Original Reuben Sandwich story, and my best Reuben Recipe on Light Rye bread
A few nice hot dates recipe images I found:
Original Reuben Sandwich story, and my best Reuben Recipe on Light Rye bread
Image by shannonpatrick17
I had to make ones on Light Rye bread with no sauerkraut for the more "pansy" members of my family…. you know who you are!
www.squidoo.com/reubensandwich
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_sandwich
whatscookingamerica.net/History/Sandwiches/ReubenSandwich…
www.rowlandweb.com/reuben/gallery.asp
The whole thing with the Reuben sandwich controversy is mostly because it has to be an actual fact (i.e. a menu with a date, cookbook, contest, newspaper article/review) and not just an apocryphal story. So thats why it’s not easy to place the true origin.
The whole "Earl of sandwich" Kulakofsky story sounds like total B.S. to me. The Seelos/Chaplin one is not much better.
I’m sorry to have no facts to add…Just more stories.
Keep in mind that I was a kid and my Gramma would exaggerate often.
I do remember vividly how my grandparents both fetishized Reuben’s.
My grandmother used to tell us her sister Fern Brooks (Fern Snider) invented the Reuben.
She said Fern worked as a waitress (she made it sound like she was really young like a teen or before she was married) at the Blackstone Hotel Omaha. She told us about the national sandwich contest and Fern’s trip to New York.
She also said that the Reuben had been around years before the contest and was very popular thats why Fern entered it.
Lots of people even family did not believe Reuben’s were from Omaha and Gramma would get real mad at them… and also add that butter brickle ice cream was from the Blackstone Hotel too. We never heard any stories about the ice cream though.
I did ask my Grandma when I was grown, about her sister but sadly she would just smile and say "thats right" and have no facts to add.
Boy my Grandma sure did love Reuben’s, she would ALWAYS order one if it was on the menu… in Omaha thats a lot of places. I still think of her when I eat/cook em.
It has been a family tradition to eat these on my birthday since I was a tike.
Recipe;
Seek out the the best ingredients to get the best flavor!
Try to get a point cut brisket from a real butcher or deli rather than the vacuum sealed thing in the chain grocery stores. If you are unable to do this do use the vacuum sealed one throw away that little flavorless packet thing and season it yourself as you see fit. I like to use a dry rub of lots of fresh ground pepper, then caraway seeds,kosher salt, Hungarian paprika (hot). Then brown it with a tiny amount of EVOO to get it started in a large cast iron skillet add rosemary,thyme and garlic after it is browned care not to burn the herbs and garlic. Keep in mind it is well raw and nowhere near throughly cooked through(you can not cook a tough cut of meat like this on the stovetop) pre-browing it just brings out more flavor and fat to help it in the crock pot. I will coarse chop ( no long pieces though) half os a cabbage and put that in the crock pot and turn it on low. Add your brisket with all the fat drippings to the crock pot and then it will slow cook transforming it from a disgusting flabbity piece of gross undercooked meat hunk, into a delicious savory tender mouth watering addictive thing of marvelous beauty!
Bread: use this as a excuse to seek out local bakeries and try to find a quality bread.
Rule of thumb for bread: chain store=bad local bakery=awesome! What you will generally find in a chain grocery will not do your sandwich justice, look for something made at a local bakery(I spent my childhood tagging along with my grandfather who was a lifelong baker and would constantly visit other local bakeries just to make friends and seek out quality breads).
Upscale grocery stores will have a better bread choice if that is your only option.
Don’t be afraid to experiment, German Pumpernickel, Jewish Rye, Light Rye, American Rye.
Make your own 1000 Island dressing which is easy it will taste better.
I make my own every time and it is always delicious because I make it to taste, guaranteeing it is always good.
Cheese: I’m not too picky, usually any Emmental Swiss is good Try to find something not too sharp with too much cheese funk, Baby Swiss is ok, Look for Swiss that has smaller holes and is not aged so long.
Sourkraut: find one you like, no need to be too picky here.
try to drain it as much a humanly possible so it does not waterlog your sandwich.
Cooking the Sandwich: Which is a very important step.
It should be delicious if all your ingredients are good. If your cooking for more than 2/3 people then use two large cast iron pans, I like EVOO instead of butter. Very important you must preheat! but too hot=burned sandwich, while too cold= soggy bread. So preheat the pans, yoiu should be able to feel slightly uncomfortable heat if you place your hand 3 inches above them. Add enough EVOO to coat the pan(if your oil is smoking your pan is too hot). The cast iron hold heat well but still try not to over crowd the pan maybe 2 per pan if it is large.
Last thing when you make your sandwitches do not try to make them heaping huge piles like fred flintstone style, balance of ingredients is important. If you add too much to them they will fall apart and not heat up as well in the center. ig is good but keep in mind if it is super huge it will not fit in your mouth hole.
date walnut bars
Image by elana’s pantry
These gluten free Date Walnut Bars are a nice healthy, high protein treat for the new year; Enjoy them for breakfast with a hot cup of tea, or for an afternoon snack, or for dessert following your dinner.
Corn Dodgers
Image by ianbckwltr
I was watching True Grit this afternoon, and Rooster Cogburn kept eating these little cakes out of a satchel that he called "corn dodgers". I was curious, so I looked them up, and found the history and recipe below on this site, and made them. They’re actually pretty tasty. Even Mattie Ross might like these.
"Abraham Lincoln was raised on these little oval cornmeal cakes, George Washington Carver took them to school, and John Wayne used them for target practice in the movie True Grit.
Dating back to the 1800s, the first corn dodgers were made from "hot water corn bread," a mixture of cornmeal, pork fat, salt, and boiling water that was formed into small oblong loaves and baked. Similar recipes were given different names depending on how the dough was shaped and cooked. Corn pone have the same oblong shape as dodgers, but are pan-fried in lots of oil. Johnnycakes are flattened into small pancakes, then griddle-fried. Ashcakes are rounds of dough wrapped in cabbage leaves, then placed in the ashes of the campfire to cook. Hoecakes are formed into small pancakes, then placed on the flat side of a garden hoe (really!) and cooked over the campfire.
* 2 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil
* 2 cups yellow cornmeal
* 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups water
* 1 cup buttermilk
* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 large egg
1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Brush 1 tablespoon of the oil on a rimmed baking sheet.
2. Whisk the cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine the water, buttermilk, and butter in a large saucepan. In a slow, steady stream whisk the cornmeal mixture into the liquid. Cook the mixture over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until the water is absorbed and the mixture is very thick, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool until warm, about 10 minutes. Whisk the baking powder and egg in a small bowl, then stir into the cornmeal mixture.
3. Fill a medium bowl with tap water. Scoop out a generous 2 tablespoons of the mixture and, using wet hands, form into a 4 by 1-1/2-inch loaf shape. Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining mixture, spacing the dodgers about 1/2 inch apart. Brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Bake until deep brown on the bottom and golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through baking, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the corn dodgers to a rack to cool slightly. Serve warm. (The corn dodgers can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; reheat on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven.)
Notes from the Test Kitchen: Most 19th-century recipe we tried yielded corn dodgers that were dense, gritty, and hard as a brick. Starting with the base recipe of cornmeal, salt, butter, and hot water, we added a bit of sugar (just 1-1/2 tablespoons) to bring out the cornmeal’s sweet side. Replacing some of the water with buttermilk gave the dodgers a tangy flavor that tasters loved. Baking soda (which reacts with the buttermilk) and baking powder helped to lighten the dodgers considerably, and a single egg provided richness and gave the dodgers a creamy interior."
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