with boneless pork loin chops.  No big deal - I'm learning to be more flexible in cooking. I adapted Saveur's Cemita Poblana, using pork instead of veal, made a few more changes/additions with what we had at home, and we ended up sitting on our front steps as the sun set after a beautiful Spring day, John with his beer and me with my wine, scarfing these down, with no problemo whatsoever!

Pork Schnitzel and Chipotle Sandwich
Adapted from Cemita Poblano, Saveur, April 2011
Makes 4 sandwiches

4 boneless pork loin chops, about 4-oz. each, pounded to 1/4" thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup peanut oil
7 ounce can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 cup sour cream
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 avocado, sliced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup coarsely grated queso añejo cheese
4 sesame seed buns, lightly toasted

Make the chipotle crema. Puree the chipotle chiles in adobo sauce in a food processor, or finely chop the chiles and add them back to the adobo sauce. Mix 1/2 cup pureed chiles with sauce with 1 cup of sour cream. (You can adjust quantities of pureed chiles and sour cream to your taste).

Toast your buns and set aside. Have all of your other fixings prepared. Wait to slice your avocado until just before you are ready to assemble your sandwiches, and squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon over it.

Season pork with salt and pepper. Put flour into a wide shallow dish and set aside. Lightly beat eggs in a second wide shallow dish and set aside. Put bread crumbs into a third wide shallow dish and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.

When the oil is hot, dredge one piece of pork at a time in flour, shaking off excess, then dip into egg, evenly coating each side, then dredge in bread crumbs.

Cook two pieces of pork at a time, turning once, until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. Cook the remaining two pieces of pork in the same way.

To assemble sandwiches, distribute the lettuce on the bottom halves of each bun, followed by the pork schnitzel, avocado slices, onion slices, grated cheese, and chipotle crema, and cover with the bun tops.

Take outside, sit in the warm sunshine, and devour.

**Enjoy your weekend**