Finally, after a week of work, the moment had arrived to build some Reubens. I started by toasting the rye bread in butter on the cast iron pan.
I used the heat in the pan to help meld the ingredients as I assembled. The cheese (Edam, as I recall) went on the bottom slice. Russian dressing went on the top. The pastrami went on top of the cheese. I didn't make my own sauerkraut; the Bubbies sauerkraut I found at Hy-Vee was of excellent quality. Some Russian dressing went on the top slice of bread.
We were too busy enjoying the sandwiches to get a lot of photos of the process. The pastrami was sublime. The brining came through very nicely without being overpowering. The texture was just firm enough, giving a gentle tug as we chewed. The Russian dressing was spicy and gave a nice kick. The cheese and saurekraut were of excellent quality. Everything came together for a wonderful---and very filling---sandwich.
I made candied ginger a few years ago. It's not something I would do every day but I had a lot of fun doing it. I recently acquired a pressure cooker and it inspired an interesting idea to me: why not make candied ginger in the pressure cooker? It should be very soft and flavorful. Here is the result. I peeled two large ginger roots, cut them into small cubes, and put them in the pressure cooker with heavily sugared water. The traditional method first boils the ginger in plain water to soften it and then again in sugar water to candy it. The resulting candy was very tender but still with the characteristic ginger texture. It was also sweet without being overpowering. The traditional method leaves a lot of sugar crystallized around the ginger. The pressure cooker gives a much more subtle result. The ginger stays moist even after it cools but you can dry it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. That inspired me to dip it in chocolate. While I was in the b...
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