Easy Killer Prime Rib

     I can hardly be original with this best known method of making Prime Rib.  I'm including it in my blog because it is a great and foolproof way to make the same great Prime Rib you get in a fine restaurant.  Though any good cook knows how to make "the king of meats," most people won't tackle this meat.  If you have never made a prime rib, then you are going to be shocked by how easy it is to make. I can tell you it will be one of the best meals you have ever had.

     The spice rub is only a  guideline, but the timing and temperature of this meal must be followed "to the letter" for great results.  This method is made for meat lovers as it produces a medium-rare to rare meat that melts in your mouth!  I think the hands-off method used in this blog scares a number of timid  cooks, and that's why you can look like a hero when you boldly cook what others won't.  Then, to top it off, it tastes like it came from a Texas Steakhouse!  Trust me, this is the easiest thing you have made and it will WOW the crowd.  You will forever be remembered for your prime rib.

     Ingredients-

Prime rib, bone on- 4 or more pounds (about 1 lb per serving)

Butter 1/4 lb per every 4 lbs of meat

Black pepper

Kosher salt 

Powdered garlic 

Basil 

Rosemary 

Thyme 

Whatever spices you like 

     Here is the first step that many cooks don't want to do.  You must let the prime rib warm up to room temperature.  That scares away any timid cook giving you an edge.  You need to let it set out at room temperature for a good 6-7 hours!  Bold yes? 

     I salt and pepper all sides of the meat then wrap it in aluminum foil.  Place it on a plate on the counter at room temperature for 6-7 hours.  This method will not work if the meat is not at room temperature. Take notice of the prime rib's weight, this is important as the cooking time depends on it.  Also, at this time, set the butter out to warm.  While you wait, enjoy a few beers but not enough to ruin 50 or 100 dollars worth of meat!

 

    After the meat is warm, preheat the oven to 500 degrees, and make a buttery rub.  This is up to you.  Use whatever flavors you want as you are not going to ruin this prime rib. I gave you a few ideas here.  I might suggest you pick a theme for your guests like- "My Rosemary Garlic Prime Rib."  Don't use too many spices as it will often muddle the flavors.  What is important is to use lots of salt and pepper in whatever themed rub you use.  Honestly, it's the liberal use of salt and pepper that flavor the meat.

     After you have mixed the rub, take the foil off your prime rib and pat it dry.  Place it ribs down in a roasting pan.   Rub all sides with the butter mixture, excluding the underside. 

     Wait until the oven is at 500 degrees then pop it in the oven.  Let the meat cook in the oven for 5 minutes per pound plus 2 minutes.  For example- a 6.2 lb prime rib stays at 500 degrees for (6.2x5) +2=33 minutes.  After the timer runs out, turn off the heat (leave the prime rib in the oven) and wait at least 2 hours. The heat in your oven will perfectly cook the meat.  Do no open your oven at any time or this method will fail miserably.  After 2 hours, open your oven and serve! You don't have to let the meat rest as it already has.  Also, at this point, the meat can wait in the oven for another 1/2 hour or so to stay warm if need be.  That's your prep window for the rest of your meal - 2 to 2 1/2 hours. 

 

     If you'd like, and I strongly suggest that you do, you can make an easy dipping sauce.  Simply put the pan drippings into a fry pan and add a bit of red wine.  Reduce the mix over medium heat.  You don't need to add any salt or pepper as the drippings are full of flavor!  You can thicken a bit with flour if you like, but you don't have to.  It's all up to you!  The taste is intense.  Serve it in a tiny dish to the side of the meat.  I didn't show the sauce, any sides, not even a beer!  I wanted you to look at that great Prime Rib!

    This prime rib will not disappoint you!  Enjoy!

Chicken Riggies

     How do I start this post?  Simply put, I make the best Chicken Riggies in North America.  Yours will not be as good no matter how hard you try.  That said, I will hold nothing back and I will share the real recipe, including technique.  The recipe is actually quite simple to make and your friends will put you on a "culinary pedestal."

     Chicken Riggies are a taste treat that is wonderfully unknown to most of the country.  It's my favorite meal to serve when friends are in from outside of our area.  Most people have never even heard of them, and they are blown away!  Once you have mastered them, Riggies are likely to be your "go to" meal with a gathering.  You'll know how good they are when your are invited to a party on the condition that you bring your Riggies.  Trust me, it will happen.

