Last year I bought my mom a menorah for Christmas.
She seldomly puts on anything but the most lavish holiday tannenbaum, but last year she was in the process of moving and a 20 foot tree didn’t seem to fit into her jack frost festivities.
So, why you might ask, would I be sharing with you this antithetical yuletide story?
Well, today I had a hankering for a reuben sandwich.
Two toothsome slices of marble or caraway or seedless (pick your poison) rye, piled high with pastrami or corned beef dripping abundantly with swiss (or emmental or gruyere cheese). Couple that with russian or thousand island dressing and sauerkraut (or cabbage or coleslaw) and watch it run down my overjoyed chin (or neck or teeshirt).
There are few things in this world like a traditional Jewish deli…and I can’t get to one! Not only because, you know, the virus thing…but also (and equally as frustrating) because I live in Spokane, Washington. We have some (how shall I say?) limitations.
So many native Spokanites have never had the intoxicating experience of eating fresh boiled bagels or deli meat cultivated from hundreds of years of heritage and passion. *See my horrifying post about bagels right here.
They have never really known what it is to take in a classic Reuben sandwich.
Arguably one of the world’s best…But I didn’t have any rye…so…Reuben Bites it is.
Takes 25 min; Feeds all your holiday guests
Ingredients for Bites:
- Approx 50 crackers (I used the gluten free almond flour ones from Costco, cause they’re addictive)
- Leftover corned beef, cut into bite size chunks
- Whatever particular varietal of mild, earthy, melty cheese you prefer (emmental, swiss, gruyere)
Ingredients for Quick Pickled ‘Kraut’:
- 1/4 of a medium red cabbage, sliced thinly
- 1 glug white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
Ingredients for Dressing:
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1/3 relish
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Salt
Method:
Place cabbage in a medium sized bowl with vinegar, sugar and parsley. Mix and allow to sit for 10 min.
Make the dressing by combining all those ingredients. Mix and taste to adjust seasoning. Keep in fridge until ready to assemble.
Lay crackers out on sheet tray, topping each one with a corned beef cube and then a piece of cheese. Bake in a 350F degree oven for 15 min.
Top with ‘kraut’ and a dollop of dressing. (I put it in a ziplock baggie and cut a small hole in the corner to “pipe” it out, like the professional I am;)
You get it. I wanted a sandwich.
But I got a snack…and just like the Menorah in that icy Chicago window, it was the little bit of light that got me through another ceaseless culinary craving.
What else can we do with all that corned beef? How about Corned Beef Hash with Poached Eggs and Oregano Hollandaise? Or Corned Beef Migas with Gochujang and Goat Cheese? Yum.
