About this time every year, St. Paddys Day starts to loom. Green beer, corned beef and cabbage, Irish stew starts to pop up at eateries all over town. As I do not have a drop of Irish blood in me(I'm not even Catholic!), I usually scratch my itch for corned beef in the form of a home-made Reuben sandwich! I hear the Catholics are in a bit of a quandry this year, as St. Pats' Day falls before Easter, making alot of Lent vows pretty hard to keep! I take a 3lb. package of corned beef(not cooked, but cured) simmer it in beer and spices for about 3 hrs. and let it cool for slicing. My Reuben will consist of thinly sliced corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut(cooked,squeezed dry, and chopped!) with a modified Thousand Island dressing dressing, light rye bread, all grilled until golden and cheese is melting.
Today it works out I will have a home for the left-overs in the form of a Reuben Tortilla Roll-up. Chopped, cooked corned beef, shredded Swiss cheese, cream cheese, chopped sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing, extra pickle relish, horseradish, and a little dab of sweet hot sauce,(mixed thoroughly) make a great filling for these small, handy appetizers. Spread on a few torillas, rollup into a tube shape( semi-loosely!), place seam side down in a flat container and refidgerate for 2 hrs. Slice into round, bite-sized treats 3/4" and chill them wrapped,until needed. If you're short for time, just make the filling, use as a spread on crackers(RyKrisp!)or bagel chips. We have to go to a little "bring an appetizer" party tonight, and this stuff is usually pretty popular..
