Reuben Puff Redux

St. Patrick's Day was fine.  The sun came up and stayed around all day.  Since the 17th was on a Saturday this year, the city planned an all-day event.  The city square around the courthouse was cordoned off and food vendors offered corned beef, cabbage and other tasty treats.  There was music playing and dancing in the street.  All day, green-clad neighbors passed by with a friendly hello or wave of the hand.  When the sun set, the parade began and it came right by our house.  More music and dancing ensued.  At 11 p.m., the music stopped and everyone, as far as we could tell, went quietly and peacefully home.

I hope you have some corned beef left over.  These reuben puffs are one of our favorites.  If you don't have leftovers, go to the deli and pick up some corned beef slices.  That's what we did.  Since it was just the two of us, we decided that a whole brisket was more than we wanted.

I've shared this recipe with you before.  Here it is again, especially for any of you who might have missed it the first time around.

Reuben Puffs from a long-ago Chicago Tribune

Serves 4

1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

1 medium onion, minced

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 1/2 tsps Dijon mustard plus additional for spreading on the bread

2 cups sauerkraut, rinsed and patted very dry on paper towels

4 egg whites

4 large slices of deli rye bread

8 ounces thinly sliced corned beef

1.  Heat broiler.  Combine cheese, onion, mayonnaise and mustard in a medium bowl.  Stir in sauerkraut and egg whites (do not beat the egg whites) until well combined.

2.  Spread mustard on one side of bread.  Top each with 1/4 of the corned beef and top that with the cheese mixture spreading evenly over the corned beef to the edge of the bread.

3.  Broil about 10 inches from the heat until puffy and browned.  This will take 5 to 6 minutes.  Watch closely.

ENJOY!