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johnpalmerThere are times I yearn for the comforts of Columbus OH. Bridgeford pepperoni in the corner grocery store. Okay, grocery stores aren't on the corner, but they do have Bridgeford pepperoni, the pepperoni that cooks properly on a pizza, with the edges curling up and a little puddle of grease in the center....
But let's say you're living in Renton Washington and you want a proper reuben. Or an improper one. Or hell, a grilled sandwich with sauerkraut and swiss and corned beef or pastrami... what do you do?
First, hit Trader Joe's, down route 900 into Issaquah, take a right just before you hit the Costco, continue past the Home Depot, and there you are. No, *next* to the Petsmart. Right.
You want their black sour rye, and their packaged pastrami, and their packaged sliced swiss. They have other swiss, but the pre-sliced is good.
Take this stuff to the Albertson's at the corner of 900 and Duvall. See, hidden in their refrigerated section is Klaussen sauerkraut. Not the best I've ever had, but a hundred times better than the canned(!!) sauerkraut I've mostly found around here. Overcooked (read as: canned) sauerkraut, at least the kind I've found around here, just doesn't work for me.
Now, you'll need ketchup, mayonnaise, and pickle relish to make your own dressing variant. You can, of course, get thousand island or Russian dressing if you prefer, but those are evidence of premeditation in forty-eight states (including Hawaii and Alaska), and can lead to continued purchases of pastrami, rye, and sauerkraut until you run out.
Then, turn the heat on your cast iron griddle to about medium. You want the cheese the melt properly before the bread toasts, right? Butter the outside of the bread, but just a bit... no need to slather it (unless, of course, you want to), because you'll get a nice crispy crust from just a smidgen of butter.
Place one slice of bread (butter side down), cover it with swiss, then pastrami. Some folks like to put a little pastrami down, then the sauerkraut, and then more pastrami (to keep the drippy sauerkraut from soaking through the holes in the swiss and getting to the bread). Me, I figure enough fat will render from the pastrami to make the bread a bit wet anyway, so I just drain the sauerkraut first.
Then, on top, put more swiss. You need to protect the bread, after all!
(That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)
Then another slice of bread - yes, butter side up! - and go post on LJ so people can get jealous about your supper.
If you type relatively quickly, by the time you're done, you'll be smelling the toasting of the bread just in time to... nope, not quite yet.
Anyway, once you flip the sandwich, to toast the other side, and melt the other layer of cheese, you'll be ready to mix your dressing. (You didn't think I forgot, just because I didn't put it on while cooking did you? Besides, mayonnaise can separate when heated.) Besides... I like to dip my sandwiches. A bit extravagant, but oh-so-tasty.
And then... well, then you'd better sign off of LJ and do something useful, like eating.
But let's say you're living in Renton Washington and you want a proper reuben. Or an improper one. Or hell, a grilled sandwich with sauerkraut and swiss and corned beef or pastrami... what do you do?
First, hit Trader Joe's, down route 900 into Issaquah, take a right just before you hit the Costco, continue past the Home Depot, and there you are. No, *next* to the Petsmart. Right.
You want their black sour rye, and their packaged pastrami, and their packaged sliced swiss. They have other swiss, but the pre-sliced is good.
Take this stuff to the Albertson's at the corner of 900 and Duvall. See, hidden in their refrigerated section is Klaussen sauerkraut. Not the best I've ever had, but a hundred times better than the canned(!!) sauerkraut I've mostly found around here. Overcooked (read as: canned) sauerkraut, at least the kind I've found around here, just doesn't work for me.
Now, you'll need ketchup, mayonnaise, and pickle relish to make your own dressing variant. You can, of course, get thousand island or Russian dressing if you prefer, but those are evidence of premeditation in forty-eight states (including Hawaii and Alaska), and can lead to continued purchases of pastrami, rye, and sauerkraut until you run out.
Then, turn the heat on your cast iron griddle to about medium. You want the cheese the melt properly before the bread toasts, right? Butter the outside of the bread, but just a bit... no need to slather it (unless, of course, you want to), because you'll get a nice crispy crust from just a smidgen of butter.
Place one slice of bread (butter side down), cover it with swiss, then pastrami. Some folks like to put a little pastrami down, then the sauerkraut, and then more pastrami (to keep the drippy sauerkraut from soaking through the holes in the swiss and getting to the bread). Me, I figure enough fat will render from the pastrami to make the bread a bit wet anyway, so I just drain the sauerkraut first.
Then, on top, put more swiss. You need to protect the bread, after all!
(That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)
Then another slice of bread - yes, butter side up! - and go post on LJ so people can get jealous about your supper.
If you type relatively quickly, by the time you're done, you'll be smelling the toasting of the bread just in time to... nope, not quite yet.
Anyway, once you flip the sandwich, to toast the other side, and melt the other layer of cheese, you'll be ready to mix your dressing. (You didn't think I forgot, just because I didn't put it on while cooking did you? Besides, mayonnaise can separate when heated.) Besides... I like to dip my sandwiches. A bit extravagant, but oh-so-tasty.
And then... well, then you'd better sign off of LJ and do something useful, like eating.
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Date: 2008-06-18 08:21 pm (UTC)But the pastrami at Trader Joe's is pretty good, and I don't think I need another long distance relationship with food. (Not that I don't massively appreciate the offer :-) )
Besides... if I really need good pastrami, I'll get a smoker, and hickory smoke a slab of corned beef :-).