David Rubel's

What's For Dinner?

1/04/06 

Reuben Sandwich Casserole

(serves two adults and two children)

This recipe comes from Nancy Chagnon, who readily admits that calling it a “Reuben” is something of a misnomer. “I think Ipicked it up from an old Gourmet magazine recipe that used corned beef and Swiss cheese,” Nancy writes, “butit'shard to get good corned beef and the Swiss cheese wasjust too strong.” So she created a ham-and-cheese sandwich casserole that’s really a savory bread pudding. It’s also easy to make and can be prepared well in advance.In fact, according to Nancy, “it's really better if made a day ahead."

• 1 loaf hearty pumpernickel bread
• 1/2 lb deli-sliced ham
• 1/4 lb deli-sliced cheddar cheese
• 1/4 lb deli-sliced Muenster cheese
• 1/2 lb sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 c milk
• 1 1/2 c heavy cream
• 2 eggs
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1 tsp mustard (a coarse, grainy variety)
• 1 tsp horseradish
• additional slices of cheese for topping (optional)

1. Cut the loaf of pumpernickel (including the crust) into cubes approximately one inch on a side. Spread the cubes on a baking sheet to dry, either uncovered overnight or in a hot oven for about 10-15 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put on a kettle of water to boil.

3. Shred the ham, cheddar, and Muenster roughly by hand into a 9-by-13-inch Pyrex baking dish. Add the sauerkraut and bread cubes. Toss to combine.

4. Combine the milk and the cream in a saucepan, and bring the mixture just to a simmer over medium heat.

5. When the milk and cream are hot, whisk together the eggs and yolks in a large mixing bowl.

6. Very slowly pour the hot milk and cream into the eggs, whisking as you go to make a custard. Then whisk in the dill, mustard, and horseradish.

7. Pour the custard over the ingredients in the baking dish and turn to coat well. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.

8. Place the baking dish inside a larger roasting pan, and add boiling water to the roasting pan until the level reaches halfway up the sides of the baking dish.

9. Bake until the custard is mostly set, about 45 minutes. Then remove the aluminum foil so that the top can brown, another 10-15 minutes. At this point, you may want to add some additional cheese to melt on top. Serve with Nancy’s Russian dressing (see the tip below).

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Tips

* Try to use fresh sauerkraut. You can sometimes find it in the cooler at a good health-food store. The canned and bagged varieties compare poorly because they’ve essentially been cooked.

* You need to add the hot milk and cream to the egg mixture slowly; otherwise, you will end up with milky scrambled eggs instead of custard. This process of gradually heating the eggs is called tempering.

* Nancy serves this dish with homemade Russian dressing. Start with two parts mayonnaise to one part ketchup, adjust the balance of these two ingredients, and then add Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, and sweet pickle relish to taste.

* Nancy sometimes dresses up this dish by making it in individual six-inch ramekins.

If you have tried one of these recipes and have an improvement or tip or variation to suggest, please e-mail David at dinner@wamc.org. Also feel free to send along your own family cuisine recipes. You can even request dishes that you'd like David to present in the future.

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David Rubel is president of Agincourt Press, a book production company in Chatham, New York. He spends his days writing American history, then heads home after work to cook for his wife and two young children. His most recent book is The Story of America (DK, 2002).