     If you're not from our area, by now you must be wondering, "What the hell are Chicken Riggies!?"  Basically they are just what the name implies, chicken and rigatoni.  How you present the two is what makes this a local classic.  People in the Rome-Utica area have evolved to intuitively know how Riggies should look and taste.  Though the dish has numerous variations, all Riggies have a sauce that gives it flavor and brings it together.  For me, the sauce is everything.  Sometimes thick, sometimes thin, sometimes red,  sometimes white, you'll see it all.  Some Riggies include a hearty mix of onions and peppers with a sauce in the background.  While others tout the sauce to showcase the chicken and rigatoni.  My Riggies (which are really a modified knockoff of my neighbor's) have a classic thick pink sauce and is rich with peppers, onions, and mushrooms.

     Riggies are offered in many of our local restaurants, and many of them boast to offer the "best" or "award winning" Riggies.  Sad!  Now, thanks to me, you know better than that.  So how should your Chicken Riggies look and taste?  I'm going to share my recipe with you as "Cookingguidelines", just like the blog name suggests.  It's up to you to make them your Riggies.  They'll be just great!

     Ingredients-

3-  Boneless chicken breast

1 1/2 lbs Rigatoni 

2-  Large yellow onions 

3-  Bell Peppers (multi color is nice)

6-  Cherry hot peppers (optional)

4-  Garlic lobes

8oz Sliced mushrooms 

1-  Small can sliced black olives

1-  Cup good tomato sauce 

1-  Pint heavy cream

2-  Sticks salted Butter

Creole seasoning 

Chicken bouillon 

Kosher salt 

Black pepper

3-  Cups water

2-  Tablespoons flour 

     I start this dish with a beer in my hand.  Trust me, nothing goes better with Riggies than a beer, and you'll love making these babies for a party while pre-gaming for that party!

     Prep the food first, before you drink too much.  I chop the bell peppers in bit size pieces.  If you're using the cherry peppers adjust the numbers for the heat you want.  I like those in rings so they are easy to see and they look great.  The onions I cut on halves and then cut them in semi rings for appearance & to release flavor.  How you cut the vegetables can actually change the flavors because of the surface area exposed to sauce, cooking, and tasting.  Mince the garlic.  Finally, I cut the chicken into bit size pieces.  Simple yes?

     Now put a pot of salted water on the stove over medium heat so it's ready for the rigatoni when we are.

     By now, I'm well into my second beer, remember that this is often a party dish.  I make Riggies in a large deep electric fry pan.  So warm that baby up to medium heat and toss in a stick of butter.  When it melts- add the peppers, onions and mushrooms.  Toss them together with a generous amount of kosher salt and pepper.  I simmer the vegetables with a cover on about half of the simmering time- the other half of the time I take the cover off. It is an off cover/on cover process. I know you don't hear that everyday, but I do.  I cover it for a few minutes to wilt the top veggies, then I uncover it, toss them around with my wooded spoon, and then let the steam out for a few minutes.  After a couple of those cycles, I add the garlic.  I continue the cooking cycle while occasionally tasting a pepper until the peppers are soft, but not quite done as much as I like.  That's when I remove all the vegetables from the pan.

     While the vegetables were cooking, I tossed the chicken with creole seasoning so it was ready to sauté.  As a side note, do not remove any of the juices when you remove the vegetables from your pan as these will flavor your chicken.  Dump the seasoned chicken in your buttery juices. Over medium heat sauté the chicken for just a few minutes. We want to cook the chicken through- but don't over cook the chicken as it will get tough!  These details of keeping your chicken tender and leaving your vegetables with some integrity will make the difference between good Riggies and great Riggies.

     I'm always multitasking while I cook.  While I sauté the chicken, I drink beer, and I mix 3 cups of water with a heaping tablespoon of chicken bouillon.  Warm the bouillon water mix a few minutes in the microwave.  When the chicken is just cooked through, I return the vegetables, add the bouillon water, and my sliced olives.  Bring it to a low simmer for just a few minutes.   I'm seeing the bottom of my third beer by now, how are you doing?  By the way, that boiling water on the stove is looking for rigatoni now.  Add the reggatoni and don't forget to check on it occasionally while we finish up the sauce.

