Reuben Panini

Had some leftover corned beef so decided to make a reuben.  I did not have any sauerkraut or swiss cheese, so I decided to use american cheese and kimchee.  While it seems like you can just throw this together, it actually needs a little thought to be put into it so that everything is well balanced.

This is the type of kimchee I used.  It is made from a radish which has been julienned.  It is a lot sweeter and crunchier than the more readily available cabbage kimchee.  I tried using cabbage kimchee in this sandwich and it just didn't work for me, which is strange because the flavor of cabbage kimchee is closer to sauerkraut.  You can find this in korean markets.  If you can't find it, I assume you can use sauerkraut in its place, as that is what is in a traditional rueben, but I cannot vouch for that as I've never actually made a normal reuben sandwich...


ingredients:
1.  2 slices of whole wheat bread
2.  1 slice of american cheese
3.  3/4 cup of corned beef, sliced 1/4" thick (enough for 2 layers)
4.  1 cup of left over corned beef stock or just regular beef stock
5.  3 TBL of radish kimchee
6.  1 TBL butter
7.  A clean pan bottom to press down on the sandwich

sauce:
8.  2 TBL of ketchup
9.  4 TBL of mayonaise
10.  A dash of white vinegar
11.  A pinch of ground black pepper

recipe:
1.  Combine ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and mix.  Taste and adjust.  It should be sweet, rich, and slightly tangy.  Adjust to taste.
2.  If the broth is from the day before and cold, heat it up in the microwave until very hot.  Place sliced corned beef into the broth to hydrate.
3.  Meanwhile, melt 1/2 TBL of butter into a non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  As soon as it's melted, place bread into pan and slide it around so each slice gets coated evenly in butter.
note: - I made this once by just toasting the bread and using no butter, and the bread was just so dry and rough that it took away from the sandwich completely.  Using a lot of butter and pressing down on the sandwich infuses it with plenty of liquid and makes the sandwich perfectly moist.
4.  Toast the bread for 2-3 minutes, or until it is dark, crusty brown.  As soon as it is toasted, drop another 1/2 TBL of butter into the pan in an open space, allow to melt for a few seconds, then flip over the bread pieces and slide the bread over the butter so each piece is evenly coated.  Take the pan off heat (the bread could burn if you assemble it on heat)
5.  Use a spoon and place a dollop of the sauce onto each slice of bread.  You want to place a decent amount of sauce onto each slice.  There should be just enough sauce so that you can barely see the bread.
note: - I tried putting sauce onto only 1 side of the bread, but I kept feeling as if it needed slightly more moisture and sauce flavor.  I ended up just putting double the amount on once slice of bread, but I found that by putting sauce onto both pieces of bread, not only did it help keep the corned beef moist, the flavor of the sauce was better distributed throughout each bite.
6.  Take out the corned beef slices from the hot broth, shake off any excess liquid and layer 2 layers of corned beef onto 1 slice of bread.
7.  Tear up 1 slice of cheese and distribute it evenly on top of the beef.
note: - I made this with 2 slices of cheese but I felt it overwhelmed and took away from the other flavors and textures of the sandwich.
8.  Onto the other slice of bread, distribute the radish kimchee evenly.
9.  Sandwich the 2 slices, then using the bottom of a clean pan, press down on top of the bread with all your weight.  Flip over the sandwich using a wide flat spatula, and repeat flattening the sandwich with the bottom of a pan.
note: - If both sides are not toasted after flattening, put pan onto high heat and quickly finish toasting both sides.
10.  Plate the sandwich and cut diagonally in half.  Serve immediately.