Score a touchdown with tropical tastes

Ignore the weather. Turn on the game and party like you're in South Florida. To transport your guests to Dolphin Stadium and a balmy 80 degrees, all you need is a Cuban sandwich and an icy mojito.

The sandwiches have been winners since they first made their way to northern tables. At Chez Henri in Cambridge, the pressed pork specialties have been served the same way since the restaurant 's doors opened in 1995. Chef and owner Paul O'Connell brines pork shoulder for two days in a salt water solution that includes oranges, garlic, and molasses. Then he slow-roasts the meat for almost five hours. That pork joins Virginia ham, imported gruyere cheese, chopped cornichons, and chipotle mayo on a soft roll. He cooks it first open-faced, in a very hot oven, then bastes it with mustard butter and presses it quickly on the charcoal grill.

O'Connell's Cuban sandwiches aren't exactly authentic -- the Gruyere and cornichons are nods to the French influence at Chez Henri. Then again, Cuban sandwiches aren't exactly Cuban. "I never saw a Cuban sandwich when I was in Cuba," says O'Connell. In fact, the sandwich, which traditionally features roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard on soft bread, is believed to have originated in Florida in the early part of this century, where it was known as a "mixto" sandwich. The sandwiches are almost always pressed, melting the cheese and creating a crisp exterior to the bread. Variations abound by region; in Tampa they put salami on as well (you're lucky the Super Bowl isn't in Tampa).

The closest O'Connell came to a Cuban sandwich in Cuba was a sandwich that featured mortadella, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise, which bears little resemblance to what he makes now.

Don't let O'Connell's labor-intensive version put you off. "A lot goes into it," he says. He serves the sandwiches with homemade plantain chips and salsa. You can make a simpler version, substituting marinated pork loin, which cooks in less than an hour. You won't need a sandwich press either; a heavy skillet works.

O'Connell will be hand-delivering his Cuban sandwiches to South Florida this year for his fourth Super Bowl appearance as the New England Patriots chef representative at the Taste of the NFL, a charity event that raises money for hunger relief. The Boston chef's New England-inspired smoked cod and lobster chowder is on the menu, but O'Connell brings some sandwiches each year for friends. "The other chefs love them," he says.

And Super Bowl or not, you can't offer Cuban sandwiches without mojitos, which have become the defining Cuban cocktail. In order to get that strong mint flavor, you need to muddle the mixture, a common bartending practice in which the mint is bruised to release its fragrant oils and melt the sugar. O'Connell uses Rose's Lime Juice (in addition to fresh lime juice and sugar), but you can get similar results with just fresh lime juice and sugar.

To get into the right mood, the experience requires shorts and sandals. Whatever the outcome of the game, at least the guests will be well fed and in style.