Hammer’s Reuben dip a top-10 winner in national recipe contest

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Joyce Hammer with her reuben dip. (Photo: J.D.
Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune)

Joyce Hammer is one of 10 people nationwide to be praised for her "fresh
approach to cooking" in the fourth annual Ripened Recipe Contest sponsored
by Dei Fratelli, a product of the Northwood and Pemberville-based Hirzel Canning
Company and Farms.
Hammer is a top winner in the 2012 contest with her recipe for Easy Reuben Dip.
The former Wood County Hospital employee singlehandedly upheld the honor of Ohio’s
cooks, coming in alongside the other finalists from places like Napa, Calif.;
Rochester, N.Y.; Woodstock, Ga.; Falmouth, Minn.; and Ames, Iowa. They offered
such wide-ranging fare as a Portuguese Tomato and Kale Sausage Soup, Tandoori
Express Spicy Chickpeas, Tomato Tortellini and Shrimp Salad, and Taqueria Taco
Lasagna; along with all-American choices like puff pastry pizza, tomato basil
bisque, and wild mushroom stew.
A panel of Dei Fratelli judges determined the top ten entries based on flavor, appeal
and creativity.
"I thought, ‘You know, reuben sandwiches are good, but this would really be
good,’" Hammer said, describing her thoughts when she first dreamed up the
recipe about a year ago for a gathering of her cousins.
"I didn’t even tell them it was a new recipe."
And their reaction?
"Oh, this is good!"
Hammer decided she might be on to something. About that same time she heard about the
Dei Fratelli recipe contest.
"I had thought it was just tomatoes, but then I read a teaser that said
‘tomatoes or sauerkraut,’" as a required ingredient, "and I thought of
this dip right away!"
As it happens, Hammer’s was the only one of the top 10 national recipes to feature
sauerkraut; the other nine all went with a tomato recipe.
"I like to blend flavors and not have one overpower the others," she said,
recalling how she tweaked her original recipe a bit as she sought the perfect
balance, deciding at one point to tone down the amount of Thousand Island salad
dressing.
"If you’re making dressing for Thanksgiving, you don’t want the sage
overpowering it; you don’t want any one thing taking over. You want all the
flavors to blend" in a perfect whole, she said, explaining her approach.

A Bascom native, Hammer is a registered nurse. She worked second shift in Wood County
Hospital’s ICU from 2003 to 2006 and is currently a nursing instructor for both
Owens Community College in Perrysburg Township and Monroe Community College in
Michigan.
She teaches clinicals at Toledo Hospital and at the University of Toledo Medical
Center.
"Being a nurse and working at a hospital, it’s fertile territory for a
potluck," she noted.
Those wishing to treat family or coworkers to Hammer’s Reuben dip are encouraged to
forge ahead, since she says the recipe is not hard.
"The most work of anything is taking your sauerkraut and rinsing it in water and
then squeezing it dry. I put it in a strainer and press it with a spoon.
Otherwise, the sauerkraut can be too strong in flavor."
Here’s another quick hint from a bona fide prize-winning cook: "I grate my own
swiss cheese for the dip, because I like it coarser" than the way it comes
store-bought.
And make sure to buy the "midget" style dill pickles. "I think it
tastes better with those."
As for the choice of meat in the dip, "Turkey pastrami is a little less fatty
and salty than regular pastrami."
For the accompanying bread bowl, Hammer likes to buy a two-tone pumpernickel blend
bread from The Andersons. Or, she serves the dip with Rubschlager brand
"really Rye Mini-chips."
And here’s another secret she’s willing to share.
"With a bread bowl, I put a thin layer of plastic wrap inside the bowl," so
it separates the bread from the dip and keeps the bread from becoming
soggy."
The rewards of her big win with Easy Reuben Dip are modest, but fun.
Hammer and the other nine winners get their recipes and photos published online at
www.DeiFratelli.com, in addition to receiving a year’s supply of free Dei
Fratelli products.
She also appeared in a Saturday morning chef segment 10 days ago on Toledo Channel
11.
Hammer has entered some other cooking contests in the past, and had success a time or
two.
"I was a finalist at the Dandelion Festival in Dover, Ohio, in May. It’s
sponsored by Breitenbach Wineries."
Hammer stuffed a chicken with a zatar and dandelion mixture.
"You cook it there and they serve it up on the spot." She found the contest
"so much pressure! I didn’t realize it would be so competitive."
Her greatest success came 20 years ago, when she won second prize in a contest
sponsored by the English-made Carr’s Crackers.
"That was a cheese spread. It had grated white radishes and black walnuts. I won
some Cuisinart cookware. That was fun!"

Easy Reuben Dip
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup Thousand Island Dressing
1/4 lb turkey pastrami, coarsely chopped
1/4 lb Swiss cheese, coarsely grated
1 1/2 cups Silverfleece sauerkraut, rinse with water and squeezed dry
1/2 cup chopped midget Kosher dill pickles, drained
1 1 lb round loaf (8 inch diameter) of pumpernickel/light rye combination bread
Preparation:
Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, and Thousand Island dressing and beat with hand
mixer until fairly smooth. Add the pastrami, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and dill
pickles and blend together by hand. Refrigerate the dip until ready to serve.
Hollow out the round loaf of bread and line inside with plastic wrap. Cut the
bread that was removed in wedges to use for dipping. Place the dip in the loaf
and garnish.
Servings: 16
Pumpernickel sticks, celery sticks, and carrot sticks are also delicious with this
dip.

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