A Fun Family St. Patrick's Day

I adore a good holiday that isn’t really a “holiday” - these days when you don’t get a day off of school or anything, but it comes with a great color scheme, pun-ny jokes, and clothing requirements. It’s also the only time of year when I buy Lucky Charms so my kids get really excited about that too.

These are the days I like to celebrate all day. It’s fun to start the morning off with a quirky breakfast - even a bowl of Lucky Charms is a fun way to kick off the day! While you have the box of Lucky Charms out, pop a handful on the top of a mug of hot cocoa - and since it’s a Sunday, why not spike the cocoa with a splash of Frangelico? Get really Irish from the start!

The problem with St. Patrick’s Day food is that corned beef takes FOREVER to cook. FOREVER. It literally has to braise and boil and everything else before it’s done and it takes forever. But corned beef is the epitome of St. Patrick’s Day. That and soda bread - and a good (very) dark beer.

St. Patrick’s Day does fall on a Sunday this year so technically you do have time to go through the entire process of making corned beef. I usually buy mine at Metropolitan Market when I buy it already seasoned. It takes a few hours and the instructions are always on the package. There are lots of other ways to cook corned beef, but I’ve never had any issues when I just follow the instructions on the package.

But if you don’t have time, a Reuben Sandwich is the perfect substitute! You get to have the glory of corned beef, but purchased from the deli and cooked for you.

A reuben sandwich is my favorite meal every single time. If it’s on a menu, I will order it. Every time. The best I have had was at a roadside dive restaurant on our way to Montana last summer. It was the perfect ratio of meat to sauerkraut and super greasy with extra thousand island on the side. Epic.

I like to make these sandwiches on small rounds of bread so I end up with manageable sized sandwiches that don’t fall apart when you lift them up. The biggest issue with a Reuben is when it falls apart when you lift it.

REUBEN SANDWICH

STEP 1

Combine together mayonnaise, ketchup, and lemon juice.  Let rest.

STEP 2

Butter one side of each piece of bread.  Spread the other side with Dijon mustard.  

STEP 3

Layer a slice of cheese on top of four slices of bread (on top of the Dijon).  Add pastrami equally divided amongst sandwiches.

STEP 4

Top pastrami with sauerkraut and another slice of cheese.  

STEP 5

Top cheese with remaining slices of bread and toast the sandwiches over medium heat in a skillet.  

STEP 6

Slice and serve with homemade Thousand Island dipping sauce.

1 lb sliced pastrami 

8 slices rye bread

2 tbs butter

2 tbs Dijon mustard

1 cup Sauerkraut

8 slices Swiss cheese

½ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup ketchup

2 tbs lemon juice

End the night with a fun martini that’s on theme. Any one else hate a really thick beer? I can’t handle more than a sip or two of a heavy beer, but anything that’s green in a cocktail seems nasty too.

Then I discovered that if you muddle basil, it dyes the drink green! Shaken with Hendrick’s Gin - which has an herbal quality to it - it’s a perfect martini! You can serve this with any dinner - including a reuben sandwich.

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