Homemade Russian Dressing and Reuben Sandwiches

Photo courtesy of Betty Crocker

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I don't often serve sandwiches for supper, but a busy day at the County Fair made them a great choice for dinner tonight. I might also add, a 2 pound package of pastrami managed to find its way its way into my grocery cart the last time I shopped at our local warehouse store. I needed to start using it, and what better way to do that than to make Reuben sandwiches. These days many restaurants serve Reubens as open-faced sandwiches. While I think they look beautiful when made that way, I also think that makes for a dry sandwich, so, when I make my own I enclose the filling and happily grill until my cheese is oozy. This is a simple sandwich to make and the only way you can go wrong is to overstuff or burn it. I've developed a formula of sorts to use when making Reubens. It helps me control the urge to overstuff the sandwich. The quantities in the recipe below work for us, but I urge you experiment until you come up with a formula that is perfect for your family. Here is how I make mine.

Reuben Sandwiches...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons soft butter
8 slices dark rye or pumpernickel bread
8 slices deli sliced corned beef or pastrami
8 slices Swiss cheese
1 cup sauerkraut, drained
1/2 cup Russian dressing (recipe below)

Directions:
1) Preheat a large skillet or griddle on medium heat.
2) Lightly butter one side of bread slices. Spread non-buttered sides with Russian dressing. On 4 bread slices, layer 1 slice Swiss cheese, 2 slices corned beef or pastrami, 1/4 cup sauerkraut and second slice of Swiss cheese. Top with remaining bread slices, buttered sides out.
3) Grill sandwiches until both sides are brown and cheese is melted. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 sandwiches.

Russian dressing, which was first called Russian mayonnaise, is a salad dressing first created by James Colburn in Nashua, New Hampshire around 1910. Contrary to popular belief, and despite the fact that they are used interchangeably, Russian dressing is not the same thing as Thousand Island dressing. The addition of horseradish makes Russian dressing far more piquant than the sweeter Thousand Island dressing.

Russian Dressing...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chili sauce, cocktail sauce or ketchup
1 tablespoon bottled horseradish, drained
1 teaspoon minced onion

Directions:
In a glass bowl, combine mayonnaise and other ingredients. Chill. Store unused portion in refrigerator, where it should keep for a day or two — or longer if you used store-bought mayonnaise. Makes about 1 cup of Russian dressing.