Dan’s Reuben. Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS It is a debate that has been passionately argued by culinary philosophers for centuries: Do sandwiches taste better when eaten standing over the kitchen sink, or when they are picked up from a paper plate? I am firmly in the kitchen-sink camp. To […]
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It is a debate that has been passionately argued by culinary philosophers for centuries: Do sandwiches taste better when eaten standing over the kitchen sink, or when they are picked up from a paper plate?
I am firmly in the kitchen-sink camp. To me, paper plates are almost no better for sandwiches than china plates, which are practically like eating them with knives and forks.
I spent a lot of time standing in front of my sink the other day when I made several sandwiches. All of them were hot sandwiches — that is, each one had to be heated before it was ready to be eaten. I’d like to say that was my original intention, but actually the truth of it came to me like this:
Hillary the photographer: “Hey, all of these are hot sandwiches.”
Me: “Really? Huh. What do you know about that?”
So I definitely intentionally set out to make hot sandwiches, each unusual in its own way. Some were relatively easy; some took more time and effort, some were decidedly fancy. All were awfully good.
Easy to make, and every bit as intriguing, was a sandwich created by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, Cheesy Kimchi Toastie.
Yes, the name is a little cheesy, itself. But the idea is, as Oliver would say, brilliant. It is a grilled cheese sandwich with finely chopped kimchi in the middle, and additional bits of crunchy cheese on one side.
Spicy, salty kimchi, with that unmistakable funk that only comes from the Korean red pepper called gochugaru, turns out to be the perfect foil for the robust richness of sharp cheddar cheese. And the crunchy bits only make it that much better.
I next decided to make a Reuben sandwich my way, which is to say without Russian dressing. I have never understood why people put Russian dressing on Reubens. To my palate, the mayo-ketchup mixture blows out all the other flavors in the sandwich. Your eyes tell you that you are eating corned beef, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut, but your tongue tells you it is Russian dressing all the way.
Instead of Russian dressing, I used deli mustard, which is far more sensible and as far as I am concerned is the only worthwhile condiment to go with corned beef. I also used pastrami instead of corned beef, because why not? Either one works especially well with this dish.
Meanwhile, it is my considered opinion that no self-respecting New York-style deli should even bother carrying Russian dressing, except maybe for a salad. Maybe.
My next offering, like the flank-steak one, came from ‘Wichcraft. It’s called Gruyère With Caramelized Onions, and basically it is French onion soup turned inside out.
Slowly caramelized onions are in the middle, surrounded by smooth, melted gruyère cheese. The croutons that usually float in the soup as a base for the cheese are represented, of course, by the pieces of bread that make up the outside of the sandwich.
It is just as delectable as a well-crafted bowl of French onion soup, and you can eat it standing in front of your sink.
It is a sandwich for all seasons, a testament to the fact that you can put pretty much anything between slices of bread and come up with a winner.
DAN’S REUBEN
Yield: 1 sandwich
Ingredients
1 tablespoon deli-style mustard
2 slices rye bread
1/4 pound corned beef or pastrami
1/4 cup sauerkraut, drained
2-3 slices Swiss cheese
Directions
- Spread mustard on 1 slice of bread.
- Top with corned beef, sauerkraut, cheese and the remaining slice of bread. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add sandwich, top-side down. Cook until bottom is golden brown.
- Flip and cook until bottom slice is toasted and cheese has melted. Serve with a pickle.
GRUYRE WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, halved and cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch slices
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
Salt and pepper
16 slices Gruyre cheese
8 slices rye bread
2 tablespoons butter
Directions
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil and onions. Add the oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until onions turn light brown. Reduce the heat and continue to cook until the onions are soft and golden brown, 30-45 minutes. These can be kept refrigerated for up to 1 week.
- Place two slices of cheese on each of 4 slices of bread. Put 1/4 cup of the onions on top of each, and top each sandwich with another two slices of cheese and slice of bread.
- Melt 1/2 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat (if your skillet is large enough to make two sandwiches at a time, use 1 tablespoon of the butter). Place one (or two) sandwiches in the butter, and press down lightly until the bottom is golden brown and toasted. Flip and cook other side until the cheese has melted.
CHEESY KIMCHI TOASTIE
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients
2 slices soft bread
1 1/2 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 1/2 ounces good-quality kimchi, finely chopped
Directions
- Spread 1/2 ounce of the cheese over 1 slice of bread. Spread the kimchi over the cheese, right to the edges of the bread. Spread another 1/2 ounce of the cheese over the kimchi, and top it with the remaining slice of bread.
- Put a nonstick skillet on medium heat. When it’s hot, cook the sandwich for 2 minutes on each side, until it is beautifully golden. Remove sandwich from the pan. Scatter the remaining 1/2 ounce of cheese on the pan, then place the sandwich back on top. Remove after 30 seconds and turn over onto plate to reveal your handsome cheese crown.
