By Megan is nine weeks pregnant and the morning sickness is back, worse than with Tommy. She's eating nothing but crackers and ginger ale and looking at me with eyes that say, "If you cook anything with garlic I will divorce you." I have eliminated garlic from my cooking vocabulary for the first time in my life. The kitchen smells like nothing. It's disorienting.
Tommy doesn't understand why Mama is tired all the time and why Dada is making bland food. He protests by throwing his crackers on the floor, which is his protest for everything — dissatisfaction, enthusiasm, boredom, gravity experiments. The floor is covered in cracker crumbs. The dog we don't have would be thriving.
At the brewery, my first spring as head brewer. The responsibility is real — I'm managing a team of eight, overseeing twelve active tanks, running the sour program, and handling vendor relationships. The administrative burden is significant but the creative freedom is unprecedented. I can brew what I want. I can experiment. I can take Lakefront in directions the previous head brewer wouldn't have considered. The rhubarb sour is back for its second year. The cherry sour is planned for summer. The reputation is growing.
Made Megan a plain potato soup — potatoes, onion, broth, cream. No garlic. No spice. No personality. She ate a whole bowl and said, "This is the best soup you've ever made." Pregnancy has transformed her palate into a weapon of mass blandness. I love her. I miss garlic. Both are true.
Megan and Jake married in June 2024. The small newlywed-rhythm is in its small second year. The small two-bedroom rental on the small east-side of Milwaukee continues to be the small first-home. The small thirty-year-mortgage-eventually-someday is the small five-year-goal. The small marriage is the small foundation the small life is being built on.
The small Polish-American heritage is the small kitchen-identity. The small pierogi-recipe-cards from Babcia Helen (Jake’s grandmother who passed in 2018, who had lived two blocks from the small Bay-View family-house) is the small monthly-Saturday-tradition. The small kielbasa-and-sauerkraut. The small bigos. The small recipes that came over from the small Krakow-region in the small 1910s.
The small Milwaukee-winter is the small six-month-condition. The small cold-weather-comfort-food rotation runs October through April. The small soups, the small stews, the small braises, the small heavy-baked-goods. The small Midwestern-comfort-vocabulary is the small kitchen-language.
Megan and Jake married in June 2024. The small newlywed-rhythm is in its small second year. The small two-bedroom rental on the small east-side of Milwaukee continues to be the small first-home. The small thirty-year-mortgage-eventually-someday is the small five-year-goal. The small marriage is the small foundation the small life is being built on.
The small Lakefront Brewery shift-work continues to be the small steady-paycheck. The small forty-hour-week brewery-floor job pays the small twenty-two-an-hour rate that the small Milwaukee-blue-collar-economy supports. The small benefits are the small union-decent. The small ten-year-tenure-target is the small career-anchor.
The small Polish-American heritage is the small kitchen-identity. The small pierogi-recipe-cards from Babcia Helen (Jake’s grandmother who passed in 2018, who had lived two blocks from the small Bay-View family-house) is the small monthly-Saturday-tradition. The small kielbasa-and-sauerkraut. The small bigos. The small recipes that came over from the small Krakow-region in the small 1910s.
Megan is from a small Irish-Catholic Milwaukee-suburban family. The small Sunday-dinners at her small parents’ house rotate with the small Sunday-dinners at Jake’s parents’ house. The small in-laws on both sides have been the small welcoming-presence. The small two-family-network is the small extended-support the small newlywed-life rests on.
The small Milwaukee-winter is the small six-month-condition. The small cold-weather-comfort-food rotation runs October through April. The small soups, the small stews, the small braises, the small heavy-baked-goods. The small Midwestern-comfort-vocabulary is the small kitchen-language.
The small future-kid-conversations have begun. Megan teaches small fourth-grade at a small public school in Wauwatosa. The small adoption-vs-biological conversation is in the small early-discussion stage. The small five-year-plan includes the small kid-or-kids in some form. The small kitchen is the small place where the small future is being practiced.
The potato soup was an act of love, and I stand by it. But after Megan finished her bowl and went to lie down, I stood in a kitchen that smelled like nothing and thought: I need something that fights back. I’ve been eating crackers and solidarity for two weeks. Milwaukee is corned beef and rye country — it’s practically a civic obligation — and these Reuben Rounds are what happened when I finally let myself cook something with an opinion again. Small bites, big flavor, and zero chance Megan would want any. That last part was the whole point.
Reuben Rounds
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 22 min | Servings: 8 (about 24 rounds)
Ingredients
- 1 can (12 oz) refrigerated flaky biscuit dough (8 biscuits)
- 6 oz thinly sliced corned beef, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup sauerkraut, well drained and squeezed dry
- 4 oz sliced Swiss cheese, cut into small pieces
- 3 tablespoons Thousand Island dressing, plus more for dipping
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)
- 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Split biscuits. Separate each biscuit into two thin rounds by pulling apart the layers. You should have 16 rounds total. Flatten each slightly with your palm.
- Make the filling. In a small bowl, combine the chopped corned beef, drained sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Thousand Island dressing. Stir to combine.
- Assemble. Place about 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of half the biscuit rounds. Top each with a second round and pinch the edges firmly to seal. Press the edges with a fork if needed.
- Egg wash and season. Brush the tops with beaten egg. Sprinkle with caraway seeds if using.
- Bake. Arrange on the prepared baking sheet and bake 10—12 minutes, until puffed and deep golden brown.
- Serve. Let cool 2—3 minutes. Serve warm with extra Thousand Island on the side for dipping.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 210 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 19g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 620mg