     Lower the heat to stop the simmer, then add a pint of heavy cream and a cup of tomato sauce.  Bring the pan back to a slow simmer while stirring.  YOU HAVE BEEN STIRRING, RIGHT!  I didn't tell you to, but of course we are occasionally mixing and checking the bottom of our pan with the spoon to make certain nothing is sticking.  Granted, this is not pudding, but mix and monitor your dish.  Also, check the seasoning as you progress.  The creole seasoning brings a lot of spice to the mixture so be careful not to overdo.  That said, adding salt or pepper at the plate is not our objective.  We want it seasoned during the process for the best flavor.  I usually find that the salt and pepper added to my vegetables in step one, combined with the creole from the chicken is perfect, but I do taste as I go.  That's the only way to be sure.

     

     Now we need to finish the sauce by thickening it.  Remember you don't stop and do this, everything is happening at once!  While the sauce was coming back to a simmer I mixed 2 heaping tablespoons of flour with a cup of water, checked my boiling rigatoni, and opened my fourth beer.  Now we're cooking and I love making Riggies!  Broadcast the water flour mix over the sauce and sir it in.  You'll need to let it simmer a few minutes to fully thicken.

     Now let's talk about the rigatoni noodles.  This is another detail that can make or break your Riggies.  It's simple math folks, bad noodles equals bad Riggies.  You want you noodles al dente.  If you leave just a slight bite to the rigatoni, the sauce will finish it perfectly.  Never rinse pasta, never! When you watched your mom rinse pasta, you watched her take off the starch that makes the sauce stick to it.  A big mistake!

     Finally, we will assemble this culinary delight.  Add the sauce to your award winning serving dish, if you don't have one you haven't earned it yet.  Next, add the strained (not rinsed) reggatoni and toss.

     That's it!  You're done!  You just made the second best Riggies in the world!  

     This is me with one of my best friends -Dave.  We just completed a batch of my Reggies!!

                                      

     

Louisiana Boil

     How do I begin to explain the highlight of my summer!  My Louisiana Boil is an event that brings together great friends and great food.  This culinary treat goes by many names such as a Seafood Boil, New England Boil, Crab Boil, and so on.  I call it a Louisiana Boil for two reasons.  First, I don't focus on any one seafood, but instead I love a variety of them together.  Second, I try to honor Louisiana's great culinary style.  I must confess that I have never been to Louisiana, thus everything I am writing here may be bullshit.

     With that said, this party dish may or may not be a true taste of Louisiana, but it does have unbelievable flavors that will wow your friends.  It will also wow your wallet so don't be ashamed to let your guests bring some of the ingredients.  This really adds to the fun and community feeling of making this party dish happen.  Although you are coordinating the boil, everyone is involved and it creates a wonderful party atmosphere.  Your guests will have as much fun making the boil as they do eating it.

     This is an all day event of food and drink so if you're like me, hide the car keys and get ready for a great day.  At our boil, we had our pot showcased under a tent while we enjoyed numerous chips, dips and munchies.  We have it in the dead of summer with numerous summer beverages that add the feel of a southern boil.  Don't start the pot too soon, let the anticipation grow for a couple of hours.  What fun it is to drink, munch and talk about the food that is to come!

     Finally, timing is everything with this party dish, so I must abandoned my usual, "do this for about one beer" stuff.  It simply won't work with a boil of this sort.  Go ahead and get drunk, but not too drunk- you need to remember the order and time to cook each element.  This is sooooo easy, but it is also easy to screw it up.

     Enjoy!

     Missing from pictures Crab Legs!

Ingredients-

Water- 5 gals

Medium to Dark Beer- 3 bottles

Zatarain's Crab Boil- 3 boxes

Kosher Salt- 1/2 cup

Black Pepper- 1/4 cup

Garlic- 2 heads

Lemons- 3

Small Red Potatoes-  2 lbs

Small Yellow Potatoes- 2 lbs

Red Onions- 3

Sweet Bell Peppers- 3 multicolored

Kielbasa- 3 lbs

Corn On The Cob- 10 ears

Lobster Tails- 1 per guest

Little Neck Clams- 3 dozen

Mussels- 3 dozen

Jumbo Shrimp- 4 lbs

Calamari- 2 lbs

Snow Crab Clusters- 4 lbs

     I cannot stress enough that timing and order is everything for this boil.  The ingredients are only guidelines for you.  This was our boil, but you may want more veggies, different sausage or some other seafood. Whatever you want to put in this pot will work thanks to the broth that really makes it.  Trust me, and as Trump says, "it's gonna be great, your gonna love it".

