The Classic Reuben Sandwich

I can do few things well, but one thing I can do well is make a really good Reuben sandwich.  I usually get on a Reuben kick in the summer, probably because we travel through the Blue Ridge mountains then and there is a tiny, quaint town nestled in the mountains in north Georgia called Helen, which has a restaurant that makes the best Reuben sandwich I have ever eaten.   We go there every time we pass through.

The secret to their Reuben is that they marinate their corned beef in something special.  They won't tell me what this special marinade is, though, and believe you me, I have asked on more than one occasion. The secret to my Reuben, however, is the sauce. Don't use bottled Thousand Island dressing; give my sauce a try.  You won't be sorry.  I have been making this sandwich for years, they same way, and everybody loves it.  I mean, yes, my husband is now asking for something else besides this sandwich because this is the fourth day in a row we have been eating them, but still, we love.  We love so much.

The Classic Reuben Sandwich

Printable Recipe

Special sauce: 

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup ketchup

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

3 tablespoons grated onion (don’t forget all that onion juice!)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

Salt and Pepper to taste

Sandwich ingredients: 

Rye bread slices

Swiss cheese slices

Sauerkraut, well drained

Thinly sliced deli corned beef

Softened butter

Stir together all ingredients for the sauce in a medium bowl. 

Lay 2 pieces of rye bread on a cutting board, and spread each piece liberally with sauce.  Place 1 slice of cheese on each piece of bread, then spread a spoonful of sauerkraut on one slice of bread on the cheese.  Layer several pieces on corned beef on the other slice of bread.  Carefully close sandwich. 

Preheat a griddle over low heat until hot.  Spread the top of the sandwich with a small amount of softened butter, then place butter side down on hot griddle.  Butter the other side of sandwich.  Cook until golden brown and cheese is melted, turning once.  Place on a cutting board and let stand for a few minutes before cutting in half. 
  

Andy's Onion-Crusted White Perch

I love it when I come across simple, easy recipes like this one.  This recipe comes from a friend of my brother-in-law.  His name is Andy and we were both at a graduation party for my niece, Caroline, a few weeks ago.  He knew I'm a foodie, so he told me about this easy idea for baking fish that he came up with himself.  My brother-in-law, Roger, and Andy are avid white perch fisherman and every spring they pack their freezers full.  In fact, while I was at the party, Roger asked if we wanted a couple of bags of fillets.  Like I am going to turn down free food.  Not even.

This is easy, I mean eas-y, and with only four ingredients you can put it together in no time.

-Line the pan with foil first, Andy said, for easy clean up.

-This recipe would work well with many different types of fish, and is a great alternative to frying.

-Sure, you could put the crushed onions in a bowl, then dip the fish in eggs and coat in crumbs, but then you would be dirtying up two more bowls, right?  Just sprinkle the crumbs on top and you'll get a nice, crunchy crust, I promise.  And you'll have less dishes to do.

-Andy said to brush the fillets with olive oil, but I'm partial to melted butter when it comes to fish.  Either works fine.

-He also said he uses Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning, but I experimented with a couple more of my favorite seasoning blends for variety.

-I added a quick mayonnaise based sauce, optional.  Tartar sauce would be great, too.

Andy’s Onion-Crusted White Perch

Printable Recipe

About 2 pounds white perch fillets (or other fish)

1/2 melted butter (or extra virgin olive oil)

Creole seasoning, Blackened seasoning, Greek seasoning or other favorite seasoning

1 (6-ounce) bag French fried onions, finely crushed

Lemon slices for squeezing

Easy Creole Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 to 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a large baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Lay fillets out flat and brush with melted butter.  Season with favorite seasoning blend, then sprinkle the tops with the crushed fried onions, patting down slightly.  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork.

To make the sauce, stir together the mayonnaise, Creole seasoning, and horseradish together in a small bowl.  Serve fish with sauce and lemon slices.  (All measurements are approximate.)

Buy Local Produce. It's The Right Thing to Do.

First, Mississippi Kitchen got a makeover and is a much brighter, happier place.  A big thank you and shout out to Michelle at Shabby Creations.  She "saw" what was in my mind and captured it perfectly! Some people are so talented!

And for some strange reason, my comment box is not appearing.  I'm working on the problem and hope to get it solved soon.

After a couple of back to back trips in the past week, I'm finally home and ready to settle into a nice summer rhythm.  I  just need to get unpacked first and go through 400 pieces of mail.   My summer plans this year include putting up copious amounts of fresh vegetables, which I have already started doing.  I usually do a little bit each summer, but this year I'm going all out.  And how fortunate for me that some friends of ours have opened a vegetable farm near by, making my produce shopping much more convenient.  I love it when people do nice things like that for me.

So, before I tackle my mile-high pile of laundry, I want to remind you to support your local vegetable farm.

Now your local vegetable farm may or may not be called Dyess Produce.





















It may or may not have a red tractor sitting by the tomato patch.


















And it may or may not have a gray horse just over yonder on the other side of the fence, but I'm sure it will have plenty of fresh, beautiful veggies.

 

And I'll be willing to bet that the prices will be pretty reasonable.  And I think we could all use a break on food prices, don't you agree?

So buy local.  It's just the right thing to do.

The zucchini calls me.  I'll be back soon with a recipe!