Reubens and Irish Stout Chocolate Sauce

I am guilty of over indulging on food for holidays and St. Patrick's Day is no exception. This year I decided to make homemade reubens even though I have never been a fan of the sandwich.  Can I say...I am now a fan! Reubens are a once a week sandwich treat for us now.

We also experimented with a little chocolate sauce and the leftover stout beer from in the fridge. It's a very rich sauce but delicious for a little treat.

Let's start with the Reuben:

First, homemade Thousand Island dressing is a must.
Take 1 cup of mayo, 1/3 cup of ketchup, 1 teaspoon of sweet pickle relish, about a teaspoon of fresh diced onion, 1 teaspoon of vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix is all together in a small bowl and put in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Awesome Reuben Sandwiches
Prep: 10 min
Cook: 10 min

INGREDIENTS
1/2 lb sliced corned beef
4 slices of whole grain bread (try homemade)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup of sauerkraut
4 slices swiss cheese
2 tablespoons Thousand Island dressing

Directions:
Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Butter one side of each piece of bread and place on the heated skillet butter side down. When those are toasted golden brown, remove from skillet and place on plates. Place two big hunks of corned beef on the skillet and let the first side warm for about a minute. Flip the meat and then top it with your cheese and sauerkraut. Cover with another pan or lid so everything gets nice a warm.  Place your melty goodness on the bread, spread a generous amount of your homemade Thousand Island dressing on the other piece of bread, put them together, slice in half and enjoy.

Now for the really good part. Try this Irish Stout Chocolate Sauce over ice cream any time of the year.

Irish Stout Chocolate Sauce
Cook: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup stout beer
1/4 cup Irish Cream liquor
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips



Directions:
Pour chocolate chips into a medium bowl. Combine beer, liquor, and heavy cream in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Cook until hot but not boiling (you don't want the cream to boil). Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate chips, let it sit for about 2 minutes and then stir until all of the chocolate is melted into the cream mixture.

Drizzle over vanilla ice cream and top with sliced strawberries. Cheers!

Embrace food, family and everything else that makes you happy