I followed the recipe exactly as indicated, and I followed the recommendation of another reviewer (to cook the fennel a bit longer than 5 minutes). All went well, the dish smelled and looked great, but the taste was a bit too strong with the hot Italian sausages to me and my hubby. I left half of the sausages on the side (off to the trash they went!) Next time I will add more sauce because it ended up too dry, and I may use chicken sausages instead of the hot Italian ones. The fennel did not do anything to the dish, except to make it healthier? The flavor was completly lost in the sauce and cheeses flavors. I could have added more onions instead of the wonderful fennel I got, and it would not have made a difference in the taste. Too bad since I had high expectations for this recipe. I definetely need to modify next time in order to give it more than 3 stars.

Reviewed On: Sep. 16, 2009

I am addicted to this sandwich as made at a Cuban bakery in Glendale, CA. and I have to say that this is close to town in flavors, BUT it is missing the garlic! I always smash a garlic and rub it on the cut side of the bread before spreading the mayo and mustard, and then follow the rest of the recipe as indicated -now that is a WOW of a Cuban sandwich! The reason for the added garlic flavor is that "traditional Cuban roasted pork" is loaded with garlic and that is the special flavor to this sandwich that you will not find in regular store bought sliced roasted pork. Try this trick to see the difference - Otherwise, this is a winner of a sandwich!

Reviewed On: Sep. 9, 2009

I took this salad to a block party and it was a hit! After reading other reviews, I made some minor changes: I used very small cherry tomatoes (whole), add 1 cup of frozen peas to the pasta 3 minutes before done, and I added the bacon at the last minute, just before serving - this gave the crunchiness that may be missing if the bacon gets soaked in the dressing. I did not add pepper and since I did not have cheddar cheese, I substituted by gruyere, and it was absolutely great. Thanks for the recipe! This is a keeper, and so easy to make!

Reviewed On: Aug. 19, 2009