A Different kind of Superbowl Sunday food....

Today, I tackle a food that is considered to be ‘south of the border’ fare—in Canada! Four years ago, Dave and I went to Niagara Falls, Canada where my life changed forever. In front of the American Falls, Dave asked me to marry him and I said yes very quickly in case he thought better of it- which he would a few hours later as we tried to get past American customs and I forgot my ‘country of origin’ but that’s another story… After our engagement moment, we went to a restaurant over looking the falls and had lunch. There was a “south of the border” section on the menu, but this “south of the border” section did not involve nachos or fajitas- it was American food or more specifically Buffalo area food which is unique in so many ways. So I ordered a Labatt’s and ‘Beef on Weck’. What is beef on weck? Honestly, it is just a roast beef sandwich on a day old kimmelweck (or kummelweck) roll with au jus and horseradish sauce to ‘soften’ up the day old bread. It was a way to use the bread and not let it go to waste, and I believe is a custom of the Polish American settlers of the region . Ok, now what’s a kimmelweck roll? No, these rolls are not sold any where south of the Mason Dixon line that I can find so one has to make them. Basically it's a hard roll or Kaiser roll that has a special coating on it. So this is what I will share with you this Superbowl Sunday- Beef on Weck!

For the Weck, you will need:
• 6 hard rolls or Kaiser rolls
• 2 tablespoons of coarse salt
• 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds
• 1 tablespoon of corn starch
• ½ cup warm water
• 1 cup water – to boil

1. Mix the salt and seeds together. Store in airtight container.
2. Put the water onto boil. Dissolve the corn starch in the warm water and then add to the boiling water.
Bring to a boil and allow to thicken until it coats the spoon. Then a put in an airtight container and allow to cool.
3. Coat the tops of the rolls with the cornstarch mixture and sprinkle with the salt and seed mixture.
4. Bake about 4-6 minutes or long enough for the rolls to dry. I also baked the bottoms at the same time.

For the Beef, you will need:
• 1 cup au jus- warmed
• 1 ½ pounds of roast beef , thinly sliced
• Horseradish sauce

To make the sandwich,simply dip the roast beef into warmed au jus, put on roll, and top with horseradish sauce. And that’s that…

I mentioned that Buffalo area food is special, and the people there are die hards about their food- and thankfully so – as this is the reason Buffalo wings are called Buffalo wings!! We have to LOVE them for that creation at the one and only Anchor Bar!