Recipe Box: A Sandwich Recipe in the Making

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iStockphoto.com/Andrea Skjold
While a Reuben sandwich traditionally contains sauerkraut and corned beef, take the sandwich in a different direction by substituting coleslaw.

Driving down the road to the GRIT staff’s favorite diner, I’m thinking about the Rueben sandwich on the menu. Marbled rye bread piled high (almost too high) with corned beef, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing, what a treat. This issue’s Recipe Box has corned beef recipes, meatloaf, beer bread, homemade relishes, and more!

March/April 2011 Recipe Box recipes:
Corned Beef Brisket Recipe
Pickling Spice Recipe
Corned Beef Recipe for Any Meat
Easy Meatloaf Recipe
Boston Market Meatloaf Recipe
Herbed Beer Bread Recipe
Beer Bread Rolls Recipe
Cucumber Relish Recipe
Dill Relish Recipe
Aunt Gussie’s Relish Recipe
Corn Pudding Supreme Recipe
Corn Pudding Recipe

One of my favorite sandwiches, the Rueben has a hazy history. Some say the sandwich was invented in Omaha, Nebraska, by Reuben Kulakofsky (or Ruebin Kay), a grocer who took part in a weekly poker game at the Blackstone Hotel in the 1920s. The Rueben could have been a group effort by the poker players, too. The hotel’s owner put the sandwich on the lunch menu, a former employee won a national contest with the recipe, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Others claim the sandwich’s creator was Arnold Reuben, the owner of New York’s Rueben’s Delicatessen, who put a Rueben special on his menu around 1914.

However it came into being, I enjoy a Rueben wherever and whenever I can. Although I may have to consider ordering a Rachel one of these days: pastrami or turkey instead of corned beef, and coleslaw instead of sauerkraut.

Dream up your own special Rueben sandwich with these recipes for corned beef.

If a Rueben isn’t what you crave, try Dorothy’s Meatloaf, Beer Bread, Aunt Gussie’s Relish or a large helping of Corn Pudding Supreme. You could even treat the family to all of these great recipes. Have fun!

Help wanted

If you’ve been looking for a long-lost recipe, or can provide one, please write to Recipe Box, c/o Grit, 1503 S.W. 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609, or e-mail us at RecipeBox@Grit.com. Please include your name, address and daytime phone number. Recipes cannot be returned, as they are eventually sent to the person requesting the recipe. Recipe requests and responses will be printed at our discretion and as space allows. Addresses are not printed to allow Grit the opportunity to publish recipes before sending them on to the requesting party.

  • Published on Feb 11, 2011
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