Oh Reuben!

First, a silent moment of thanks to the person (it's disputed - either a guy in Omaha or a guy in New York) who decided to combine the flavors of corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing...and then named it after himself.

And...let's also send up a second wave of appreciation for the person who thought to make it into a pizza.

I happened to have a phenomenal Reuben at Stein's Market & Deli in New Orleans recently, and within two days of my arrival home, a recipe for 'Reuben Pizza' was in my gmail inbox from www.allrecipes.com.

Fate?  Coincidence?  I didn't ponder that question very long.  I simply decided I must make that pizza...

And what a simple process.

A basic pizza has: pizza crust, tomato sauce, variety of toppings (indefinite), and mozzarella cheese.  A Reuben pizza makes the following substitutions: Thousand Island dressing = tomato sauce, corned beef or pastrami AND canned sauerkraut = indefinite variety of toppings, Swiss cheese = mozzarella.

Assemble as such: dressing, beef, sauerkraut, cheese.  Easy-breezy-peasy.  Looks like this:

Can you detect all the layers of awesomeness here?

My apologies for not taking an picture straight out of the oven, but honestly, my husband, my daughter, and myself were verily frothing at the mouth with ravenous hunger.  I could barely cut it without being overtaken by starving hordes.

Now, I make my pizza crust dough in the bread machine, which I think makes a significant difference in final product, but the highlight is the Reuben taste, which will come through no matter what kind of dough you use.

I won't vouch for healthy calories here...I mean, after all, full-fat salad dressing, corned beef, Swiss cheese?  Yeah.  But, by the time everything's piled on, it's a hearty, substantial pie.  One piece, really, will be enough. 

Or at least it should be. 

Reuben in moderation, folks.  That's what I'm saying.