Thursday, April 01, 2010

Baked Rueben Casserole

Back when I was growing up, my Großmutter, between the regular Bavarian beatings, used to make us grandchildren "Rueben Sandwiches" with all the leftovers that she had in her refrigerator. Unfortunately, because of the war, she had never really learned to cook anything other than grilled Hitlerwürst, so we just nodded and smiled as she served up another plate of German scheiss-spatzel.

Fortunately for us, none of her other recipes have been released by the Mossad.

Ingredients

14-ounce can sauerkraut, drained and squeezed dry
Small bottle Thousand Island dressing
1 pound corned beef, sliced
1/2 pound Swiss cheese, sliced
4 to 6 slices rye bread, buttered on one side

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine kraut and dressing (couldn't find a small bottle so I used 1 cup from a regular-size bottle) in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Top with beef, then cheese. Place bread, buttered side up, on top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Equally good the next day.

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We never did tell Großmutter of the sandwich's non-Arian origins. That was probably for the best.

3 comments:

Ms. Monongahela, Ms. Chief Editor said...

You realize corned beef is $11.99 a pound at Giant Iggle, don't you? Barrel cured sauerkraut in the bag is $1.99. (Aside: I can find only one kind of rye break that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup, which, from what I'm hearing, is the nectar of the antichrist.) This is a recession for godssakes. Do you have any suggestions for a substitute?

Ms. Monongahela, Ms. Chief Editor said...

And really, you need to go to bed earlier.

MH said...

Everybody knows the Reuben was invented in Omaha.