Pastrami Reuben Bread Boxes Food

REUBEN SANDWICH

Steps:

• Spread each slice of bread with thousand island dressing. Top 4 of the bread slices with sauerkraut, cheese and pastrami. Place remaining bread slices on sandwich. Spread margarine on the outsides of each sandwich.
• Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Grill until browned, then turn and grill until heated through, and cheese is melted.

REUBEN PASTRAMI/ NAVEL PASTRAMI

Steps:

• For the brine: Add 1 gallon of water to large pot. Add salt, sugar, garlic and curing salt and stir until it dissolves.
• Put navel in brine fully submerged. Leave in refrigerator for 5 days.
• For the pastrami: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and remove the navel from the brine. Stir together the allspice, coriander, pepper, brown sugar, garlic powder and dry mustard in a bowl. Sprinkle the rub all over the navel until fully covered. Place in a roasting pan and cover with foil. Bake until a fork can easily pierce through, about 1 hour. Slice when ready.

EDIBLE GIFT BOXES

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat together the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl.
• Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar together, in a large bowl, with an electric mixer on low speed. Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium, and beat until slightly creamy, about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Reduce the speed to low again and slowly pour in the egg mixture and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture, in 3 additions, increase the speed as the dough gets thicker to keep the beaters spinning. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters themselves as needed. Once all the flour is just incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and bring it together. Divide into 4 even pieces (about 11 ounces). Shape each piece into a flat square and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• To roll, cut and bake the cookies: Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Dust another sheet of parchment paper with flour and put 1 piece of the dough on top. Dust with more flour and top with another sheet of parchment. Roll the dough out into a square about 1/4-inch thick and chill until firm, about 20 minutes. Repeat with the remaining 3 pieces of dough.
• From 1 piece of rolled dough, measure and cut 6 panels for a box: two 4- by 4-inch squares for the top and bottom, two 4- by 2-inch rectangles for the long sides and two 3 3/4- by 2-inch rectangles for the slightly shorter sides. Arrange on the prepared baking sheets, cover and refrigerate. Repeat with the remaining 3 pieces of dough. If you find you can't get all the box parts from a piece then gather the scraps, reroll and cut panels from that.
• Bake, rotating the baking sheets front to back and bottom to top about halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets on a cooling rack, about 30 minutes. Nice, straight sides make the boxes easier to assemble, so after cooling, use a fine kitchen rasp to file the edges until squared and straight.
• Meanwhile, make the royal icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 5 tablespoons water and the vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the icing forms thick and glossy peaks, about 2 minutes (adding up to 1 tablespoon more water, if needed). Remove 2 cups to thicken and transfer the rest into an airtight container with plastic wrap pressed on to the surface of the icing.
• Thicken the royal icing: Thicken the 2 cups of the royal icing by beating in tablespoons of extra confectioners' sugar until the mixture is the consistency of caulk. Fit a pastry bag with a medium round tip and fill it with the thickened icing.
• Build the boxes: Put a 4- by 4-inch panel flat-side up on a work surface and pipe the thickened icing around the perimeter. Push a long edge of a 4- by 2-inch side panel into the icing on any side you'd like (make sure the golden top is facing out). You can use a can to help prop the panel up. Push the other 4- by 2-inch side panel directly opposite of the first. Now do the same with the remaining 3 3/4-inch by 2-inch side panels. Pipe more thickened royal icing up the 4 corners to help the side panels adhere to one another. Then pipe some around the top perimeter of the box. Let the boxes dry for 24 hours before adding the decorations.
• When dry, use a paring knife to trim off excess overflowing icing so the outside of the box has a clean finish.
• Decorate: Fit small round tips into piping bags. Divide the remaining royal icing into batches and color as desired. Fill bags with icing and pipe neat lines along the seams of the box first. Then go back and pipe little dots along the piped lines to create more interest. At this point, you can decorate the box and lid however you want. Do some pencil sketches on paper first to get an idea of what you might like. Then go for it.
• Let the icing dry thoroughly for at least 24 hours. Fill with treats of your choosing, tie with a ribbon and present.

