Reuben and Rachel

I love corned beef with cabbage and corned beef hash with eggs over easy.  Just thinking of it makes your mouth water.    The crunchiness of the grilled bread, the creaminess of the melted gooey cheese with the saltiness of the sauerkraut.    Let's just say yummo!  

One of my favorite lunchtime sandwiches is the Rueben.  And I can't help but think of the nursery rhyme song every time I have one.   The little tune becomes an earworm each time I see the sandwich name in print on the menu.  

Insert mind numbing nursery rhyme in your head here.......  Reuben, Reuben, I've been thinking......

If you listen carefully to the words, you will find it is a couple teasing each other about what it would be like without the other and ends with what it would be like for them to stay together.  Note this was in a different era, hence the line about the where the paycheck would go.     Catchy little earworm.  


Now that I have that tune running through your head.  Imagine the sandwich,  two nice slices of Pumpernickel brown bread.   Each slathered with your favorite Thousand Island or Russian Dressing and spicy brown mustard.  Piled with sauerkraut and a slices of Swiss cheese.  Next, comes the grilled corned beef.  Yes, you read that right, GRILLED corned beef and then  toasted on the cast iron griddle for one of the yummiest Reuben sandwiches you will have ever had. 

Reuben Sandwich

1/4 lb. Corned Beef sliced for sandwiches
Butter (real)
Your favorite Thousand Island or Russian Salad Dressing
Your favorite brand of sauerkraut, drained and squeezed
Spicy Brown Mustard
Swiss Cheese
2 slices Pumpernickel Brown Bread

Heat your cast iron griddle to hot (or any nonstick pan you have).   I coat mine with a teaspoon of Crisco each time I heat it up.   Once hot throw on the corned beef.   Leave it in place until it crispy and brown and then flip it.  Leave it in place again until it is crispy and browned.  Remove from heat to plate while you build the layers.   Clean your griddle or pan.   Leave on low heat while you assemble your sandwich.

Put slices of pumpernickel down on a work surface.   Slather one with dressing and one with the spicy mustard.

 Add a slice of cheese to both.

Add the sauerkraut to one side and the grilled corned beef to the other side.

Bring the two sides together and butter the top of the sandwich with room temperature butter.

 

Place buttered side down on the griddle or pan.  While that side is browning butter the slice of bread that in now on top

Cook over low heat.  Low heat helps to heat the sandwich all the way through and melt the cheese.   Cooking it on high will result in burnt bread.     Once the first side is browned to your liking flip it over and cook the other side until browned.   

Remove from heat and enjoy. 

What is a Rachel?   A Rachel is the same as a Reuben made with turkey in place of the corned beef.


Notes/Swaps

• You can also make your Reuben sandwich with Rye or Marbled Rye and Brown Bread.  They are all great for the Reuben sandwich.
• If you have Panini press you can use that or any other pan that you prefer to make your grilled cheese sandwich in.
• To make a Rachel swap out the corned beef for some turkey.  

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Over the top Roasted Cauliflower

Seems the method of roasting vegetables is all the rage these days.   I have tried this with several vegetables but was only really pleased with a few of the results.  I like that fact that it often mellows the taste and makes the vegetable sweeter but I also think that it dehydrates the vegetables making them a little to dry.

 

Last week I tried my first roasted cauliflower with a drizzle or two of olive oil and some salt and pepper. I thought it was okay.  Not to be repetitive, the part I liked most was that the flavor kind of mellowed and it tasted sweeter.   The part I didn’t like was that it seemed dried out to me.  

Yesterday, I took a local road trip with a girlfriend to a farm stand.  What caught my eye was this huge head of fresh from the field cauliflower.  When I say huge, I mean that it took up my entire reusable grocery bag.   Once cored and washed it filled three large colanders to the brim.   It was nice and creamy in color and very crisp.   

