Last week, we visited our older daughter at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.  On Saturday night, after she left us to head back to her dorm, we stopped to have a drink at the Tavern in the Archer House, a terrific place to sit and have good conversation with others.

The bartender ordered the special pizza of the day.  It looked good.  I asked what it was.  “A Rueben flatbread pizza,” she answered, offering me a piece, with I rapidly consumed despite having just finished dinner and an ice cream cone while sitting in the park down the street.

The pizza was so good that I had to make it.  It’s very simple.  Last night we enjoyed my version.  Here’s how it goes:

You’ll need some thinly cut pastrami, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, a white onion, tomato, Thousand Island dressing, Mozzarella cheese and a pizza pie (I bought a pre-made one).

Lightly brush the pizza pie crust with olive oil.  Heat it in a skillet so it is lightly browned.  Preheat the oven to 450.

Coat the crust with the Thousand Island dressing (cover the dough, but not thickly).  Layer the onions, sauerkraut and onions to your taste.  I separated the pizza in half and added more of the sauerkraut and onions to my half, leaving the other side open for my wife and our younger daughter.

Slice the tomato  and put it on your mix, then cover that with the pastrami, grated Mozzarella and the sliced Swiss (you can do grated or sliced).  Place in oven.  Check in eight minutes.  We left it in for 10 minutes and it was about right.

Victory.  It’s hard to get a thumbs up from everyone in our family, but this one came out a winner.  Remember you can personalize to your family’s taste buds, so experiment with the best ingredients, but the core is the cheeses and pastrami.   Enjoy.

I saw this recipe in the Fort Worth Star Telegram.  The picture sold me.  It showed some lightly-crisped golden brown patties on a bed of lettuce.  So I read the story, saw that the dish was kind of a potato pancake, but a staple of the Passover Seder table.


We made the dish last night and it was yummie, but agreed as a family that it could use some additions, so here’s what you need and how to do it:  2 pounds of leeks; 2 large boiling potatoes (not russet) peeled; 3 large eggs, beaten; 3 tablespoons matzo meal; 8 strips of bacon; on-half cup of grated Romano or Parmesan cheese; salt and pepper; vegetable oil for frying.

1.        Wash the leeks carefully, slicing them vertically to remove all of the grit.  Dice the white base and the palest green part of the leaves.  Parbroil for five minutes in salted water.  Drain.

2.       Fry the bacon.  Slice into smaller pieces and set aside.

3.       Boil the potatoes until they are soft.  Drain and cool.  Using a potato masher or food processor, mash the potatoes.  Add leeks, blending them in well.  Add eggs, matzo meal, cheese, bacon, salt and pepper to taste.  Form mixture into approximately 12 patties.

4.       Pour oil one-half inch deep in a heavy frying pan.  When the oil reaches 375 degrees (medium high-ish), drop the patties into the oil, 2-3 per batch.  Fry until golden brown on each side.  Drain on paper towels.

We served the patties with sour cream to dip, and ketchup, as kind of a cross between potato pancakes/hash browns French fries.  We added a side salad for diversity.  That was our dinner while we watched pre-recorded Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show.  The cakes were light, crisp outside texture and soft inside.  Filling and tasty.  Try them next time you want a casual family dinner.