PASTRAMI-REUBEN CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Set oven to 400°F.
• Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
• Lightly butter both sides of the bread slices.
• Slice in to about 1-1/2-inch cubes then place on a baking sheet.
• Bake until semi-crisp, but NOT hard and brown.
• Spread the bread cubes in the prepared baking dish.
• Sprinkle the sauerkraut over the bread cubes.
• Layer the beef strips evenly over the sauerkraut.
• Pour the salad dressing completely over the top (you may use more than 2 cups if needed).
• Cover with foil and bake 400°F (bottom oven rack) for 20-25 minutes.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle with shredded cheese and continue to bake UNCOVERED for another 6-8 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

PASTRAMI REUBEN MELT

Steps:

• Oil a grill or grill pan and preheat it to 400 degrees F.
• Steam pastrami and sauerkraut together in a double boiler. Place tortillas on hot grill and divide half of the Swiss on top of the tortillas. Cook until cheese is melted. Divide the pastrami and sauerkraut mixture evenly on top of the melted cheese. Squirt Russian dressing evenly over each tortilla. Divide the remaining Swiss among the tortillas. Fold tortillas in half and cook until cheese is melted. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into wedges. Serve immediately.
• Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Transfer to a squirt bottle before using on tortillas.

PASTRAMI RUEBEN AKA "THE RACHEL"

Steps:

• For the dressing: Combine the mayonnaise, chili sauce, sour cream, horseradish, lemon juice, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, smoked paprika, dill pickles and shallots in a food processor until thoroughly mixed. Do not over blend, you still want to see some texture. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside or refrigerate in a covered jar until serving time.
• For the sandwich build: Combine half of the dressing with the sauerkraut and toss. Place 1 slice of cheese on a piece of bread. Pile the meat high on the cheese, top with an additional slice of cheese, some of the sauerkraut mixture and the second piece of bread. Butter the outsides of the sandwich. Heat a heavy-bottomed nonstick skillet or griddle pan over medium-low heat. Add the sandwiches, cover with a heatproof bowl and griddle until golden and gooey in the middle, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip, cover and let cook until golden all around, another 3 minutes. Serve the extra dressing on the side.
• Cook's Note: I love getting a whole piece of pastrami, uncut, from Fumare's in Chicago. If you have a favorite deli, try getting a whole piece and cutting it yourself; the meat will stay nice and tender and you can mix the bark from the end cut with the meatier middle. You'll fall in love with pastrami all over again.

REUBEN GARBAGE BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Whisk together the mayonnaise, ketchup, horseradish, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Season with additional salt if needed. Set aside
• Stir the baking soda into 1/3 cup of super-hot tap water until dissolved. Set aside.
• Put the sauerkraut into a large kitchen towel and wring it out over the kitchen sink to remove any excess liquid. Set aside.
• Sprinkle the dough all over with the caraway seeds then roll into a 20-by-14-inch rectangle on a lightly floured work surface. Some of the caraway seeds will fall away from the dough, but a lot of the seeds should work in as you roll it out. Arrange the pastrami evenly on one half of the dough, starting on the shorter end and leaving a 1-inch border on the sides. Spread half the sauce over the pastrami. Separate the cheese pieces and shingle them over the sauce. Scatter the sauerkraut on top. Working from the short side, tightly roll up the dough into a log, jelly roll-style. Pinch the open ends together to seal, then tuck them underneath the log.
• Transfer the log, seam side-down, onto the prepared baking sheet and brush all over with the baking soda wash (you will not use all the wash). Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the bread is deep golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Let the bread cool for 10 minutes. Slice into 8 pieces and serve warm with the remaining sauce.

PASTRAMI REUBEN SANDWICH

Steps:

• Heat oil in a skillet.
• Add in onion; saute over medium heat until tender (about 7-8 minutes).
• Add in sauerkraut and caraway seeds; cover and cook over medium heat (stirring occasionally until sauerkraut is tender and lightly browned, about 20 minutes).
• Meanwhile in a bowl combine ketchup, mayo and relish (start with 2 tablespoons relish and add in more until you achieve the flavor you like).
• Split the bread rolls (careful not to cut all the way through).
• Place pastrami down the center, dividing evenly between buns.
• Top with sauerkraut/onion mixture, then the sauce, then top with cheese.
• Wrap in foil (leave top open).
• broil about 8 inches from heat.
• Heat through and until cheese has melted (about 3 minutes).
• Serve.