Groovin' Reuben

Menu Note:

• Unable to obtain a good French dressing like the one pictured below, I have subsequently substituted the dressing described in steps 1 to 4 of Grill It, a recipe that is also on this blog. We think we like this even better than the commercial product.

The Ingredients (for two people):

• 2 slices of rye bread (preferably New York or Jewish rye)
• 3 slices of pastrami (I used Columbus brand)
• Sauerkraut
• 1 slice of cheese (preferably Manchego)
• French dressing (preferably Tropic's Special Dressing)
• Butter

The Method:

1. Place a skillet or griddle on medium-low heat and allow it to warm up.
2. Lightly butter one side of one slice of the bread and place it, butter side down, on the bottom of the pan. Make a note of the time or set a timer for 5 minutes.
3. Spread the upper side of this slice of bread with French dressing.
4. Arrange the slices of pastrami on the bread in the pan.
5. Warm the sauerkraut in the microwave and squeeze out the fluid.
6. Arrange the sauerkraut on top of the pastrami.
7. Place a slice of cheese on top of the sauerkraut.
8. Spread the second slice of bread with French dressing and place it, dressing side down, on top of the cheese.
9. Lightly butter the top of this slice of bread.
10. Five to seven minutes after placing the first slice of bread in the pan, turn the sandwich over.
11. After another 5 to 7 minutes, remove the sandwich and cut it in half.

The Story:

Sometimes even a diabetic needs a hearty lunch with some carbs. For us, this happens whenever we go on a hike or a bike ride for 4 hours or longer. Reuben has always been one of my favorite sandwiches (when we were dating several decades ago I shocked my husband once by ordering a Reuben for breakfast). But on the small island where we live we have tried without success to find a restaurant with a good Reuben, so I decided to try making them at home. I researched online what other people were doing, checked at local stores for likely ingredients, and came up with the combination described here. Turns out I only have to shop at two stores to buy all the ingredients. Sometimes I make this sandwich for guests from the mainland and proudly tell them they are eating the best Reuben on the island.