     Preparations for my Louisiana Boil are easy.  I use all fresh or thawed seafood, nothing frozen or the timing will be screwed up.  Shuck the corn and break each ear in two.  Quarter the onions and the lemons.  Chop the sausage into 3/4 long chunks. All potatoes should be about salt potato size, if not, then cut them up.  I prefer small whole potatoes.  Clean and separate the garlic into individual cloves.

     You need a massive pot for this boil, I use a 55 quart pot with an insert over a propane powered burner. Are you jealous or what?!  I don't know how I ever lived without this thing.
 

    First add the water and the dark beer.  Then I lift the strainer out and put the 3 boxes of Zatarain's Crab boils under the strainer.  Next, add the kosher salt and the black pepper to your water.  Now turn on the burner and wait for it to boil.

     Once a full boil is reached add the potatoes, garlic and lemons.  The potatoes take the longest to cook and the garlic and lemon add deep flavors.  Cover and wait 10 minutes.

     Next, we add the kielbasa, onions and peppers.  These are three items that require less time to cook than the potatoes.  Cover and boil 10 minutes.

     See what I mean about the order being important? Next, add the corn- cover and continue to boil for another 5 minutes.   When this boil is finished, I think you'll agree that the corn steels the show!  It sucks in and showcases all those wonderful flavors.  

     Now comes the serious shit.  Here you must know your seafood and be cautious.  At this point we add the thawed lobster tails because they require a bit longer to cook due to their 3-4 oz size.

Along with them we added the fresh clams to make certain that they too are cooked completely.  Cover and wait about 3-4 minutes then check to see that the clams are opening. If your mussels are fresh they should be in with, and treated as the clams.

     That said, our mussels were precooked and previously frozen, so we thawed them earlier and added them after the clams began to open.  This was also the time to add our fresh, uncooked shrimp, because they cook so fast.  Cover again and boil about 2 minutes.

     The next thing we add are the calamari rings.  Again, cover and boil about 2 minutes.

     Finally we stuffed the precooked and thawed crab on the top to steam for about 2-3 minutes. We are really just warming them up! 

                                                         

     Get some oven mitts, shut off the gas, pull up the basket and allow it to drain.  We dumped it into trays on the table, but traditionally you dump it right on a table covered with newspaper.

      Dig in!

     

Turkey Carcass Soup

     This is a soup that I make just two or three times a year and I have been waiting to blog its preparation since this blog's inception.  Our family celebrates many holidays, Easter being one, with a roasted turkey, and turkey is a comfort food that offers numerous taste treats for days following the event.  I love turkey ala king, turkey sandwiches, and most of all, turkey soup.  Reading this blog entry will teach you how to wow your friends with the best turkey soup they have ever tasted.  The best flavors for a soup broth are hidden in the turkey's carcass bones.  In this short segment you are going to see how I release them into an unbelievable broth.  In most soups, the broth offers a salty medium to help you enjoy some noodles and veggies.  This is not the case with carcass soup, with carcass soup the broth is the treat.  We still enjoy the veggies and noodles in my turkey soup, but they become a tool who's purpose is to transport the lush broth to our mouth.

      I am starting this blog entry on Easter Sunday morning, and we celebrate Easter with a Thanksgiving-like feast.  My challenge today, will be to stay sober enough to make a great soup stock, which I will finish off on Monday night.  You'll be amazed how easy it is to make this great soup, but I'll warn you now that it does take time.  Two days are required to make this soup, so plan ahead.  On day one, I like to break out some beer, turn on the TV, and wander back and forth from the living room to the kitchen as the flavors grow.  Day two is rather fast, but I do manage to squeeze in a beer.  I make my soup with noodles, but as always, feel free to make your soup with rice or different vegetables.  You had better like your soup better than mine, or you haven't learned a thing from this blog.

     Ingredients-

Turkey Carcass

2 Yellow Onions

4 Stalks of Celery 

1 Cup of Baby Carrots

1 Clove of Garlic

Dried Parsley  

Water

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

1 Can Jellied Cranberries (Optional)

Wow! Is that a simple list or what? But it takes time.....

