Reuben Sandwich

Brandon made this sandwich the other day for dinner.  Nothing sounded good, and I wanted something easy. They were really good and I'm not a sauerkraut fan.  It isn't in my regular format because he typed it up, but I'm not changing it.  :)

1 cup sauerkraut
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
mix and cook on stove top until all the liquid is absorbed

8 slices Rye bread
16 oz corned beef
8 oz Swiss Cheese
Spreadable butter

Sandwich
Spread Spicy Thousand Island on inside of each rye
layer, cheese, corned beef, sauerkraut, and cheese
spread butter on the outside and cook in a Panini press

Also a good addition is pickled onions

Spicy Thousand Island

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped sweet onions
2 Tbsp cocktail sauce
Mix together

Steak Tacos

Here is another one Brandon picked and made.  It too is from the American Test Kitchen 2008 book.  It was good, but not great in my opinion.  Brandon had it marked a 5, but I lowered it.  I know that part of the problem was we used some chuck we had in the freezer so our meat was a bit tough.  I can't hold that against the recipe.  It was totally our fault.  The flavor was still good, I just didn't think it was 5 star.  I did like the combination of the beef with the pickled onions, but honestly, I think the pickled onions added more to the panini Brandon made me the night before. The picture here is just of the meat and the pickled onions.  Those things showed better in the bowls than buried in the tacos.

1.5 to 1.75 lbs sirloin steak cut into 4 equal pieces
Sprinkle steaks with 1 Tbsp salt
Spread herb paste all over the steak, reserving the paste for later use
Let steak and paste sit for 30 mins
Scrape paste from steak
Sprinkle steak with 1/2 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp pepper
Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in saute pan and pan fry steaks 2 to 3 min on each side, and 2 mins on the edges
Let steak rest for 5 mins, then slice thin.
Mix paste mixture with cooked beef

Tacos
Meat mixture, pickled onions, and if desired sour cream and lettuce.

Herb Paste

1/2 cup chopped cilantro
3 garlic cloves minced
3 scallions roughly chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon or lime squeezed for juice

Place in food processor and blend for 3 to 4 pulses, scrape side if needed
Great with chicken or beef

Pickled onions

Here is another recipe from Brandon.  It actually is from a steak taco recipe in the Americas test kitchen book.  He made these for a roast beef panini he was making.  Then liked them so much he decided to try the tacos the next day since he already had the onions.  This picture is of the onions in my yummy panini.  They are pictures alone in a bowl in the next post.

Ingredients

• 1 Red onion sliced thin
• 1 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 jalapeño sliced thin
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Place red onion slices in a quart jar.
2. Place remaining ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring mixture to a boil then add to jar. Let sit for 1/2 then drain and transfer to a plastic container.

goes great on roast beef and cheddar paninis

American Farm Sausage

This is the sausage Brandon made to go in our stuffing on Thanksgiving.  We also had it for breakfast.  Very tasty.

Ingredients

• 5 lbs cubed pork butt
• 5 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp black pepper
• 1/2 Tbsp sage
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions

1. Mix all together and grind on course.  

Danish Sausage

5 lbs or pork butt cubed
5 tsp salt
1/4 tsp allspice
2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp cardamom
1 large minced onion
mix together and grind on course ground
1 cup cold beef bouillon and mix together

I would use the bouillon if I was stuffing into casing, it not using casing I would use about 1/2 the bouillon.