As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, Mr. E. and I were in Burlington, VT for a wedding and ate at this amazing restaurant called the Penny Cluse Cafe for the rehearsal dinner and then for brunch before we flew home on Sunday. My brunch meal was a vegetable reuben with homefries that had to be one of the top five sandwiches I have EVER eaten, hands down. So this past Friday I attempted to recreate this mouthwatering sandwich for the Mr. and I...and I must say... I was quite successful!
SANDWICH INGREDIENTS
Light Rye Bread (unless you want the full intense flavor of Rye... I like a mix)
* 1 large yellow onion
* 8 oz. button mushrooms
* 8 oz. frozen spinach
* Gouda Cheese (or Swiss if your husband will eat it...)
* 6 oz. Sauerkraut
* 2 T butter
* 1 T olive oil
* sprinkling of white sugar
EMERIL'S RUSSIAN DRESSING (www.foodnetwork.com)I actually halved the recipe because we did not need 1.5 cups for two people... and we had leftovers for aioli the next day!
* 1 cup mayonnaise
* 1/4 cup chili sauce
* 1 tablespoon minced yellow onion
* 1 tablespoon minced dill pickle
* 1 tablespoon minced celery
* 1 tablespoon minced parsley leaves
* 1 tablespoon heavy cream
* 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
* 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
* 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 teaspoon sugar
* Salt
In a bowl, combine all ingredients except salt and whisk until well-blended. Add salt to taste, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Yield: about 1 1/2 cups
Slice the onions and button mushrooms and defrost the frozen spinach in the microwave with a tablespoon of water. Melt 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil in a large saute pan and add the onions. Saute the onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with white sugar to help them caramelize a bit... add the mushrooms and spinach and continue to saute until mushrooms have turned a creamy brown color. Set aside to cook.
Prepare the reuben dressing and then slice enough Gouda cheese for both sandwiches. Take one piece of rye bread and spread the dressing on the sandwich and follow with a layer of vegetables and then a layer of sauerkraut (I patted mine with a paper towel to remove some of the liquid). Top with the gouda cheese and the second slice of rye bread.
Turn the broiler to medium heat and place a medium saute pan on the heat. Paint some of the melted butter on the sandwich and place it butter side down in the pan for four minutes. After four minutes, paint the other side of the sandwich with butter and flip and grill for an additional four minutes until cheese is melted and sandwich is warmed through. Repeat with the second sandwich. Slice the sandwich on the diagonal (I will only slice on the diagonal for reubens...) and serve with a big kosher pickle!
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