     Make it-

     Open a nice beer, wash your hands, and get a huge pot with a cover.  I start with a carcass that has had stuffing in it, the flavors are crazy good.  When the stuffing is gone and most of the meat is stripped off the carcass it looks like garbage.  This garbage will make fantastic soup!  Break the carcass up into parts so it will fit into the pot, and try to cover it with water.  Add a little kosher salt and black pepper, but you won't need much, especially if you're working with a carcass that had been stuffed.  Cover the pot with a tilted lid so the water won't boil and the steam returns to the pot.

     That's it for a few hours!  Go watch TV, drink, and shoot the shit.  Now that's comfort food.  After three hours or so, the carcass will be falling apart.  Shut the heat off and let it cool a bit before pouring the mix though a fine strainer.  Cover the strained broth and chill it over night in a refrigerator. Next, take the carcass pieces and separate (pull off) the good meat from the carcass, including the tasty dark meats.  This is a messy task, but well worth the effort.  Place the separated meat into a sealed container and store in the refrigerator over night as well.  I didn't bother to show this messy part, but common sense will guide you.

     The next day, remove the broth from the refrigerator.  Thanks to boiling the bones and all, you'll find that the grease has moved to the top of the container and the broth has jelled at the bottom.  This separation makes it a snap to scrape the grease off the top, leaving a wonderfully flavored broth that is much lower in fat.  No worries, all the flavor is there.  Now, put the broth on the stove and add the meat back.  Add a healthy tablespoon of dried parsley and turn up the heat to medium.

     As I said before, "This soup takes time, but it's so worth it!"

     Next, chop the celery, carrots, and onions.  Toss them in a pan with a bit of extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper.  Simmer them a bit before adding a bit of minced garlic. Continue to simmer the veggies until they are almost soft.  When they are ready, toss them into the broth. bring the broth to a full boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle boil for a half hour.  

     Add the noodles to the soup, as cooking in the broth gives them wonderful flavor.  Turn the heat off shortly before the noodles are fully cooked, as they will continue to cook after the heat is off.  If you don't do this, then the noodles might get mushy.  If you're using rice, sauté the rice with the veggies, as you would for pilaf, then add everything to the soup.  A quick fry of the rice always adds a great carmelized flavor to it.

     Finally, I love to serve this flavorful soup with a slab of jelled cranberry right in the center.  Try it and you won't be disappointed!  It's sooo good. If you hate cranberry, then you can skip it.

Utica Greens

     This post is dedicated to Jane, a great friend of mine that lives in Colorado.  While in Central New York, Jane had this local dish and she wanted to know how it's made.  As with any local cuisine, everyone makes Utica Greens a bit different, but they all share a few common traits.  Utica Greens are a combination of escarole, onions, peppers, prosciutto , cheese and breadcrumbs.  I don't often make greens, so I'm  sure a number of locals would criticize mine as being less than authentic.  We have other local favorites that I have a better mastery of, such as Chicken Reggies.  I'll share my take on Chicken Reggies in the coming weeks, and trust me you'll love them! 

     Most Utica Greens use only escarole but I like spinach better.  In this posting I used both spinach and escarole, the combination had good results.  Another break with tradition was my use of bacon rather than prosciutto.  I like the salty taste and crunchy texture of bacon with the soft greens, but most people do use prosciutto.  Using both might be a great option too.  Please remember that you're using my blog as guidelines only.  Make your greens the way you like them.  Look at the number of hot peppers I'm using, obviously I like my greens hot.  In fact, I'm not really big on spinach or escarole, so I use a lots of meat, peppers and onions.  You don't have to make it that way if your big on the green in greens.

     

     Ingredients-

Escarole 

Spinach 

1/2 pound Prosciutto or Bacon

1 Red Onion 

1 Red Sweet Bell Pepper 

6 Cherry Hot Peppers 

Sliced Mushrooms 

4 Garlic Cloves

1/4 pound Butter

1 1/2 cup Romano Cheese grated

3/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese grated

1 1/2 cup Italian Bread Crumbs

1 cup Red Wine

Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

Worcester Sauce

     Let's make them.

     I made these greens to go with lunch so it was a bit early to have a beer.  That said, use your own judgment.  I start by chopping the meat into small bits.  Next, I clean and chop the onions and peppers.  Clean the mushrooms and chop them also if they are too large.  The garlic is minced, as is usually the case.

