Reuben Panini

I don't know if I have mentioned it before but I am kind of addicted to acquiring new kitchen tools.

I have a lot of them already....but not enough.

I don't think you can ever have enough cool kitchen tools.

Notice I call them "tools" because that makes them important and useful and then you don't have to feel too guilty about buying more.

Waffles iron, Belgian Waffle Iron (Oh, yes, there is a difference), Kitchenaid Stand Mixer, Magic Bullet, Panini Maker, Kitchen Torch,  the list is quite extensive. Not as extensive as I hope it to be one day.

Here's hoping our blog is "discovered" by some delightful kitchen gadget maker and they would like us to be their testers. (We like free stuff...hint hint)

Until then I will spend my days daydreaming and window shopping in the kitchen aisles of pretty much any store.

Anyway, that little rambling was brought on because I used my panini maker to whip up some delicious reubens the other night for dinner. It is one of the tools that I don't use very often because it is on a shelf in the back bedroom so I never see it.

I really should use it more. Paninis are amazing. So melty and chewy and tasty.

Reuben Panini

Ingredients

whole grain rye bread or marbled rye bread

Thousand Island dressing

corned beef, shredded or deli sliced

Swiss cheese, sliced

sauerkraut, drained

butter, softened

Directions

Heat up panini maker.

Lay out rye bread on counter. Spread a small amount of Thousand Island dressing on each slice.

Top one side of bread with a small pile of corned beef, top with sauerkraut, and then top with Swiss cheese. 

Place the other slice of bread on top of Swiss cheese, dressing side down.

Spread the top of the sandwich very lightly with softened butter, Flip entire sandwich over and lightly spread butter on the other side as well.

Place in panini maker and close lid. If you are able to, slightly tighten the lid so there is a bit of pressure squishing the reuben slightly.

Grill until toasted and cheese is melted. Remove from heat and let sit for a minute before slicing.

I didn't include any measurements for this recipe as there are several things that affect the outcome: size of the bread, how many sandwiches you are making,  how full you want to stuff them, things like that.

I usually use "real" corned beef that I cook up and shred but was unable to get any this time. I used packaged deli corned beef and it worked out okay. Same with the Swiss cheese - I usually use the big slices of Swiss but couldn't find any in town, (Oh the joys of small town living!) and had to just cut up a small brick of Swiss.

So, it wasn't as fancy as I usually make them but it was still a delicious sandwich.

Anyway, my point is that you can just buy as much as you like and go from there.

If you don't have a panini maker...you poor thing....you can cook this in a frying pan over medium heat and just place something heavy, like another, smaller frying pan on top of the sandwich to squish it a little bit, and flip it over to toast both pieces of bread.