Hot Reuben "Sushi" Rolls

Well, St.Patrick's Day is only two days away and I have been wracking my brain trying to think what I was going to post.  Here's the problem.  St. Patty's is a major drinking holiday (like Christmas and Easter and Father's Day and...).  And a lot of the Irish food I know is a little starchy and heavy for beer drinking.  So, what to do, what to do, what to do?

I was thinking about the American St. Patty's Day staple Corned Beef and cabbage and how it is so much NOT Irish.  Corned Beef is Jewish, but was probably inexpensive and widely available when Irish immigrants arrive in New York, hence a tradition was born.  So anyway I was thinking corned beef and cabbage is also the same as corned beef and sauerkraut... HA! Reubens!

To further expand the melting pot horizons of this holiday, I decided to prepare the ruebens sushi style, then bake them in the oven and serve them with a homemade thousand island dressing.  Delicious and very fun to eat.

And yes, they go great with green beer!

Hot Reuben "Sushi"  Rolls
(makes 2 dozen)

12 slices marble Rye Bread, crusts trimmed
1 lb thinly sliced deli corned beef
1 cup sauerkraut well drained
1/4 pound Swiss cheese cut into thick matchsticks
1/2 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350.  With a rolling pin flatten each slice of bread very thin. Set aside.  On a cutting board arrange 1/2 the corned beef in a layer approximately 2 feet x 1 foot.  On one long side of the corned beef, arrange half of the sauerkraut in a line.  Top sauerkraut with 1/2 of the Swiss cheese.

Corned beef, Sauerkraut and Swiss Cheese on the cutting board ready to be rolled...

Carefully roll the corned beef into a log, sushi style.

All rolled up and ready to slice!

Cut into 6 equal pieces.  Place one small log of filled corned beef on a slice of flattened bread, and roll up.  Place seamside down on a baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Rolling the filling in flattened slices of marble rye bread

Brush each roll with melted butter and bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted.  Remove from oven and slice in half.  Arrange cut side up on a platter and serve with thousand island dipping sauce.

Thousand Island Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
2 1/2 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp chopped pickles
2 tsp hot sauce

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix with a spoon.