     I use a deep electric skillet quite often, and this time is no different.  It works great later on when we are adding the spinach as the spinach takes up a great deal of space until it cooks down.  First, sauté the meat over medium heat until it's crispy.  Remove and drain the meat leaving a tablespoon or so in the pan.  Add all the peppers, onions and mushrooms.  Top it with butter, kosher salt and black pepper.  No garlic yet.  Sauté over medium heat folding the vegetables occasionally.

     While that's cooking I start the escarole.  Escarole can be a bitter green, so I add a generous amount of kosher salt and a bit of sugar to a large pot of water that will be used to cook it.  Set the heat to high and get that pot boiling.  This is a very dirty vegetable that requires lots of care in the sink.  Cut the bottom off and rinse each leaf carefully as the dirt is always present well into the upper part of the leaves.  After that, I give it a course chopping and toss it into the pot. Cook the escarole until it is fork tender.

     When the onions and peppers are almost soft, add the garlic, wine and Italian seasonings.  Reduce the heat a bit and simmer to reduce the wine.  Taste for seasoning as you go.  After the wine is reduced significantly add spinach and watch it shrink as you fold it into the hot vegetables.  I used a whole large bag, but I could have used even more.

     As that cooked I drained the escarole and it too went into the skillet.  I add a bit of Worcester sauce now and make a final check on the salt and pepper.  As it all cooks a lot of moisture gathers in the pan. You can drain it off if it looks excessive, but the next step will mop lots of it up.  How dry do you like your greens? That will determine how much, if any, moisture you want to remove.

     Reduce the heat to low before you add about a cup of Romano cheese and a cup of bread crumbs.  Incorporate these by folding them into the mix.  Now I put the greens into a shallow casserole which I top with 1/2 cup of romano, then 3/4 cup of mozzarella, and finally 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs.  Bake it at 375 until the cheeses melt.  Let it set for a bit before serving.  Greens are a great side dish to almost any meal.  In the Rome-Utica area we often see greens served on steak and chicken sandwiches and in the sandwich wraps.  If you haven't had one, trust me you're missing something.

Kielbasa and Hot Pepper Sandwiches

     There are sandwiches and then there are sandwiches!  This is a casual post that shows you how much fun it is to get together with friends and make simple, great food.  Nothing is better than a beer with a great sandwich.  We choose a manly classic sandwich made up of kielbasa and hot peppers.  Dam they were good.  You must choose your beer to match the great taste of these sandwiches.

     I think we will start by introducing my friends that made this night so much fun.  Dave Sampson is on the right and Scott Rutledge is on the left.  We all share a passion for savory foods and beer. 

     What you need-

Great Friends to cook with

Kielbasa 

Long Hot Peppers

Onions

Sturdy Rye Bread

Swiss Cheese

Assorted Brown Mustard

Salt

Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Assorted Dark Beers (or a gluten-free beer in Scott's case)

Pickles 

Chips 

Dips

Sour-kraut 

     We started this party with a few beers and conversation.  Dave found some unique bourbon maple pickles that were great.  Scott had a couple different chip types that I could not stop stuffing my face with.  We solved the world's problems and discussed our favorite sandwiches.

     Before we knew it, it was time to cook.  As I cleaned the peppers, Dave tossed the kielbasa in a big pot to boil.   I think Scott chopped the onions, but thanks to the beer and nonsense I'm not certain.

     The hot peppers were tossed with a few chopped onions, salt, pepper, and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.  Just because I thought we should, I started to saute some sour-kraut.  After all kraut and kielbasa are natural together.  Also as a fall back, we fried up some sweet peppers.   We boiled the kielbasa until it was a tender and bulging.  The pepper are done when they're fork tender.

     We had a number of beers to try, but the winner was obvious to me.  Dave found an oatmeal stout that stole the show.  It was going to be great with a man sandwich.

     I really didn't think the night could get better, but the sandwiches ere yet to come.

     Every man that is a man, knows how to make a great sandwich.  You do what you want, it's all good, but this is my blog so I'll tell you how I made mine.  The sour kraut would be good with kielbasa alone, but I had a another classic in mind.

 I started with 2 slices of a good sturdy rye and gave them but a spread of brown mustard.  Dave had 3 to choose from.  I pick a hot brown with horseradish.  Next I cut a piece of kielbasa long as the bread and I split it lengthwise.  I covered that with a fine deli Swiss cheese.  Then topped it off with some of those long hots.  What else can I say, the night got even better.

                                 What a sandwich!