By the time I finished unpacking all my items gathered from our trip and cleaning the vegetables for cooking and storage it was very close to dinner time. With all that cauliflower on hand, I thought I might try roasting it again with a mixture of wet ingredients that I often put on my chicken before grilling it in the summer.  It turned out very delicious and coating the cauliflower seemed to hold in some of its moisture making it more palatable to the tongue.   

 

I made a half sheet pan with large pieces of coated cauliflower.

 

This recipe is definitely a keeper and is my new favorite way of making cauliflower.

Bristo Baked Cauliflower

 1 head of cauliflower cleaned and dried

1 cup of Hellman’s Real Mayonnaise 1 clove of garlic, minced

Salt and Pepper to taste

¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 shallot, chopped fine

1 tsp. herb de Provence

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all of the above ingredients until well mixed.   Paint onto cauliflower using a pastry brush. Place on aluminum foil lined cookie sheet.   Place in preheated oven and bake for 45- 60 minutes or until fork tender.    Baking the entire head all at once may take longer than baking just pieces.
 

Notes and Swaps

·         You can leave the entire head whole for a more formal dinner polished look, but it will need to cook longer

·         You can use your favorite brand of mayo or even yogurt

 

        ·      Cooking time may vary due to oven temp and your preference in doneness.

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From the bottom of my heart.............. 

Going to the Chapel

I am told repeatedly by friends and family I should open a restaurant or bakery.  My reply: " Too much work.  I only bake for family and friends."

Seriously,  just about the time you think you have a recipe down pat, you make it and it is flop.  For instants, this past weekend I made an Oreo cake with Pudding Frosting and wouldn't you know it, the frosting was a flop.   I have made the recipe hundreds of times, but for all intense purposes this weekend it did not turn out.   I had to doctor it up or throw it out.  Thankfully, doctoring it up worked.  

Now back to baking for family and friends: My nephew asked if I would make his wedding cake with not much information other than he was all about chocolate and his fiancé requested strawberry or marble.   They weren't fussy and said I could have free range, but they were expecting around 150 people at an outdoor reception.

I am not crazy.   I have only made a large tiered wedding cake one time in my life and that was for my parents 50th wedding anniversary.  It's a lot of work and you need a special cake stand.

Not a great photo of the cake but the only photo I have.   My mother cutting her 50th Wedding Anniversary Cake.  Not sure where my dad was, but most likely wanted no part in cutting of the cake.   

I decided for my nephews wedding to make three smaller cakes and lots of cup cakes. This would make it easier to travel and suit a variety of  tastes.   Plus, cupcakes are all the rage these day.

As you can see from the photo below the Grooms cake was all about chocolate.  A chocolate cake with pudding cream cheese frosting topped with ganache and chocolate covered strawberries.

The Grooms cake.

The Brides cake was Strawberry cake layered with strawberry jam,  frosted with vanilla pudding cream cheese frosting and topped with white chocolate covered Strawberries

The Brides cake.

The Mr. and Mrs. Cake was a Marbled cake, frosted with vanilla pudding cream cheese frosting and drizzled with chocolate ganache and topped with both white chocolate and chocolate covered strawberries.

My display for the cakes was a three tier  Victorian style stand.

Besides the three smaller cakes I baked several different flavored cupcakes.

Chocolate Cupcake with peanut butter mousse frosting topped with ganache and peanut brittle.

Chocolate High Hat Cupcake with dark chocolate mousse frosting dipped in chocolate and topped with sprinkles.

Banana Cupcake with Banana pudding frosting topped with marshmallow banana and dried banana chips

Pistachio Cupcake with Pistachio frosting and nuts



Red Velvet Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting topped with mini chocolate chips and maraschino cherry.

Strawberry cake topped with jam, cheesecake frosting and white chocolate dipped strawberry.

Lemon cake with lemon pudding frosting and candy lemon wedge.

There is no recipe today, just photos, but some of the recipes have been posted in the past.  Follow the links for those recipes.  

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From the bottom of my heart..............