First,
a short rant about our food language and the liberties people continue to take with it –
soon we won’t know what others are actually talking about. I call mine a Reuben-like sandwich because it
contained some of the key ingredients (corned beef, Swiss cheese and kraut) but
not the other two (Russian dressing and rye bread) as I used a white bread roll
and 1000 Island Dressing. When I order
a Reuben in a restaurant, I expect to get the ingredients in parenthesis and if
not, it’s only a Reuben-like sandwich although it could be argued that 1000
Island Dressing is totally acceptable.
On
Wikipedia they show several variants such as a Grouper Reuben, a Lobster Reuben,
and a Walleye Reuben to name a few. I
assume they just substitute a different meat for the corned beef but I wouldn’t
know without asking. I would call it a
Walleye sandwich with Swiss cheese, Russian Dressing, and kraut or slaw.
Having said this, I know it will change no
one’s behavior and restaurants will continue to offer Chicken Fried Chicken – chicken fried
like fried chicken makes zero sense to me.
Chicken Fried Steak (steak fried like fried chicken) makes perfect sense
to me and is descriptive of what I will get.
Thanks
for reading this far or just skipping the rant to get here, so now on with my
sandwich. We didn’t have any rye bread or
other sliced bread so I used a white Kaiser roll and sliced off the top and
bottom crust to get a grill-able surface. I sliced enough corned beef for three layers
and nuked them for a minute then I partially assembled the sandwich, as a fully
assembled one is hard to flip. So the
sandwich initially got just meat and cheese – outside of both bread pieces were
buttered. When the bottom was about
browned, I removed the top bread piece, added the dressing and flipped. Then I removed the top bread piece (the
cheese and one layer of meat came with it) and I added the pre-warmed kraut. This is what I ended up with:
This
may not have been Bev’s favorite corned beef, but it made for a delicious
sandwich and I know it would have been super with a good rye bread.
Then
for breakfast thought I, if kraut, cheese, and 1000 Island dressing go well on
a sandwich, why wouldn’t they work on the hash I had made, so I whipped this up for breakfast but I forgot the cheese.
After
the shot I mixed it all together and it was very good but perhaps not as good
as just the hash with a couple of fried eggs, but then again what is better.
PS. Rant continued - a classic martini is made with gin and vermouth and served in a martini glass. A Godiva Chocolate Martini is made chocolate liqueur, Cream de Cacao, vanilla vodka, half-and-half and served in a martini glass - no martini ingredients. So if I drink my morning coffee from a martini glass I guess I'm having a coffee martini. The ingredients make a martini not the glass. I'm done now :-)
Photos
can be enlarged by clicking on them.
Have
a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.
Larry
5/13 & 5/14/17 Meal Dates
5/13 & 5/14/17 Meal Dates
You Rueben, like sandwich looks pretty good to me glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteAMEN! I have to admit, growing up in the middle of Kansas, we didn't have a NY Deli on the corner. I think every single Reuben sandwich I've ever had has had 1000 island on it. Now I'll have to try it the official way with Russian. We've had this very conversation before, so you know I totally agree with your rant. Don't get me started on people throwing some chicken and cheese in a flour tortilla, rolling it up, baking it and claiming they've made an enchilada. Makes me CRAZY!!!!! An enchilada is a skill where corn tortillas are fried, dipped, filled, rolled and baked, preferably with a red chile sauce involved ..... see, you got me started. :)
ReplyDeleteLarry, As you know, I'm not a purist although I am sensitive to BBQ vs. grilling after listening to you these many years. When it comes to a "Reuben", my versions would never include 1000 island or Russian dressing as I just don't like either of them. I use spicy mustard instead...and a good rye bread makes all the difference. I would even prefer that the "sandwich" be made with some good pastrami instead of corned beef. (Good pastrami in East Tennessee being a rare commodity!) I never thought about the term "Chicken Fried Chicken" before but I do have to agree with you... The term is at the very least redundant! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
ReplyDeleteHey, you're becoming a cranky old codger like me! Calling something by one name because it will attract attention doesn't make it another thing. I'm with you that a Reuben is a Reuben, and any change in ingredients makes it something else. But I'm sure your sandwich was a good near-Reuben. Now go have another Coffee Martini, or maybe an Iced Tea Martini, and enjoy your weekend. And maybe enjoy a good laugh at the absurdity of people's naming habits.
ReplyDeleteLOL
DeleteRight on! A Reuben is a Reuben. A chef once told me, you change one ingredient in a recipe, it's yours! It is now your recipe and I concur!
ReplyDeleteI agree - people are making strawberry Tiramisu and the word Tiramisu means "pick me up" so how can it be Tiramisu without any coffee for the pick me up part? Whatever :) We park on the driveway and drive on the parkway. Craziness!
ReplyDelete